Marriage for Sale
Roughly 2.5 million weddings occur annually, most during June and August. And, averaging at $20,000 a piece, they make for a booming $40-50 Billion industry. It’s no wonder, then, that images of engagement and matrimony are advertised everywhere, even if they’re somewhat irrelevant to the products being sold. [1]
Here, we take a look at how this ceremony is exploited for a profit, and how ads can influence and alter our perspective on the institution.
THE ROCK
Diamonds are an ad agency’s best friend.
“Intensive weight loss program for brides to be.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Gold’s Gym Membership
WHAT IT’S SAYING: You have to lose weight for your wedding day, because no one likes a fat bride.
Would it be healthy to lose so much weight that your ring doesn’t even fit anymore? It may come as a surprise, but plenty of curvy women get married, too.
“BEFORE / AFTER: It will change more than your body.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Plastic Surgery (Dr. Jorge Perea, Colombia)
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Cosmetic surgery will help you finally get a man.
Yes, preying on insecure and lonely people is always a respectable approach.
“Brings out the best in glass.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Windolene Glass Cleaner (South Africa)
WHAT IT’S SAYING: If you can’t afford a diamond, you better fake it. With the right glass cleaner, she’ll be too dumb to notice the difference.
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Zero Jeans, Slim Fit
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Pants so tight your ring will leave a lasting impression.
Now, at the risk of reading too much into this, why exactly does she have to have a wedding band in her pocket, as opposed to a number of other pocket items? Does this come with the implication that that’s what their audience is after, and if they’re thin with tight pants, they get the guy?
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Natan Jewelry
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Give her a diamond, and her legs open right up! …And we thought prostitution was illegal.
Way to keep it classy, Natan.
PIECE OF CAKE
Wedding cakes are for more than just the reception.
“The Axe Effect”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Axe Body Spray (Brazil)
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Use this body spray, and women will scratch and claw at the chance to marry you.
Axe is notorious for portraying women as a pack of dogs in heat, with an insane reaction triggered by a single whiff of cologne. It’s getting pretty old.
“Need to lose a little weight before your wedding?”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Slim Fast
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Without these weight loss shakes, your wedding day could be a disaster.
If brides-to-be aren’t completely obsessed with their bodies by now, it’s a miracle.
“Men who find love in strip clubs.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Marie Claire magazine / Feature Article
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Empty sexual attraction can lead to love. Find out how!
“One thing leads to another.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Nescafé
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Coffee leads to polygamy?
“For those who don’t like to wait.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Nashua high speed printers
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Can’t wait to have sex? Buy our printers.
“The world’s never going to be like this. Lose weight with Sanavita.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Sanavita Yogurt
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Overweight people never find love. Your only chance at happiness is weight loss, via yogurt.
Thanks Sanavita, for trying to boost sales by shaming your customers.
“Everything’s sexier in Paris, Las Vegas”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Hotel Rooms
Las Vegas: preserving the sanctity of marriage, one drunken hook-up at a time.
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Tusker Beer (East Africa)
Only the man gets ridiculously plastered here, leaving the bride on her own. It might be nice if either (a) he wasn’t irreconcilably wasted at the altar, or (b) she at least joined in on the fun.
HERE COMES THE BRIDE
Clichés about women in advertising: Bridal Edition.
“Behind every happy wedding, there’s a woman.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Extra Outlet, promoting bridal gifts (UAE)
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Make her day even more special by giving her what she really wants – a washing machine, vacuum cleaner or toaster oven!
Compared to other Arabic nations, the United Arab Emirates is very modern and westernized. But they sure do hang on tight to their archaic beliefs about women.
“Can you think of a better reason?”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Botox Cosmetic Injections
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Your daughter’s getting married, which means you’re unacceptably old. So, go paralyze tiny muscles in your face!
“Women know their priorities (especially on wedding day).”
(region unspecified, presumably non-U.S., per the grammatical translation error)
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Zappata Shoes (spec ad)
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Women care more about their shoes than they do about their husbands.
Safety first – for those pearly pumps, that is. Her husband takes the backseat, clearly objecting, but powerless to change the situation. This implies that women have their priorities in the wrong place, and men just have to deal with it.
“Get there faster.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Elite Luxury Rental Cars
WHAT IT’S SAYING: Grooms don’t care about the ceremony, they’re just waiting to get some action in the bedroom later.
Aside from being insulting, this has nothing to do with rental cars.
“You’ll want to show it off.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Innoxa Skin Firming Cream
WHAT IT’S SAYING: If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Even if it is your wedding day, in front of all your extended family, in a church.
That would be one awkward ceremony, indeed.
CALLING IT OFF
When “forever” is just a figure of speech.
“Fast(er)”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Newton Running Shoes
WHAT IT’S SAYING: You’ve made a terrible mistake! Run!!
Conversely, the Newton ad for men shows a male ex-con running from prison guards.[See Ad Here] So, men are bad husbands and bad members of society?
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Excedrin
WHAT IT’S SAYING: You’ll need extra strength to deal with him.
Divorces cause both people stress and headaches. So this ad could alienate 50% of divorcees by implying he’s the only one in the wrong. It might work better as a split-screen ad, with ExHusband and ExWife side by side – because there’s no doubt that an “ExWife” ad on its own would be branded “sexist” in an instant.
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Tipp-Ex white-out (South Africa)
WHAT IT’S SAYING: You’ll need extra help erasing this mistake.
It’s a recurring theme that men are the sole problem in each failing relationship, which is pretty unfair and inaccurate.
“1 out of 5 women is a victim of domestic violence. Act now.”
WHAT IT’S SELLING: Amnesty International / Public Service Announcement
It’s an upsetting image, and an upsetting statistic. While Amnesty International does do a lot of good work for human rights, most of their ads tend to focus on abused women. It is an important issue, since an estimated 1.5 million women are victimized every year. However, there are also 835,000 annual cases of men abused domestically, but their issues are rarely addressed in public service announcements. [6] Some more balance in the campaigns would be prudent, and might help more men speak up about the problem.
People spend a lot of time, money and energy in preparation for their weddings. For many, the planning and daydreaming about that big day starts well before the spouse is even selected. So, it’s no wonder that matrimony is used so heavily in various advertisements. While they sometimes hit the mark with an effective campaign, the relationship between wedding vows and product sales is all too often an unholy union.
Sources and References:
“Surely divorces cause both people stress and headaches. So this ad could alienate 50% of divorcees by implying he’s the only one in the wrong. It might work better as a split-screen ad, with ExHusband and ExWife side by side.”
Are you serious? Don’t you think you are being a tad over-sensitive?
Maybe it feels like an overstatement, but the pervasive anti-male imagery in advertising is hard to ignore, and it perpetuates the clash and inequality between genders.
Husbands in particular are targeted as useless idiots, but if women were portrayed that way, the ads would be called sexist. Check out http://current.com/items/90569059_sarah-haskins-in-target-women-doofy-husbands.htm
I agree with Morgan!
Ok, marriage is an archaic institution that perpetuates stereotypical gender roles and the idea that the wedding day is the climax of a woman’s life (perpetuated by almost every Disney movie, to mention just one source of cultural influence) causes a huge amount of psychological distress in women everywhere. Of course I could go on, but…. the commentary here is really reaching sometimes to find fault with these adds. So, that Vegas add you say the meaning is “preserving the sanctity of marriage, one drunken hook-up at a time”? Huh? It looks to me like a married couple making out? Do you consider a honeymoon a drunken hookup? As if it’s hard to legitimately criticize advertising these days. When you make these claims as to the messages of these adds, you are discrediting what could have been a valid and insightful look into the twisted messages of contemporary advertising.
LOL chill out “Happily Unmarried”! Everyone knows Vegas is a sleazy place, and movies make fun of drive-thru Elvis weddings all the time. I don’t see anything wrong with poking fun at the most UN-romantic place on earth. Don’t let it ruin your day!
We’re just having fun with over-the-top ad campaigns. It’s all hyperbolic satire, not meant to be a perfect scholarly assessment.
Also, re: the Vegas ad – it doesn’t say that was the interpretation of the ad. It’s just a comment on Vegas in general.