“Advertisers are America’s real pornographers”
Wow, what a statement to make… The first thing that comes to my mind when I read this quote is the connection that is being made to advertising as a scandolous type of buisness. As the saying goes, “sex sells.” Just look at this add from Burger King:
Aside from the visual image, the words “desire”, “juicy”, “mind-blowing”, and “seven-incher” are all very explicit, and make it apparent that this ad is very sexually charged. I think this ad is a great example of a sexually-charged ad that is geared towards women, because I think that most people think that ads like this are geared towards men.
In addition, I think that this metaphor implies that advertisers promote a type of product that is out of touch with reality, and unattainable for some. Just think about it-pornography is a type of escape for those that watch it. Its not THEIR reality, otherwise they would be doing it themselves, instead of watching it. This
The impact that this has on our culture is very evident. Racy ads are seen everywhere, and it gives the impression to children that sex can be used as a means of getting what one wants. In addition, it gives young girls a false sense of reality. These type of ads portray women as perfect-with the perfect body-and not everyone looks like that. These types of ads could create a sense of low self-worth if a child imagines that they do not live up to the standards in commercials.
I must say though, America is actually more discreet in what they let air on television. I found many ads on YouTube that were very sexually explicit. A lot of these ads were “banned” in America, but not in other countries. Overall, I was just surprised at how far advertisers will push it to achieve the shock-factor and have people talking about their product.
I believe that the metaphor presented makes its point very well. As Postman says, “metaphors help us see and feel,” and advertisers are definitely using this concept to their advantage.
So, we as teachers should use metaphors to our advantage as well. In the classroom, there are a variety of benefits that metaphors can bring to our students. By exploring metaphors, we will be building our students’ vocabulary. A student is more likely to remember the meaning of a word if it is put into a conceptual framework of their own. Metaphors can also help our students think more creatively, which would be beneficial for their writing skills. I believe that looking at everyday things from a different aspect is an important skill to teach students.
