Opinion: Gender Victimization in Advertising

In my daily reading on news in the advertising world, I happened upon an article on ADWEEK about a possibly risqué and debatably offensive ad in Ontario's London Free Press, promoting Dale Wurfel's used vehicle financing alongside the image of a beautiful and sultry woman with the text "You know you're not the first. But do you really care?"

 The ad is seen by many as a sexist attempt at comparing non-virgin women to used and depreciating vehicles as well as a distasteful objectification of females for the sake of selling cars to easily encouraged men; however, some say it can be perceived as targeted at women buyers just the same, with the message that the woman is aware that she is not the first to drive the car.

With marketing campaigns getting racier by the moment, I can see both sides of the coin so clearly that I wonder if I've developed immunity to such suggestive messages or if it's just clever advertising at its best. Is it possible that as a culture, we're growing resistant to the negative effects of sexually explicit advertising messages or do you believe women and men alike are simply looking for a reason to declare victimization of their genders? How do you feel about this type of advertising? We'd love to hear your opinions! Email us at info@localmarketingexpo.com.

Above: The ad as it appeared in Ontario's London Free Press