I found this ad in Rolling Stone and thought it was an interesting take on class. The text at the top says:

This isn’t trust-fund luxury. This is start-up, do-it-yourself, this is gonna be the next big thing luxury. A new generation has arrived.

At the bottom it says:

Introducing the all-new Acura TSX. Forget silver-haired luxury. This is modern, i-VTEC, ELS Surround Sound luxury. Luxury that innovates, with features like the most advanced on-screen weather information and alerts. And luxury that thrills, with an aggressive new body style, a re-tuned engine, and a sport-minded suspension. The TSX with Technology Package. It’s luxury for a whole new generation. See it at acura.com.

So they’re playing on the idea of the self-made man–he creates the “next big thing,” he “innovates.” And he’s young and “modern.” And “aggressive.” All in contrast to those who inherit wealth, who are “silver-haired” and, presumably, not aggressive or brave enough for this car. This could be useful for a discussion of social class, in particular the old-money/new-money divide, as well as different ideas of masculinity.

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This satirical cartoon about Wonder Woman, found here, might be an interesting conversation-starter about power and sexuality, and how we’re always expressing our own sexuality within a set of social assumptions about gender, power, and so on.

Thanks, Krystal-Lynn M.!

NEW! Here is a Wonder Woman comic (found here) that depicts her using her sexuality as a weapon. Thanks to Potts for sending this one along!

This ad is from April, 1908:

Beer as a healthy tonic–I’m surprised beer companies haven’t returned to this, now that we’re obsessed with whole grains again. Apparently they also used to call Schlitz “liquid bread.”

Thanks to Larry H. at the Los Angeles Times Daily Mirror blog!

We’ve posted about Tom Ford‘s most recent provocative campaign (see here), but Urban Artiste drew our attention to an interesting development. The Italian Advertising Institute has banned one of his ads for being too “vulgar,” “sexually implicit,” “beyond bad taste,” and an “offensive gesture which insults women and the dignity of all” (quotes found at The Daily Telegraph). Which ad?

WARNING: The images in post are not safe for work.

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Here’s an Axe ad, sent in by Krystal-Lynn M., the idea being that if you use Axe, women will perform oral sex on you in the bathtub:

NEW: p.j. sent us this ad for Lynx, another name that Axe is marketed under in some countries:

NEW! (Mar. ’10): Katrin sent in this video about the LynxJet marketing campaign, which plays on the idea of the sexy airline stewardess who is sexually available and eager to please her male partner:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QjcUf5pG3k[/youtube]

Gwen Sharp is an associate professor of sociology at Nevada State College. You can follow her on Twitter at @gwensharpnv.

In this ad for Bud Lite, we see a reversal of the usual gender pattern–in this case, a woman has x-ray vision and uses it to imagine what men look like under their clothes. When a chubby man appears and she sees his body under his clothes, she’s disgusted and looks away:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOEMI8HRhlA[/youtube]

An interesting example of men’s bodies under scrutiny.

Gwen Sharp is an associate professor of sociology at Nevada State College. You can follow her on Twitter at @gwensharpnv.

Kate N. pointed us towards this article in the New York Times today discussing 25 years of Marines recruitment aimed at women. Below is the content of their slide show.

1974:

1976:
1978:
1980:
1984:
1988:
1995:
1995:
2000:
2000:

The article says that the Marines have only recently began a concerted attempt to recruit women. Does anyone have any information about the shift in the racial targeting? Or is that just an artifact of the slide show?

Thanks so much for the tip, Kate!

Also in military recruitment: which military would you join?, the homefront, and war as entertainment.

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