Provocateur: Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising

194 Pages·2007·10.61 MB·English

by  Anthony J. Cortese

Provocateur_3e_LITHO.qxd 11/12/07 1:17 PM Page 1
C
o
Media Studies • Cultural Studies r
t
e
s
e
Praise for Previous Editions
Third Edition
PROVOCATEUR
“This volume is an excellent historical and up-to-date analysis of how advertising targets eth-
nic minorities, gays, and lesbians, as well as white heterosexuals. Academic readers will find
eclectic scholarship representing feminist theory, sociology of advertising, ethnic studies,
dramaturgy, postmodernism, and media literacy. In addition, Cortese provides practical
advice on how readers can combat their own cultural conditioning, which may be racist. An
outline for evaluating advertising is also included as an appendix. These guides, along with
the excellent analysis throughout, make this an outstandingly useful volume. Excellent bibli-
ography and index. Essential.” —CHOICE
P
“A fascinating examination of an underexplored aspect of advertising and its impact on all of R
our lives.” —Jean Kilbourne, creator of Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women O
V
“The author takes a close look behind the scenes of contemporary culture, examining the hidden O
messages and social meaning of advertising and its use of images of women and minorities.”
C
—Business Horizons
A
T
“A well-researched, thoughtful examination of an aspect of advertising that is seldom dis-
E
cussed and would be an excellent textbook or supplemental reading for advertising, media in U
society, and women and minorities in media courses.”
R
—Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
T
h
ir
“Cortese asks some very good questions, and he has a good eye for recent trends.” d E
d
—Ideology and Cultural Production itio
n
In the third edition of Provocateur, sociologist Anthony J. Cortese offers an in-depth critical
analysis of modern advertising—perhaps the most powerful cultural and economic institution.
Focusing on images of women and minorities, he unravels the ideologies of domination and
control in contemporary commerce. The depiction of ethnic and gender relations in advertis-
ing subtly colors our understanding of status arrangements and social boundaries. Connecting
these images to periods of social change also highlights, in a more nuanced way, the social
norms and cultural ideologies of a particular age. The third edition includes new advertise-
ments and updated analyses, and Cortese concludes with policy implications for advertising.
Anthony J. Cortese is professor of sociology at Southern Methodist University.
Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising
For orders and information please contact the publisher
R
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. O
W
A wholly owned subsidiary of
M
The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-5538-9 A
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 ISBN-10: 0-7425-559380-0000 N &
Lanham, Maryland 20706 L
1-800-462-6420 IT
9 780742 555389 T Anthony J. Cortese
www.rowmanlittlefield.com L
E
F
IE
L
D

PROVOCATEUR

PROVOCATEUR
Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising
Third Edition
ANTHONY J. CORTESE
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Lanham • Boulder • New York • Oxford
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Published in the United States of America
by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Awholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
Eastover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY,United Kingdom
Copyright © 2008 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cortese, Anthony Joseph Paul.
Provocateur : images of women and minorities in advertising / Anthony Cortese.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-5538-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-7425-5538-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-5539-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-7425-5539-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1.Advertising—Social aspects. 2. Minorities in advertising. 3. Women in advertising.
I. Title.
HF5823.C5977 2008
659.1'042—dc22
2007032567
Printed in the United States of America
™The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1984.
To Amber Richelle Cortese
May you grow in knowledge, discernment, compassion,
and love with each day.
In memory of my parents
Joseph Cortese
November 19, 1921–December 13, 2003
Rachel Cortese
February 15, 1935–October 26, 2005

Contents
Preface to the Third Edition ix
1
Representations, Multiculturalism, and Mass Media 1
2
Visual Attraction, Body Display, and Advertising 29
3
Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads: Sexism in Advertising 57
4
Symbolic Racism in Advertising 91
5
Ethnic Advertising 115
6
Speed and Fragmentation: Toward Postmodern Consciousness 135
Appendix: Advertising Evaluation 157
Glossary 159
References 161
Index 171
About the Author 179
vii