美国广告中的女性形象分析英文文献和中文翻译(3)

Business and profession fields, advertisement as a mirror of the real life, it will certainly connect with real life, so some career women appeared in advertisements,but the female images in this kind


Business and profession fields, advertisement as a mirror of the real life, it will certainly connect with real life, so some career women appeared in advertisements,but the female images in this kind of advertisement are often doing some  non-professional jobs, such as secretary, but the male images in it are described as the image of successful business man.

From the perspective of gender theory, the female images in advertisements are placed at the level of “to be looked and appreciated”. Under the male discourse, thefemale images presented in the advertisements are to cater for the aesthetic of man,they are shaped by the society and culture, because the society and culture hoped them become good wife and loving mother, and have beautiful looks and perfect body shape. Except for that, female images in advertisements are also used for the commercial interests, which have some obvious advantages. First of all, the female images in advertisements can help strengthen the visual impact of the audience, attract their attention; therefore, it can enhance the audience’s memory about the advertisement. When audience see a graceful woman in the ad, everyone will want more fancy glances, the graceful woman in the ad can give the audience a sense of beauty, and the sense of beauty is not only a psychological phenomenon, it is also a kind of pleasant feeling. In that way, the female images in the advertisements can meet the audience’s emotional needs and aesthetic psychology, and finally become a stimulus to arouse audience’s attention. Thus the female images in advertisements can  attract audience’s eyes effectively and stimulate the audience’s interest about  advertisement. Secondly, the usage of female images in advertisement is to create a joyfully. This advertisement is for a dishwasher, it seems tell the consumers that if buy a dishwasher, your wife will be freed from the housework, then join in your family activities.

But from the perspective of gender theory, this is unequal for women, in the advertisement, women are depicted as housewives, they are confined to home,connected with house chores, it seems that women are born with housework, even it is   advertised for the dishwasher, but it implied that washing dishes is women’s job, while men don’t need to do it. This can be further proved in one washing powder advertisement. In the advertisement of Tide (Figure 2), the women in it washes a lot of clothes, but her husband doesn’t help her, he just wear the clothes with satisfied look on his face, and the slogan of the advertising is “Nothing else will wash as cleanas Tide,” although it is advertised for wash powder, there still exist inequality between men and women.

Sometimes, in the advertisement, women are presented as happy housewife. This is an ad for Hoover Vacuum Cleaners (Figure 3), and its slogan is “Christmas morning she’ll be happier with a Hoover”. The woman laying on the floor, with a satisfied look on her face, her Christmas gift is a Hoover, which connected her with housework; it romantic scene so that the audience can receive the information with a pleasant atmosphere, usually, this kind of advertisement may use the feminine and delicate appearance of female to create a fine and pleasant atmosphere. Finally, the beauty of female images can stimulate the audience’s purchasing desire. These kinds of modelsin advertisements are usually eye-catching, such as the famous stars, or leaders of one articular area. Because of their professional expertise, they are often considered as the authority to consume a certain commodity (such as cosmetics, sporting goods); it is precisely because of their public authority that makes many people followed their  feet, especially, the youth and women. They are frequently appeared in the ads, do publicity for a certain commodity, they do this is to narrow down the distance  between consumer and commodities, to stimulate the audience’s purchasing desire, encourage the audiences to see what they are endorsed as an essential part of being feminine. For example, the advertisement of cosmetic Lancome, in it, the role is Kate Winslet, who is a famous actress and very beautiful, especially, her blue and profound eyes, which is so attractive that makes you unforgettable once you see them. The slogan for the cosmetic Lancome is “What makes a woman beautiful? Happiness? Yes, and energy. Happiness is the most attractive form of beauty, the one that comes from deep within, this is what makes people remember you.” The famous and beautiful people combined with the catchy slogan, certainly, it will be a successful example.The role in the advertisement is the idol of most audience, they will follow her feet,while the slogan of the advertisement is catchy, and it also has implied meaning, that is, use this kind of cosmetic, and you will be happy and energetic, and as beautiful as the role in the advertisement.