project 4

Audi: Is getting married like buying a car?

In a commercial in China for Audi it shows a man and woman getting ready to say I do. The grooms mother then rushes up to the alter to "inspect" the bride. They go on to say that an important decision must be made carufully. They compare gettting married to buying a used car.

In the picture from the ad you can see the mother in law to grab the brides mouth to “inspect” her like you would a car. The mother finishes and approves the bride but then goes to look at her breast and gives her a disapproving look.

At the end of the ad it takes you to a site for used cars which people found weird that the commercial of people getting married would take you to a site for used cars. Kilbourne says that as women we are starting to become blind to most things we see because we are used to it. That ads don't create the violence but a sense of objectification and disconnection.

Kilbourne goes on to say that there is a world of difference in objectifying women than there is men. That most of the time there is no harm or danger where for women there is. Many things become a risk for women when they are being objectified, once women are shown as an object they are more likely to be treated like one. It creates women to feel unsafe and insecure about themselves and anywhere they go.

The idea of them comparing marrying a woman to buying a used car and as a piece of property is crazy to me. The bride looks shocked that the mother comes up to her and “inspects” her to see if she is good enough to marry her son. Towards the end the mother walks away only to turn around and gives them the okay and they sigh in relief. The relief was short-lived as the mother of the groom then goes to look at the bride's breast and the bride hurries up to cover them from her. Kilbourne says in her article “The way that ads portray bodies- especially women’s bodies- as objects conditions us to see each other in dehumanizing ways…”. At an early age men are trained to find the “perfect” woman, and many advertising companies use this to their advantage. They make women out to be objects that the men have and can own.

Many people wanted an apology from Audi and for them just to explain what the point was. Men were coming out saying how they were disgusting and they were going to boycott Audi. According to the Washington Post Audi said this “The ad’s perception that has been created for many people does not correspond to the values of our company in any way,” Audi spokesman Moritz Drechsel said in an email. "The responsible department of the joint venture has arranged a thorough investigation of the internal control and coordination processes so that an incident like this can be excluded in the future.”. People are also saying that the commercial made was targeting the chinese market and their relationship dynamics there.

In conclusion the sexualization and objectification of women to sell things have been going on for years. Even through all these years after the movements women have gone through to get social justice and equality the advertisement companies still put women down. When women feel they are being objectified they are then followed with the feeling of shame and anxiety and if repeated constantly it can cause psychological harm. Sexualizing young teens can lead to many future problems like eating disorders, low self esteem and more. No young girl or women should have to feel like they are being owned or have to look a certain way to get a guy or to get married and should never be compared to a used car or anything else again by the people that are just trying to sell something. With the audi commercial they were trying to sell used cars while putting women down in the process. More ad companies need to watch how they market and sell things.

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