Project 5

Throughout the commerical, Hardee's uses women as more of an object than a person in an attempt to sell their food. This "dismemberment", as Kilbourne puts it, of Kate Upton's body as seen in Figure 1, is a slow motion shot of her undressing with the camera placed solely on her breasts (Killing Us Softly 4.) This focus on her boobs has nothing to do with the patty melt and the main purpose of the scene is simply to appeal to the male audience at the cost of sexualizing and objectifying women. Upton being the star of this commericial is a very calculated move by Hardee's, since she was a successful model and featured in male dominated magazines such as Sports Illustrated, around the time that the ad aired. By placing an importance on her breasts and using a model as an actress, Hardee's is selling the idea that a women's worth is determined by certain parts of her body. Kate Upton is further sexualized in Figure 2, which is another shot of her undressing, but this time the only thing glistening and covered in sweat is her boobs. Like Kilbourne argued, the cinematic "focus on breasts" further enforce the idea that a woman's role in society is to be a "thing" rather than a person (Killing Us Softly 4.) The model's role in commerical, or seemingly her body's role in the commercial, is to satisfy the male consumer and her status is completely removed from the picture. She is dehumanized and as a result, her breasts become the determinate of her worth.

Hardee's also borrows images from pornography and uses them frequently in order to entice the male audience. Kilbourne mentions that women in pornography and advertising are often put in "passive, vulnerable and silly poses" (Killing Us Softly 4.) In Figure 3, Upton is featured in a rather suggestive and strange pose as she undresses over her patty melt. Her legs are up for easier access to her socks, while her head is thrown back and her cleavage is exposed. The shot looks like something straight from pornography and is included for the sole purpose of catering to the male gaze. The Hardee's bag and patty melt are featured off to the sides and they are hardly the focus of the scene. Instead, the eyes are designed to be drawn to the center of the shot, which is Kate Upton's pornographic posture. Hardee's borrows again from pornography in Figure 4. The model is shown bent over with the camera behind her and her butt is deliberately in the forefront. Not only does the shot from behind imply a sexual move, but it also puts her in a vulnerable position. It could almost be implied that she has no knowledge of the camera behind her and it could be shot from the perspective of someone, probably a man, having an advantage over her. Kilbourne points out that male dominance is common in pornography and it is more about "power than passion" (Kilbourne 489.) Kate Upton's vulnerability in Figure 4 allows for an invitation for a man to try and take advantage of her, and violence doesn't stray far from commonplace in pornography. Hardee's also uses the trope of infantilization within the ad to try and sell their product. In Figure 5, Kate Upton is shown with what Kilbourne points out in advertising as having "big eyes" and a "big head" (Killing Us Softly 4.) Upton is looking up to the camera with her chin tilted down in this shot. This is the classic image of a submissive and sexual woman. Her eyeliner makes her eyes appear larger, adding to the image of vulnerability and loss of power, a typical pornographic trope. In both Figure 4 and Figure 5, the director, who is a man to no one's surprise, uses camera angles to assert male dominance within pornographic themes.

In order to increase consumerism, Hardee's associates sex with their patty melt throughout the advertisment. This is common in the industry and Kilbourne states that products are often "imbued" with a "sexual charge" (Kilbourne 489.) Not only is the sandwich described as "hot" but it is also eaten in a sexual way. In Figure 7, there's a focus on the lips in a sexual position and the shot lingers on the suggestive eating. The audience is left to feel like the very act of eating the patty melt is suppose to be an intimate affair and the closest the ad can come to showing sex on television. Hardee's also associates oral sex with their food as shown in Figure 8, where Upton is featured slowly sucking on the red straw of a drink cup. Kilbourne argues that in today's advertising, food is being sold as a deliberate "substitute for sex" (Killing Us Softly 4.) In the context of the rest of the ad, the act of sucking on the straw develops a sexual connotation and is especially implied when considering the target audience is the male watcher. By associating the performance of oral sex with their drink, Hardee's is catering to men and offering a replacement for the actual act of oral sex in an attempt to boost sales.

Hardee's has a long history of reinforcing societal beauty standards through their advertising, but it is especially prominent in this ad, as shown by Figure 6. Kate Upton is the star of the commercial and is a model known for being white, blonde, thin and sexually appealing to the male audience. Kilbourne points out however that only "5% of women have genetically thin bodies" (Killing Us Softly 4.) By using only models that represent the vast minority of women, Hardee's is communicating to the masses that in order to be sexually appealing enough to sell products, women must be thin and blonde and considered beautiful enough by men. This of course is an impossible and stressful standard to be held to and only reinforces the idea that if women fall short of any of those characteristics of "absolute flawlessness," then they are not conventionally sexy (Killing Us Softly 4.)