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Second, As Adult Females, Many Of Them Will View The Ad In A Maternal Way, ...

Second, as adult females, many of them will view the ad in a maternal way, and they will identify the Nike brand as one that empowers their daughters.
2. I will have more self-confidence. Here again, the advertisement addresses an issue that will strongly resonate with women. Having grown up in a patriarchal society, many women tend to have lower confidence levels than their male counterparts. Bordo has explained how this has affected women's perceptions of themselves: "the reigning ideology of femininity . . . was childlike, nonassertive, helpless without a man" (170). This message suggests that the purchase of Nike products will increase our confidence and our ability to function independently.
3. I will be sixty percent less likely to get breast cancer. This is a powerful statement. Breast cancer is something all women live in fear of; because of this, we are eager to incorporate into our daily lives any habits that will keep us free of it. By stating a definite percentage, this assertion carries the ring of scientific credibility. It must be noted that the connection between playing sports and fighting breast cancer is vague. Furthermore, the "statistic" is being quoted by a young girl, not by a medical professional. However, the point has been made: Nike is on the side of women, doing all it can to fight breast cancer. Once that association has been made clear, the message stays with us.
4. I will suffer less depression. Exercise is generally known to have a positive effect on our moods. Nike takes this general statement and makes it personal. According to statistics, "approximately 12 million women in the United States experience depression every year roughly twice the rate of men" (NIMH, 1999). In addition, as Bordo has noted, "the cultivation of strength, agility, and confidence clearly has a positive dimension" (151). Clearly, depression is an issue that is of interest to women, and this message addresses that issue. The result is that we are forced to note the connection between absence of depression and the use of Nike products.
5. I will be more likely to leave a man who beats me. Domestic violence is another emotionally charged issue for a number of women. It crosses ethnic, racial, age, national origin, sexual orientation, religious and socioeconomic lines. According to the American Psychological Association, "4 million American women experience a serious assault by an intimate partner during an average 12-month period." This Nike advertisement capitalizes on this issue here, strengthening the message that this is a company that strongly champions women's rights. Of course, no woman who has escaped from an abusive relationship would attribute her actions to a pair of sneakers. Yet this is the implied message: women who buy Nike products are able to make monumental changes in their lives.
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