Spreading Factor and Blössenwahn
Fairness Advertisers and equal opportunities officers discussed sexism in communication.
Advertisers and gender equality officers discussed sexism in communication. "What does a woman do in a singles bar to find her man for life?" asked Dorothee Wilhelm from the Office for Gender Equality of the City of Zurich. The answer: if she dances naked on the bar counter, she is sure to attract attention and a massively increased profile. However, she is unlikely to find a man for life with this advertisement. "It repels the target group. It's the same with advertising," says Wilhelm. Can advertising do anything or are there limits? This was the topic of a conference hosted by the Office for Gender Equality, the copywriters' association Script and the Swiss Advertising Alliance (ASW) in Zurich's Stadthaus.
"Not every depiction of naked skin in advertising is sexist," said Mayor Elmar Ledergerber in his welcoming speech. The key question of the discussion is rather: "Does it hurt? Does it belittle?"
When a peacock strikes the wheel, it is not trying to advertise feathers, but to prevent it from dying out. "If you don't advertise, you die," concludes Andy Ruf. The Vice President of ASW therefore demands: "An eye-catcher must have a connection to the product." A piquant surprise in the subsequent panel: the panel from the Gender Equality Office and advertising agreed, with only a few reservations, that the famous Sloggy advertisement, for example, should not be classified as sexist. "A thong must and may be shown on the bottom, because that's where the product ultimately belongs."
"Touched a thousand times, nothing happened a thousand times," Andy Ruf quoted Klaus Lage on this "pick-up line". The bottom line: sometimes you have to be a little aggressive, because if you have no further-reaching ideas, you soon come across as boring.
"You have to shout"
Only two percent of advertising reaches its target audience. And even then, it is not certain whether it has a positive effect. Speaker Eveline Bornträger Stoll, psychologist and pretester of various campaigns: "You have to shout to be heard." She distinguishes between three effective advertising methods: Physical stimuli are addressed in loud advertising. Surprising stimuli can be found in subjects such as the "purple cow" and other ideas with quirky humor. There is a danger here that the joke will quickly wear thin. "Too much surprise disturbs the message." Eroticizing stimuli are key stimuli that men and women are naturally programmed for. If advertising plays with erotic effects, it is important that the eye-catcher can be clearly associated with the product. "In principle, people remember advertising with eroticism better. However, people no longer remember the content," says the psychologist. And if there is no connection between the advertisement and the product, "the memory is at its worst". The Fairness Commission receives around 300 complaints about advertising every year. Around 20 of these concern gender-discriminatory advertising, as Marc Schwenninger, lawyer for the Fairness Commission, explained. The standards by which infringements can be assessed in advance can be viewed at www.lauterkeit.ch.
"Poor souls"
But it doesn't just have to be falsely portrayed eroticism that is perceived as sexist in advertising. Advertising for washing-up liquid that stylizes women as doofuses in the kitchen is much more discriminatory.
as a "spreading angle and delusions of stupidity". This type of advertising "exposes a pathetic soul", warned university lecturer and columnist Ludwig Hasler.
"There are no ready-made solutions, the boundaries are fixed," said Stephanie Hugentobler, President of Script, summarizing the discussion rounds of the concluding workshops. Incidentally, these revealed that it is not uncommon for men to find an advertisement sexist, while women consider it absolutely tolerable and even sexy.
Left: The ASW board in a parody of the Sloggy poster (original below). Also: Controversial campaigns by IWC and Rossignol.
"Not every depiction of naked skin in advertising is sexist," said Mayor Elmar Ledergerber in his welcoming speech. The key question of the discussion is rather: "Does it hurt? Does it belittle?"
When a peacock strikes the wheel, it is not trying to advertise feathers, but to prevent it from dying out. "If you don't advertise, you die," concludes Andy Ruf. The Vice President of ASW therefore demands: "An eye-catcher must have a connection to the product." A piquant surprise in the subsequent panel: the panel from the Gender Equality Office and advertising agreed, with only a few reservations, that the famous Sloggy advertisement, for example, should not be classified as sexist. "A thong must and may be shown on the bottom, because that's where the product ultimately belongs."
"Touched a thousand times, nothing happened a thousand times," Andy Ruf quoted Klaus Lage on this "pick-up line". The bottom line: sometimes you have to be a little aggressive, because if you have no further-reaching ideas, you soon come across as boring.
"You have to shout"
Only two percent of advertising reaches its target audience. And even then, it is not certain whether it has a positive effect. Speaker Eveline Bornträger Stoll, psychologist and pretester of various campaigns: "You have to shout to be heard." She distinguishes between three effective advertising methods: Physical stimuli are addressed in loud advertising. Surprising stimuli can be found in subjects such as the "purple cow" and other ideas with quirky humor. There is a danger here that the joke will quickly wear thin. "Too much surprise disturbs the message." Eroticizing stimuli are key stimuli that men and women are naturally programmed for. If advertising plays with erotic effects, it is important that the eye-catcher can be clearly associated with the product. "In principle, people remember advertising with eroticism better. However, people no longer remember the content," says the psychologist. And if there is no connection between the advertisement and the product, "the memory is at its worst". The Fairness Commission receives around 300 complaints about advertising every year. Around 20 of these concern gender-discriminatory advertising, as Marc Schwenninger, lawyer for the Fairness Commission, explained. The standards by which infringements can be assessed in advance can be viewed at www.lauterkeit.ch.
"Poor souls"
But it doesn't just have to be falsely portrayed eroticism that is perceived as sexist in advertising. Advertising for washing-up liquid that stylizes women as doofuses in the kitchen is much more discriminatory.
as a "spreading angle and delusions of stupidity". This type of advertising "exposes a pathetic soul", warned university lecturer and columnist Ludwig Hasler.
"There are no ready-made solutions, the boundaries are fixed," said Stephanie Hugentobler, President of Script, summarizing the discussion rounds of the concluding workshops. Incidentally, these revealed that it is not uncommon for men to find an advertisement sexist, while women consider it absolutely tolerable and even sexy.
Left: The ASW board in a parody of the Sloggy poster (original below). Also: Controversial campaigns by IWC and Rossignol.
Andreas Panzeri
