Professionals instead of pin-ups
Sexism: At a conference in Zurich, advertising and academia clashed without much impact.
Sexism Advertising and science crossed blunt blades at a conference in Zurich It is true that ultimately almost everything is a question of interpretation. In principle, any advertising depiction of a cliché situation can be perceived as discriminatory. It also goes without saying that this is particularly often the case with target groups that are particularly sensitized because they are socially disadvantaged, such as women.Dani Bürgi's presentation at the event on "Attractive advertising" organized by the City of Zurich's Equal Opportunities Office only became more original when the member of the management board of the Basel agency cR DDB tried to point out "alternatives to the all too often tasteless and irresponsible (re)production of female stereotypes". However, he only knew how to illustrate the "increased visualization of female competence" he was calling for with the ageing actress Sophia Loren, eternal advertising icon of the Lux soap brand.
Bürgi thus naturally provided his co-speaker Christiane Schmerl, author of the standard work "Frauenzoo der Werbung: Aufklärung über Fabeltiere" (Women's advertising zoo: Enlightenment about mythical creatures), with a steep template. The psychology professor at the University of Bielefeld criticized the fact that, even after 30 years of emancipation, the commercialized image of women still has far more to do with the male advertising psyche than with the depiction of social realities that creative people like to claim. The controversial academic countered the objection from the audience of around 40 people that just under half of all advertisers in Germany are female with the question: "And how many of them are art or even creative directors?"
Apart from this appeal, however, Schmerl also only offered the familiar. And occasionally reached deep into the mothballs of feminist resentment. For example, she accused the advertising patriarchs in corpore of only focusing on female primary stimuli because they simply couldn't think of anything better. Even if there is certainly some truth in this thesis, the goal of "creativity instead of discrimination" - the subtitle of the Zurich conference - is not one step closer to being achieved with this kind of rhetoric.
The current campaign by Internet provider Tiscali is as target group-specific as it is sexist.
Oliver Classen
Bürgi thus naturally provided his co-speaker Christiane Schmerl, author of the standard work "Frauenzoo der Werbung: Aufklärung über Fabeltiere" (Women's advertising zoo: Enlightenment about mythical creatures), with a steep template. The psychology professor at the University of Bielefeld criticized the fact that, even after 30 years of emancipation, the commercialized image of women still has far more to do with the male advertising psyche than with the depiction of social realities that creative people like to claim. The controversial academic countered the objection from the audience of around 40 people that just under half of all advertisers in Germany are female with the question: "And how many of them are art or even creative directors?"
Apart from this appeal, however, Schmerl also only offered the familiar. And occasionally reached deep into the mothballs of feminist resentment. For example, she accused the advertising patriarchs in corpore of only focusing on female primary stimuli because they simply couldn't think of anything better. Even if there is certainly some truth in this thesis, the goal of "creativity instead of discrimination" - the subtitle of the Zurich conference - is not one step closer to being achieved with this kind of rhetoric.
The current campaign by Internet provider Tiscali is as target group-specific as it is sexist.
Oliver Classen
