Essay #1 Sample Body Paragraphs

Lionel Messi

Mr. Emilio

English 1102

18 April 2016

Analyzing Advertisements:  Sample Thesis and Body Paragraphs

Thesis:  Kia’s “Adriana Lima Brings Futbol to a Sports Bar” unabashedly employs sex appeal to sell its product. Lima is meant to channel the sexual fantasies of the average American male, and Kia is hoping that the vague pleasurable fantasy of the ad will rub off on the new Sorento. Soccer also works as a sign in the ad to represent a more refined, worldly culture, thereby transferring prestige value to the car. The ad may appear to reflect America’s growing concern for gender equality by showing a woman dominate the men in the ad; however, upon closer inspection, it simply follows the old Patriarchical pattern of showing flesh to sell cars to men.

Body Paragraphs #1 & 2:  Denotations (with some connotations)

          Sex appeal practically oozes out of Kia’s recent World Cup ad in which Adriana Lima “brings fútbol to a sports bar.” In the commercial, Lima, a renowned Brazilian-born Victoria’s Secret model, is touted as the quintessential exotic object of the American male fantasy, being quite overtly used to sell soccer and by extension, the new Kia Sorrento. Lima pulls up in her sporty new SUV and saunters into a dreary neighborhood watering hole. Her physical presence contrasts the bar’s bleak surroundings like a neon light. Tall, slender, dark-featured—the fact that Lima doesn’t look like a typical American woman is purposefully built into the composition of the scene. Against the bar’s lackluster interior, Lima stands as a decidedly un-American symbol, a sign representing a worldly, more refined culture. 

            The ad’s overt sex appeal also carries a subliminal message of “change.” After changing the twangy country song on the jukebox to a zesty mambo, Lima walks toward the men at the bar, who stare with wide eyes and open mouths, nearly hypnotized. Lima then changes the TV from NASCAR to a soccer game, and the men remain slack-jawed, in a dream-like state of ecstasy. She goes on to tousle the hair of one particularly bewildered man while whispering her only words in the ad:  “fútbol.” The helplessness of the men is entirely comedic, but beneath the surface Kia is betting on the power this beautiful woman has to change the minds and attitudes of American men. Lima’s act of “changing” both the music and the television, extends to Kia’s underlying intention in the ad, which is to get the type of men featured here to trade in their trucks for something a little more exotic, sportier, and sexier.

Body Paragraph with Outside Source
            Media expert Steve Craig’s analysis of gendered advertisements is particularly helpful in understanding the type of sex ploy utilized by Kia. In his essay, “Men’s Men and Women’s Women” he explains that the advertisers of gendered commercials “portray different images to men and women in order to exploit the different deep-seated motivations and anxieties connected to gender identity” (189). So if we examine the type of image presented to men in this ad we might grasp how and why these underlying gender stereotypes are being played out.           
            Immediately, Lima falls into the category of “Men’s Women” because of her idealized and objectified physical attributes:  “Men’s women are portrayed as physically attractive, slim […] and almost always dressed in revealing clothing” (Craig 192).  However, Lima differs from traditional Men’s Women because she is not simply submissive to, or approving of, the men in the ad.  In fact, she is the only source of power—she has agency over the music, the sports on television, and now (if Kia’s lucky) the vehicle viewers will purchase. Craig’s analysis is necessarily limited by time because it focuses on ads from the 1990’s, but it’s helpful for recognizing how gender roles have changed over time. The men here are emasculated but happy, and the woman walks away victorious. This, at first glance,  might very well suggest a trend in American advertising concerned with overturning stereotypical gender roles.

            The next big question to consider is whether or not Kia is being progressive in their depiction of females—despite Lima’s near impossible standard of beauty—or if they’re simply using sex as business as usual. Kia’s other ads from this campaign all follow the same pattern:  Lima walks into the domain of American man (a football field, a man-cave) and introduces “fútbol” while the men ogle. [Here, I’d go onto explore other world cup ads, and other highly gendered ads to compare Kia to.]

Block Quote Format (used for four or more lines of prose)
            Within his analysis of gendered ads, Craig also focuses specifically on ads aired during sports events. One driving factor for the preponderance of male-oriented ads during athletic games involves the concept of escapism:
                        The escapism and male camaraderie […] are simply an extension of the escapism                         and camaraderie men enjoy when they watch (and vicariously participate in)                                         weekend sports on television.  Messner (1987) suggests that one reason for the                         popularity of sports with men is that it offers them a chance to escape from the                         growing ambiguity of masculinity in daily life. (Craig 191)
It makes sense then, for the Kia ad to show a group of guys watching sports, considering that this ad aired during the halftime of world cup games. Men have already escaped by watching the sport, and now they’re receding further into fantasy with Lima’s seduction. It’s also significant that this notion of escapism reflects male anxiety over shifting definitions of masculinity. This is highlighted further in a commercial where a woman has all the power.

Works Cited

Craig, Steven. “Men’s Men and Women’s Women.” Signs of Life in the USA:  Readings on                             Popular Culture for Writers. Ed. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston:  Bedford/St.                       Martin’s, 2012. 187-198. Print.

KIA Ukraine. “Adriana Lima Brings Futbol to a Sports Bar.”  Online video clip.  YouTube.                              YouTube, 14 June 2014.  Web.  17 June 2015.