Essay #1 Sample Outline

Sample Outline for Ad Analysis

Paragraph 1:  Intro

• This summer, tons of big companies have hopped aboard the World Cup bandwagon.
• They often focus on soccer in their commercials, then slyly insert their products near the end.
• Kia’s latest campaign features Brazilian model Adriana Lima convincing American men to watch soccer, or “futbol” as she calls it.
• Their latest ad, “Adriana Lima Brings Futbol to a Sports Bar,” like the title suggests, plays on this fantasy:  Adriana Lima walks into a bar.

Paragraph 2:  Working Thesis (likely to change):  

• 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.

Paragraph 3:  Denotative Description of the Ad

• Lima saunters into a Midwestern bar.
• Male faces:  slack-jawed, dazed, mouths open
• Changes jukebox from country to mambo
• Changes the TV from Nascar to socccer
• Lima tousles a man’s hair
• Whispers “futbol,” then leaves in her Sorrento.
• Ad ends with the tagline: “For one month, let’s all be futbol fans.”
• Main signs here: are the exotic sex object, the American working man, the bar, soccer, and finally, the sporty new vehicle.

Paragraph 4:  Lima as a Sign/connotations

• She is the most important sign here—she’s charged with meaning
• Not only a sex object, more importantly, an exotic, foreign object
• Features:  tall, thin, tan, high cheekbones, long legs, skimpy black dress, high heels
• Famous Victoria’s Secret model, also Brazilian, the host country of world cup
• Her exoticness suggests that American men desire something new, different.
• This desire for the foreign woman transfers to the car.

Paragraph 5:  More Connotations

• The men in the bar represent the typical American male, middle-aged, married, bored with life, doesn’t know much about soccer
• He and the female object are in high contrast here.
• Her foreignness really stands out against the dreary surroundings of the bar.
• The bar represents the domain of the American male.
• It’s important that Lima is the most active character in the ad
• She isn’t passive like most sex symbols—she takes control.
• The men seem powerless to resist her.
• Lima and her “futbol” challenge the status quo
• The theme of change:  she changes the jukebox, the channel, messes with the man’s hair
• Kia wants their target audience to change their cars.

• The overall use of the exotic model here seems to be Kia’s way of suggesting that soccer is sexier than American pastimes, and that, by extension, Kia is a sexier car than most American cars, and can spice up your boring life.

Paragraph 5:  Outside Research:  Steve Craig’s “Men’s Men and Women’s Women”

• Introduce the essay, the concept of “gendered advertising” and “men’s women”
• To create a “pleasurable experience” for men, Kia creates a cliché male fantasy:  in the real world famous models don’t walk into the neighborhood watering hole.
• In what ways does Lima fit/reject the category of “men’s women?”
• “When women do appear in men’s commercials, they seldom challenge the primary masculine fantasy. Men’s women are portrayed as physically attractive, slim, and usually young and white, frequently blond, and almost always dressed in revealing clothing […] There are almost always hints of sexual availability in men’s women […] frequently portrayed as admirers […] generally approving” (Craig 187)
• Lima only fits half this definition (attractive, slim, young, dressed in revealing clothing)
• She departs from it in that she is empowered, challenging, doesn’t approve of the men’s music or their sports interests, (nor their vehicles, presumably trucks)
• So this ad appears different from other ads which present “men’s women.”
• This change may suggest that American patriarchy is being subverted, and that American culture is no longer the center of the universe.

Paragraph 6:  System of Signs/Context

• Other ads from this campaign: Lima on a high school football field, and in a “man-cave.”
• She challenges America’s obsession with football, suggests a worldview that much of America doesn’t consider.
• How does this ad relate to other World Cup-related ads?
• Hyundai ads use sex, but are more wholesome. Why?
• How does Lima compare to the hyper-sexualized women in Carl’s Jr. ads?
• Compared to them, this ad seems mild-mannered, conservative.
• Is Kia progressive or do they simply play into the cliché sexual fantasies of men?

Paragraph 7:  Conclusion

• Conclude by reflecting on America’s growing concern with gender equality.
• Question whether or not Kia is trying to show this, or simply show how weak men can be around attractive women.
• Ultimately, Lima is empowered, but she’s still being objectified.
• She’s reduced to a sign that is substituted for desire; it’s business as usual.
• This isn’t the most sexually exploitative ad, but it shouldn’t be seen as a big victory for women or for gender equality.