Sex Sells: Student Sample Paper #2: “Ad Analysis with Gender Theory”
Vegas, Baby
Katy Perry is on the cover of the June 2011 edition of Vanity Fair which is a magazine with a
total average paid circulation of 1,198,618 where the male to female readership is almost 1:3 according
to their media kit (Conde Nast). Vanity Fair’s mission statement states that it is a “cultural catalyst” and
they cover the areas “from entertainment to world affairs, business to style, design to society” (Conde
Nast). Within the magazine articles and photo spreads about the rich, white, upper class are
advertisements showing that it is good to be rich, white, upper class, and male. One particular ad for
“The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas” shows it is good to be all four. By using Frith’s steps of ad analysis,
semiotics, and examining gender role socialization theory and stereotypes, there will be a clear picture
of how this ad continues to reinforce the traditional ideologies of patriarchy and hegemonic masculinity.
Beginning with Frith’s surface meaning, the ad is a picture of two people poolside during the day
surrounded by a white border (Frith 5). One person is a Caucasian young man with perfectly made up
hair and slight stubble of facial hair. He is wearing a white jacketed tuxedo with a black vest and black
pants. The first button on his white dress shirt is unbuttoned and there is an exposed handkerchief in his
coat pocket. He is sitting on a tan leather chaise lounge in the shallow end of a blue and white tiled pool.
There is a Caucasian young woman lying at the bottom of the chair with her back across his knees and
her head against his thigh. The woman is wearing a revealing black one piece bathing suit, which is
designed to look like a bikini bottom, belt, and top with a metallic clasp across her chest. Her facial
features are visible, but undistinguishable, and her hair isn’t visible. The left arm is reaching behind her
head and her right is reaching back holding a dirty martini with two olives for the man as he reaches for
it. His hands frame her arm and seem large in comparison to her wrist. Her legs are cut off at the knees
by the border. On her left thigh, within a black square in white copy, is the logo and name for “The
Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas” a hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Below that, on the bottom right of
the picture, in white capital letters is the slogan “JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT of WRONG.” Written in
black within the white border on the bottom right of the page is the description and contact information
“a unique luxury resort/ 877 552 7778/ Cosmopolitanlasvegas.com.” The ad flows from the top left of
the chaise down through the man and the woman leading the reader directly to the bottom right corner
where all of this information is. Above the woman superimposed on the deck of the pool is the copy “life
is about balance, like a clean suit and a dirty martini.” The last bit of information is on the bottom left of
the picture with the caption “Bamboo Pool,” presumably the area of the hotel and casino where the
photo was taken.
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Following Frith’s methodology, the intended meaning of the ad is simple enough: if you have
taste, class and sophistication there is only one hotel for you in Vegas (Frith 5). You can achieve the
wealth in Vegas. You can get the girl in Vegas. If you just ask for directions to the “Bamboo Pool” all this
will be yours. The tuxedo denotes class and sophistication, as does the use of the handkerchief pocket
square instead of a boutonnière. The dirty martini shows taste and sophistication separating the model
from the average beer drinker. The fact that this is obviously during the day adds to the feeling of
sophistication that reader feels. The age of the male is almost counterintuitive to these ideals, but a
hegemonic male cannot be old. Even the silver clasp on the female is a “touch of class” above the typical
“faceless beauty.” The ad is projecting the message that while the rest of the world is rushing toward
the 99 cent menu at their local fast food emporium here is a man that controls the events around him.
The ad uses what Vermehren describes as “High” Advertising in selling a lifestyle with very little else,
certainly no mention of price (Vermehren 208). The pages preceding the ad have little to do with Vegas
or hotels, but everything to do with high society. The two pages before are society events; the first
Gwyneth Paltrow’s birthday and the second a fund raiser. By placing the ad in the position it is in the
message is if one is going to lead that type of lifestyle, this is the place they would stay.
Beyond the intended meaning, Frith says there is also an underlying ideological meaning (Frith
5). The cultural meaning of this ad is playing two angles. The first is a response to the ad campaign
“What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.” The ad encourages “Just the right amount of wrong,” in a
“boys-will-be-boys” meaning. The connotative reading of the white tuxedo jacket is that this man is a
hero; in the place of the white hat is his jacket. The black bathing suit connotes the evil temptress. The
martini acts as a surrogate to the traditional apple. Both the pool and Vegas in this reading are the
Garden of Eden. The point is to take the martini and do wrong, it stays in Vegas. After all, anything goes.
If the reader does just the right amount of “wrong” they can revel in it, poolside with a faceless beauty
to reward them with liquor and the promise of sex. The second meaning implicit in this ad is the
promotion of the hegemonic male, the most obvious comparison is James Bond. The white jacket is
reminiscent of Sean Connery’s jacket in Goldfinger and the open style of the shirt plays to Daniel Craig’s
role in Casino Royale. With the ad making clear the balance in life is between “…a clean suit and a dirty
martini.” Another comparison could be made to Don Draper and the Mad Men culture of patriarchy.
Being served martinis by women, in the daytime no less.
“As Michael Kimmel has argued…hegemonic masculinity is what sets the standards for men, [it]
is what other men are measured against and found wanting” (qtd. in Gill 31). The male pictured is set
apart from the “typical” male by his style of dress, location, time of day, and choice of company. The
position of the bodies enforces this role; the man is sitting on the chaise comfortably while the woman is
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uncomfortably sprawled across him. Her comfort is not important, she is just there as tool for his
pleasure. The fact that this is a hegemonic relationship means she is complicit in this interaction. There
is no need for the male to be concerned with her behavior; she wants to be there, serving him. In fact,
he isn’t concerned with her at all. He just needs his martini. The very fact that he is wearing a tuxedo
during the daylight hours sitting in a pool on a chaise lounge designed like a leather couch denotes a
class difference that many males will never be able to achieve. This is what Vermehren calls “symbolic
violence…of the hegemonic process” (Vermehren 202) which plays on the social inequality of class. The
obvious difference in wealth between the pictured male and the average American male is both
arbitrary and by consent. The reader allows these symbols of wealth to hold value or cultural capital
thereby, making themselves subordinate to this portrayal of hegemonic male. Yet, the male in the ad is
intended to act as a surrogate for the rest of the male population. The confident gaze directly at the
audience confirms his authority, but it also conveys an underlying boredom. It allows the viewer to
think that it is both easy and possible to reach that level of manhood; one where it is possible to become
bored with both beauty and luxury. The viewer can see the hegemonic male comfortable in his role, as
the faceless woman fulfills hers.
By serving the martini the female conforms to stereotypical gender roles which the male
reinforces by receiving it, enforcing his own gender role. Gender-role socialization helps to emphasize
the difference between the sexes (Helgeson 157); by the poses and actions within the ad, the
differences are evident. The female is reinforcing her gender role by posing in the supine position, with
her head bent along the male’s leg. Add to that the fact that she is less clothed than her male
counterpart, which sexualizes her. This is what Goffman would call “Ritualization of Subordination”
(Grinley and Clapp). Helgeson explains one of the effects of gender-role socialization is women are
often portrayed as sex objects in advertising (Helgeson 171). The male is fully pictured, with only the
very top of his hair cropped. The female is cut off at the knees. The male is at the top of the picture and
the female is framed lower than him with the literal meaning of male over female. Goffman would
categorize this as “Relative Size” which enforces the idea of patriarchy, a male dominated, male
identified schema (Grinley and Clapp). The fact that the woman is faceless, looking at the man, and
reaching behind her head with one hand shows “Licensed Withdrawal” (Grinley and Clapp). By doing this
she reinforces the stereotype that women are passive and need protection. The gaze of the male
directly at the camera helps to add to that gender role, while reinforcing the idea that men are stoic.
The forms of the bodies give the impression that men are hard and strong and women are soft and
weak. The male has his shoulders squared to the camera and his head is slightly tilted forward. The
female’s pose is curved slightly inward, this is emphasized by the tilted head and it gives the impression
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of pliability. This pliability includes the male’s hands almost directing her right arm’s movements. This
“Function Ranking” (Grinley and Clapp) says that the female needs guidance even in the simple act of
serving drinks.
These reinforcements of gender roles are a subliminal attempt to continue the dominance of
patriarchy. As the examination of the signs and what they signified continually pointed to the hegemonic
male. It should be pointed out again that the female is not the only one consenting to this relationship.
The reader of this ad, by accepting the fact that it is addressed to them continues to consent to being
less than an “ideal” male. As these magazine readers are primarily women the message is that this level
of wealth, class, sophistication is unattainable for them, so they should find a man to achieve it.
Unfortunately, this lifestyle is unachievable for the vast majority of men.
Works Cited
Conde Nast. Vanity Fair.com. 11 October 2010. 12 May 2011 <www.condenastmediakit.com/vf/circulation.cfm>.
Frith, Katherine T. "Undressing the Ad: Reading Culture in Advertising." Frith, Katherine T. Undressing the Ad. New York:
Peter Lang Publishing, 1998. 1-17.
Gill, Rosalind. "Gender and the Media." Gill,
Rosalind. Gender and the Media. Malden,
MA: Polity Press, 2007. 7-42.
Grinley, Melissa and JC Clapp. "Gender Displays in
Ads." North Seattle Community College.
Seattle, WA. 5 April 2011.
Helgeson, Vicky. "Sex-Related Comparisions:
Theory." Helgeson, Vicky. Psychology of
Gender (3rd Ed). Prentice Hall, 2009. 139192.
Vermehren, Christian. "Cultural Capital: The Cultural
Economy of U.S. Advertising." Frith,
Katherine. Undressing the Ad. New York:
Peter Lang Publishing, 1998. 197-224.
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