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Feature Article
Investigating Ad Imagery
An interview with Paloma Díaz Soloaga
Women Transforming Culture: How They Do it Courtesy: A
Polite Gesture or Remark
By Earlane M. Stanfield
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 Murray
Hill Institute Newsletter
Fall 2009
Vol 7 No 1
FEATURE
ARTICLE
Investigating Ad Imagery
An interview with Paloma Díaz Soloaga
Paloma Díaz Soloaga is the Director of the Communication
and Management of Fashion Specialty at Villanueva University in
Madrid. She has done analytical studies of how women are portrayed
in print ads, and how a woman’s perception of her body image
is influenced by her exposure to fashion magazines. Her
work has been published in Observatorio, an online European
research journal. Paloma is on the Planning Committee for Murray
Hill Institute’s forthcoming conference on Fashion, Media
and the Consumer. She kindly agreed to an interview for
our Newsletter when she was in New York for Fashion Week this
September. Paloma was interviewed by Alice Trimmer of the Murray
Hill Institute Board of Directors.
How did you become interested in doing research on advertising
images?
After I finished my undergraduate degree I joined the staff of Telva, a
Spanish fashion magazine, working with the design team and on interior
decorating articles. After five years, I began working on
doctoral level courses at the university, studying branding and
advertising research methodologies. After I finished my PHD I did
research on how brands adapt themselves to the internet and studied
brands that were specially directed to young people.
I
love fashion, but noticed that even though the images in advertising
and fashion layouts are very attractive, women are usually portrayed
as objects, not always in a sexual sense, but objectified, like
pieces of furniture. To test this hypothesis, I collected, with
the help of my students, advertisements from the three-year period
2002 to 2005 and analyzed the images of women. We used statistical
tools to study 290 advertisements, containing a total of 342 characters. We
only studied luxury brands. In addition to clothing,
the ads featured perfume, cosmetics and beauty treatments, accessories,
including jewelry and watches, and lingerie. We identified
five main stereotypes of women portrayed in the ads, which we characterized
as idealistic approach (modern woman), high consumer (sensual women),
passive receptor (doll woman), hedonist transgressor (object women),
traditional real (traditional women). We found that among the fashion
images, the “real women” were among the least represented.
Several scholars assert that through the social comparison process,
women—more than men—tend to compare themselves with
the idealized images present in fashion ads and media content. This
comparison depends on every woman´s self-image and self-esteem;
some research studies demonstrate that women’s exposure to
idealized images can influence moods and could increase depression.
The way that women are portrayed in ads could have a negative effect
on readers’ self-esteem, leading to eating disorders and depression.
In other words, viewing these images can give you a bad evaluation
of yourself. The environments in which the women appeared
in the ads studied were nearly always unreal, so that they appeared
more as mannequins rather than as actual people.
Isn’t the imagery in fashion ads heavily influenced
by the current runway styles, with respect to hair, makeup, and
overall appearance?
The two have different goals: On the runway, the object
is to show the clothing. The purpose of the ad, on the other
hand, is not to sell the item featured in the ad, be it a handbag,
perfume, or an outfit. The purpose of the ad is to sell the brand
itself, so that the reader associates that brand with a universe
of glamour and luxury and will be motivated to seek out that brand
when they enter a store. The atmosphere in the store, of course,
is usually much more conservative, as are the clothes.
What kinds of follow-up studies are you currently doing
on this topic?
In the second part of our research we are interviewing women of
all ages in Spain, Italy, Mexico and the United States with a web-based
questionnaire. When we show these women ads that portray women as
dolls, or in very unnatural or bizarre attitudes, it is amazing
how little they identify with these images, in fact they reject
them, even though are they influenced by them.
This is possible
because of the social comparison process that we all do to adjust
our appearance and behavior with others, especially young people
that are still maturing in their character and tend to look to others
and to imitate celebrities and famous people.
What is the long-term objective that you hope to achieve
with the results of your research?
We want to encourage fashion brands to seek new and creative ways
to present their products, without using objectified images in their
ads. It is possible to be original and surprising without
a sexual orientation.
Advertising has to have a surprising
call to the consumer because its mission is to create a sense of
modernity, luxury or exclusivity. But even though advertisers may
not realize it, ads also have an “educational” mission
as soon as their messages are distributed through the mass media
and everybody can see them.
Many people are rightfully concerned
about ethical production of goods—whether the supply chain
is free from corruption regarding child labor or unfair laws and
practices in underdeveloped countries in manufacturing fabrics and
goods. But how are we advertising
those goods? Are we treating the consumer as if she had no intelligence? Are
we treating the consumer just as a number? We need to be respectful
of the consumer just as we are throughout the supply chain. We
need to counteract that mechanistic view of marketing with creative
thinking. Just as we are respectful of animals and the environment,
we need to be respectful of human beings, giving consideration to
what we might call human ecology.
What suggestions do you have for consumers in viewing ads?
How can awareness of ad content make us more savvy as consumers
of both media and product?
Consumers need to be aware of how the marketers are conveying their
messages and also to recognize their own power. They are the ones
making decisions about what to buy. Do we want to spend our money
on brands that do not portray women with honor and dignity? Just
as consumers can band together to change unfair labor practices
along the supply chain, they can do the same to protest portraying
women as objects.
What recommendations do you have for advertisers?
My recommendation to advertisers, at the end of the day, would be
to explore the power of creativity. The middle class—who
are the real consumers of these brands—want to know the
product much more than the “unreal” universe created
by the brands. In my personal opinion brands have to tell stories
that really appeal to the consumer and connect with their real
lives.
References
Reports on related research can be found in the following studies.
Jung, J. Media Influence: Pre- and Postexposure of College
Women to Media Images and the Effect of Mood and Body Image.
Clothing and Textiles Research Journal. Vol 24. Oct. 2006.
Kim, J.-H. and Lennon, S. J. Mass Media and Self-Esteem, Body
Image, and Eating Disorder Tendencies. Clothing and Textiles
Research Journal. Vol. 25. 2007.
Martin, M. C. and Kennedy, P. F. Advertising and Social Comparison:
Consequences for Female Preadolescents and Adolescents. Psychology
and Marketing. Vol. 10. Nov/Dec 1993.
Richins, M. L. Social Comparison and the Idealized images of
Advertising. Journal of Consumer Research. Vol. 18.
Jun. 1991.
Rudell, F. Shopping With a Social Conscience: Consumer Attitudes
Toward Sweatshop Labor. Clothing and Textiles Research
Journal. Vol. 24, 2006. |
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