Clothing And Body Language In Advertising

MAIN ANALYSIS OF THE ADVERTISMENTS Figure (1)

The choice of clothing and body language in the image conveys the dominance of the male figures over the submissive female. This photograph, figure (1), shows a woman, who is wearing a black, one-piece bathing robe, being pinned to the ground by a bare chested man. The woman therefore has her thighs, arms and parts of her chest exposed, which is portraying her as helpless and unprotected towards direct danger. On the other hand, two men are bare chested as well, however, for this particular scene this is a way of showing their masculine and muscular bodies, which is a clear sign of strength and dominance. The faces of all the models mirror an empty, almost robotic or nonchalant expression,

The ambiguity is what makes this campaign equally as disturbing as interesting. Looking from the medias point of view, the clear intention of this advert was to glorify rape in an obvious offensive way. They believe that Dolce & Gabbana wanted to make rape seem “appropriate” ("DOLCE AND GABBANA [...]”). The medias assumptions are based on the above-analyzed reasons that are clothing, body language and the robotic expressions that make the rape seem emotionless. Although figure (2) can be seen as the woman holding power over the men, the media thinks that figure (2) does not display a scene of female seduction, but rather objectification ("Dolce and Gabbana Pulls [...]”). They say it is offensive for woman to be left exposed and as an object to be looked at, meaning Dolce & Gabbana was displaying objectification. As opposed to the media, Dolce & Gabbana argues that the intentions were artistic which definitely characterize the brand. As mentioned in the introduction, the brand creates and develops their own advertisements, which gives them the freedom to express their unique creativity through different yet artistic adverts. Believing this, figure (1) was meant to depict a scene without any sexual violence; rather, it was created to be understood as a sexual game. This artistic view fully suits the brands ideals and strategies, which they themselves have

So, before Spain declined and pulled back the publications of the advertisement, it was banned it Italy, supporting the offensive viewpoint. The reasons for why it was banned and pulled back for publications were the following, according to the Advertising Self-Discipline Institute (IAP): “‘The advertisement showing a woman pinned to the ground by the wrists by a bare-chested man, with other men in the background looking on, has been banned since yesterday. The advertisement offended the dignity of the woman, in the sense that the feminine figure is shown in a degrading manner. The woman has an alienated expression, with an absent look. The woman is immobilized and subjected to a man’s will. It is banned because of the passive and helpless position of the woman relative to the men around her, and the representation of abuse or the idea of violence towards her” (“D&G in hot water again