Klara's Advertisement In 'Rapper Fetty Wap'

In March 2016, Calvin Klein launched what they perceived to be an empowering advertisement but it proved to be anything but that. Several prominent individuals were included in this ad, but what caused a controversy was the billboard that featured actress Klara Kristin and Rapper Fetty Wap. The first word that comes to mind after having looked at this ad is that it is quite sexist. Not only is the message that’s being conveyed to people sexist, but also how both of these individuals are positioned is sexist and offensive; focus is on Klara’s body vs focus on Fetty’s face. A huge billboard was put up in SOHO, New York City, side by side, in one of the busiest areas in the city, thus thousands of people had been exposed to this ad. This campaign

Initially, audiences weren’t adept in visual imagery, much less being capable of interpreting complex messages. To be able to sell products, it became increasingly important for audiences to be educated in media literacy, which was accomplished through what Sut Jhally refers to as “instructive content”. During this time the advertisement industry combined the written and visual material, which ultimately resulted in media literacy (Jhally 328). This resulted in ads containing less information through which the time that advertisements are displayed in has been drastically cut down and the ads speeding up. This speed up, along with the image’s complexity, targets emotional response through the diminishment of rational thought (Jhally, 333). It is through this that they are able to target audience’s insecurities and advertise products in a manner that ‘doesn’t always mirror how people are acting, but how they are dreaming’ (Jhally 229) for example, in this case, being

This means products are sold to us by using variables such as lust and desire. For example in this ad, we can deduce that by simply wearing Calvin Klein underwear the consumer will feel more sexy and sought after. Most ads that seek to sell lingerie or undergarments tend to normalize an ideal body type and in doing so, whether done inadvertently or not, promote unattainable standards of what one should look like. This can very easily cause women in particular to develop an eating disorder. This isn’t only true for this ad, but also for TV shows such as America’s Next Top Model or Search for The Next Pussy Cat Doll that promote the idea that women can use their sexuality to sway men.’ Rather than advocating one ideal, magazines try to democratize beauty by convincing readers that they can achieve their “best bodies”’ (Rice