English Argumentative Essay on Three Television Advertisements

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English Argumentative Essay on Three Television Advertisements
Advertisers craft commercials with an aim to capture the attention of their targeted consumers. They depict aspects of gender and distinguish between different races and social classes in their advertisements (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle 421). Portraying gender roles is one of the most effective ways for capturing consumers’ attention. Advertisers seek to either challenge or promote commonly held gender social constructs in their advertisements. In capturing the attention of the consumers, they also appeal to the racial and age differences among the general population through different strategies. Advertisers ensure that their commercials are thought provoking and that they display gender stereotypes to trigger communication about the advertisement and influence their buying decisions.
One advertisement challenges the socially construed stereotype that only women have to bear the consequences of unplanned pregnancy (Pike n.p). It sensitizes the public that unplanned pregnancy also affects teenage males. It strongly advocates for teenage males to take necessary precautions in avoiding unplanned pregnancy. When a man views the advertisement, it provokes fear through the absurdity of pregnancy and the need to avoid its occurrence (Pike n.p).The effect of the advertisement would have a much lesser effect on teenagers, both male and female had it used a female. The oxymoron of a pregnant male captures the attention of the general population and stimulates conversation about condom use to protect against unwanted pregnancy.
It also features the race considerations in the sense that it shows a white and a black teenager to indicate that condom use is necessary for all races. It is also notable that the black teenager occupies more space which is implies that blacks register higher numbers of unplanned pregnancies. The black teenager occupies more visual space than the white teenager to capture the attention of more blacks than whites do. The advertiser also shows that all males can be affected by sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies irrespective of their built and masculine or slim physique (Pike n.p). It also contains the text ‘unexpected’ to show that indeed teenagers are unprepared when conceiving and also communicates that teen fathers should also bear responsibility for the children they sire (DasGupta n.p). The advertisers seek to provoke a disturbing feeling about a bulging belly which is a female element on a male body. The advertiser is effective in the sense that the advertisement has far-reaching effects across all ages, races and class. The advertisement however raised criticism for negatively portraying transgender males. Transgender persons have a masculine appearance but they too can become pregnant. The fact that this advertisement displays similar bodies as disturbin...