Monday, October 2, 2017
Kairos: Gender Inequality as a Marketing Move
We've all seen it; the Forever 21 Feminist t-shirts, Playboy magazine's short-lived no nude policy, the Pantene "bossy" ad, and now the Audi commercial. By "it" I mean the use of feminism as an advertisement tool to attract more customers.
Don't get me wrong, I identify as a feminist and actively advocate for intersectional gender equality. I love that feminism is garnering more attention and becoming one of the most talked about concepts in today's society. However, like with most things, popularity invariably leads to unwanted attention. In the case of feminism, the unwanted attention comes in the form of big corporations utilizing female empowerment as a selling point for their products without providing any genuine benefit to the movement at all.
This is where the concept of kairos comes in. Kairos (literally the greek word for the "opportune moment") is the role of timing in rhetoric. Kairos uses the momentum of a culture's social or political climate to support an argument. In 2017, it seems like corporations have seized the fifth wave of feminism as their kairotic moment in order to appeal to the masses, and it works. According to Adweek, Dove sales increased $1.5 billion after the launch of their "real beauty" ads, making them one of many companies to have profited from the message of female empowerment.
This 2017 Audi commercial takes advantage of the modern feminist movement through a touching father-daughter relationship centered around the daughter participating in cart racing, a traditionally male activity. The voice over expounds the message of female empowerment with questions that tackle the issue of gender equality such as "What do I tell my daughter?... That her Dad is more important than her Mom?" These phrases, although directly related to the feminist goal of gender or pay equality, seem somewhat disingenuous when confronted with the fact that Audi itself does not practice gender equality. According to Forbes, only 16% of Audi's Directory Board is female, which is significantly below Germany's average of 20%. Thus, Audi's ad comes across as more calculated than convincing when considering their use of kairotic momentum from events like the Women's March to sell cars.
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Very insightful and well thought out post! I love how you included the statistics of the gender inequality in Audi's workforce to show that words have no value when they are not supported by action. With that being said, I believe that the ethos of Audi is very essential in promoting their message. Audi is a well-known trusted car company in the US and Germany. Because of their sustainable and efficient ways of promoting their cars, the audience will most likely be drawn into the idea they are promoting because Audi is successful.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome post! This is very clear and I feel well-informed about your topic after having read this post. I would have appreciated a little more information on this so called "fifth wave of feminism," and how Audi capitalized on it. I also think you made grade use of various statistics on this issue. I also like the hints you laid out towards the other posts on your blog; this post made me interested in reading the rest of your blog. I agree that Audi's ad comes across as quite, "calculated," and I think it really is fascinating that a company who's board is comprised of 16% females made such an ad.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying. I think that you should probably have said that these corporations are hollow for preaching feminism and not practicing it. Also, I think you should have made it clear which text you were talking about in the beginning because I thought you were talking about the 1960's commercial's Kairos at first. I really liked it how you utilized statistics though. Lastly, I think you should've left a link about this "Fifth wave of feminism."
ReplyDeleteJustin De Burgo
Your analysis is spot on. You quickly educated me about the topic and after reading your post, I feel like I have more knowledge about feminism being used to increase sales. Also, the statistics you include are such a strong support point for your argument. I can't believe that little of Audi's directory board is female. I think that including how Audi does not practice gender equality is crucial because it makes them seem like hypocrites which strengthens your argument even further.
ReplyDeleteVery good job at recognizing the kiaros of each of these advertisements. I like how each ad was designed to reach a multitude of audiences in different age groups. Audi appeals to both male and female audiences, especially males because they tend to be more interested in cars and racing. The forever21 ads reach out to teens and preteens who wear their clothing and Pantene is used by many women of any age range.
ReplyDelete