Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Major Argument in the 1960's Xerox Machine Commercial
The 1960's Xerox Machine commercial argues that women in the workplace tend to be incompetent and need extra assistance in order to complete their, in this case, secretarial duties. It argues that Xerox Machine will be able to provide this assistance and will become a staple in the average secretary's daily duties and work environment. The argument is founded on the sexist attitudes of the 1960's and appeals to that concept. It is also based on and appeals to the fact women in the 1960's often worked low skill positions, such as being secretaries. It disregards and lessens the capability women have in the workplace. It also portrays a negative and false archetype of the American women who chooses to work, which is that these women are unintelligent and ineffective. The stasis theory is implemented effectively in this argument. The use of fact and definition stasis theory is evident in this commercial. It defines the existence of a problem, which is incompetence and the lack of efficiency in the workplace. It also emphasizes a negative stereotype of women to prove the existence of this problem and to also show an example of this problem. It then uses the existence of this problem to push their product as the solution. It is a extremely effective method of selling their product.
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I couldn't believe that they would put a commercial like that out for the public too see! I bet if men were portrayed like the "naive" women seen in the commercial they wouldn't have sold a single machine. They should have gone for a different approach to selling their product.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the Xerox commercial has sexist elements. It portrays women as incompetent in the workplace which is ridiculous because today women hold high positions in every industry. While it was an effective method to increase sales in the 1960s, it would ruin the company if they ran a similar commercial today.
ReplyDeleteWould have to agree that this commercial is sexist, depicting women as unintelligent and unskilled. This idea is emphasized as the woman in the commercial specifically points out how easy and simple her job was, as it only included turning a knob and pushing a button. However, it promotes the product as something straightforward and easy to use.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately this type of advertisement was very common, especially in the 1960s. The well-known concept that women are simple minded is still utilized in commercials today. The logic behind commercials like these are that if the simpler-minded sex can use such a machine efficiently then so should everyone else.
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