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I love beer ads and beer commercials. They're usually clever, funny, and silly. They have excellent marketing strategies in that people really do enjoy them!
But I think what I like most about them is the wealth of information they hold; what they say about our gender roles and social beliefs and values. Beer ads represent societal constructions on masculinity and femininity. Let's take a beer ads tour, shall we?
This one shows Jessica Simpson promoting a light beer. The fine print says, "I work out and take care of myself. But I still like a cold beer once in a while. That's why I make the smart choice with a smart beer. Stampede Light, it's beer plus."
I notice two key things about this ad right away. First off, it's a woman representing a light beer rather than a regular one. Secondly, we've got the association with intelligence and beer (because, you know, beer makes us smart. That's why university students drink so much of it).
Then we've got Colonial Spirits scoffing light beer by saying, "We carry some of the best ales in the world for those who drink for the taste... And we carry 'light beer' for those who just like to pee a lot." This is an indication that beer represents refined tastes and acts almost as a symbol of social status depending on what beer you choose.
The ad above, to me, can definitely be associated with this ad, Guinness for Strength, which shows men playing football with beer. The idea being here that beer is about masculinity and manliness.
Interestingly, this ad tries to incorporate masculinity with a light beer: "Light Beer: it keeps me at ma fightin' weight". And similarly, another ad shows light beer in the shape of a light bulb- the classic symbol of ideas, which would suggest that drinking light beer is the smart choice to make (regardless of gender).
I don't remember who it was who made the comment on someone's blog months ago, but the line was "Hungry Woman dinners? No. We get 100-calorie packs" (let me know if you know who said it!). And doesn't it ring true! Women are often associated as the ones who eat only salads and try to be thinner; men are often associated with needing to fuel up for the sports they participate in. Case and point: the boot camp I'm a part of is a boot camp for women; there is no boot camp for men where I live (my doctor, when I mentioned boot camp, noted that I don't really need it but that he could sure use some boot camp. He remarked that men are probably much more in need of boot camp than women. A very interesting comment for a doctor to make!). And nearly all of my male friends regularly compete with each other in trying to see who cat eat the most tacos/milk/ice cream etc.
However, when we look at these beer commercials, it becomes apparent that it's not just women we're trying to appeal to these days with trying to be healthier, lose weight, or eat less. Society is working on altering our conception of masculinity to allow for men to drink things like light beer without feeling "less of a man". And most of the appeal in these ads focus on appearances rather than health, which is a whole other topic altogether.
What do you think? Are our views of masculinity and femininity changing? Are gender roles starting to overlap and becoming socially acceptable? And to the men out there: what do you think about 100-calorie packs being promoted by women, Hungry Man dinners being specifically aimed for men, and the different associations that these ads make with light beer as being a feminine thing (as with the Jessica Simpson ad) or something which can apply to manliness (as with the "fightin' weight" ad)?
