Flipping through a fashion magazine, one might notice that at least half of the content is made up of advertisements. Upon further inspection, one might notice that a common feature of these ads is they contain simply a photo of a model, then what is presumed to be a brand name placed along with it. There's no specific mention of a product. There's no stated claims about what the product will do for you. It's all about the brand names. Take this lovely lady:
What is she selling us? The hat? The bed sheets? The golden air conditioning unit? It wouldn't be clear to you; Not unless you're aware that Guess is an upscale clothing brand. That right there is what they're relying on, they need you to know that their name is to be associated with high fashion. The advertisers are utilizing reification; At this point the name means more. They could try to tell you that Guess brand jeans are the highest quality on the market. This is supposed to be implied at this point. The consumer is supposed to know that it is an expensive and "high-quality" brand. |
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There are other factors to these, commercials, too. All of the models are white, and stick thin. They could be saying that fashion is only for white, skinny people. Or their fashion, at least. There is also an heir of sexuality to some of these ads. In the Guess ad, she is wearing a rather revealing outfit, and it is staged in a trashed hotel room. However, it is particularly evident in the Tom Ford ad, as a singular woman is pictured in a room of shirtless men, who are holding her up.
These factors aside, I see the reification as the most glaringly evident feature of the advertisements. They are taking advertisement to a level where mention of the product is deemed unnecessary, and the consumer is thought to just know what is being sold.
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