Women in Advertising: !

The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !

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Women in Advertising: The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !
Cristian Armendariz!
University of Texas at El Paso!

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Women in Advertising: !
The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !

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Advertising has been around around for centuries and can date back as far as

4000 BC. It has been a successful way for people to sell, buy and inform others about
products, services and ideas. It is a strong tool that is used to pursue people into
thinking and acting a certain way. In modern time we have seen how advertising has
had a strong influence on a verity to demographics. We have also seen that advertising
can also set gender roles and create stereotypes in society. Although viewed mostly in
negative forms propaganda advertising has helped America tremendously. They best
example is Rosie the Riveter. She was created to call women to step up to the work
force and help drive the economy while the men, troops, were away at war. !
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My aim for this paper is to demonstrate the impact fullness of advertising and

how it is currently calling women to change their thoughts about social and gender
normalities, which have been set by previous ads, and to become more confident and
self-dependent. We will be analyzing two different genres that target the same gender
but different age groups. First I will break down the Gatorade, Get Her Back in the
Game commercial and compare it to the This Girl Can website and print ads. After
addressing the purpose and demographics I will then address the rhetoric tools used to
deliver the respected messages successfully. !
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These ads are successful in deliverance in their own way and iterate the

importance of female self confidence and physical activity. Women should be able to
feel comfortable in their skin and not fall into the directions and standards that have
been established my marketer and adverts. With these campaigns, women are
empowered to take charge and reach their full potential as leaders and role models
though living a active life. !

Women in Advertising: !
The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !

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Audience and Purpose!
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Keeping Her in the Game in targeting two sets of people. The first and obvious

group is the 14 year old girl. The second is the parents, siblings, family members or any
person who has a influential impact on a young female life. The audience is made clear
because of the statistic that is given during the commercial. The second audience is a
bit arbitrary but can be determined by the ending line of the ad, don't let them walk
away from their potential. If this was a line that was meant to be delivered to the 14
year old girls to would state something along the lines of, dont walk away from YOUR
potential. !
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The purpose of this message is to inform and persuade young women to remain

in sports and learn more, become more self confident and to break from media
established gender roles. Young women are being bombarded with media messages
that are using lines such as are your abs bikini ready, how to loose 10 pounds, and
how to dress like a star. These lines give women in general the wrong impressions
and effects their self-confidence, body image and role in society. These ads are telling
women what to be, how to dress and how to look. These ads, as depicted in the
commercial are robbing young girls of the benefits and enjoyment of sports and
realizing their potential.!
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The next campaign This Girl Can is a campaign that is currently running in the

United Kingdom. This campaign aims to advocate for change and empower women to
feel more confident with their bodies and live a active lifestyle. It is a celebration of
active women up and down the country who are doing their own thing no matter how

Women in Advertising: !
The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !

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we'll they do it, how they look or ever how red their faces get. There is not a specified
target range and when looking at all the print and video on their website you can see
that it aim to inspire all ages of women to live a active lifestyle across a large spectrum
of sports and activities. The website is also a place where women can go and discover
new sports and activities. They are able to read more about what the activities entail
and helps them decide if it is for them. There are also videos of women of all ages, the
youngest being 13, showing how they get active, what actives they love to do and giving
their testimonial on why you shouldn't care about what anyone thinks. This campaign
also pushes women to feel beautiful even when they are sweaty and are red in the
face. !
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Both ads target women and begin around the same again group. The This Girl

Can campaign though continues on with their ages though and isn't just for young
women. They both emphasize on the principle that staying active and being involved in
sports or any physical activities is importance and helps develop women. There are also
no celebrities in either campaigns and you only see real women. The Gatorade ad
though is safe to assume that is comprised of all young female actors and to real
women in society in the This Girl Can Campaigns. What is important is that both are
advocating for getting away from what society thinks and what it pushes on women and
to be active and play they sports you want to play. !

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Rhetoric Issues!
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When discussing the effectiveness of Gatorades Keep Her in the Game ad we

can brake it down into the 3 topics ethos, pathos and logos. When analyzing the

Women in Advertising: !
The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !

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credibility the only things that we can go off of are the sponsors and the statistic given.
Gatorade is a well recognized brand that specializes in athlete refreshments. They have
used many professional athletes and celebrities to create a credible brand over the
years. Although this commercial didn't have an endorsers the brand alone adds
credibility. This also applies to the Womens Sports Foundation. This foundation would
not release any false information because it would damage their reputation and
credibility. The stat is When society bombards them with messages like these its no
wonder that by the age of 14 girls drop out of sports at twice the age that boys do. !
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The commercial also grabs their audience by starting off the ad with a girl

stopping to kick the ball into the goal post. This adds a dramatic effect that shows the
audience how easily society can stop a young women, distract her and influence her to
be what they want her to be or want her to buy. The girls in the commercial also transfer
in front of us, on the field and are presented to us with heavily applied make up, skimpy
clothes and are struggling to walk in their high heels. This transformations get the idea
across that these girls are not yet ready to be dressing they way the are or needing to
grow up so quickly. There is also a key part at the end of the commercial, where there
is a girl with a blank look on her face, watching her team mates leaving the field. This
face portrays innocence and is purposely done to captivate the audience and had a
dramatic effect making the message more impactful. The choice of background noise
was also dramatic and gave a erie feel with helped set the tone for the ad and
seriousness of it. It is almost as a plead for help. !
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Lastly for the gatorade aid we will talk about logos and describe how the ad

made logical sense. The commercial successfully delivers their message with the use of

Women in Advertising: !
The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !

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their statistic and also when recreating the ads that were being over voiced on the
intercom. The recreated advertisements were very generic but at the same time very
familiar. It is a well know fact about the kind of facts that are being throw out into the
public that specifically target the female audience. !
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In comparison the This Girl Can campaign gains their credibility though the Sport

England foundation. The campaign also gains more credibility thought the multiple or
partners that have backed them. It also gains more with the use of real women in their
videos, print and testimonials. There is a strange form on credibility because th
information about the sports are presented buy real women and not professionals but it
is coming from people who have been doing theses sports and activities for a while. !
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This website is different compared to the Gatorade ad because it is able to

provide more color and it gives the audience more of a up lifting vibe. Their song choice
is also different because they have chosen to you Missy Elliot's Get your Freak on
which makes it seem like a lot more fun and in a way empowering. Unlike the
commercial the website proves personal stories and bios and gives the audience
different aspects and makes them able to place themselves in those roles or able to
relate. This campaign is also a bit comical and go lucky because if the random shots or
bathing suit adjusting, faces being mad and also about they emotions and reactions that
each woman is making while performing their activities. There is no real symbolism that
can be directly perceived, if any would be the red faces and sweat. These two things
help with the idea that they want women to embrace it and not let it get in their way, that
it isn't something to be ashamed up but rather proud of, which triggers the feeling of
empowerment. !

Women in Advertising: !
The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !

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This campaign is very logical because of the indirect fact the women aren't really

big on sports and there is definitely a different idea of women in society. Women are to
be pretty and are not portrayed to be sweaty and gross. This makes sense to
showcase women working up a sweat, enjoying their activity and reform what society
thinks and wants them to be. There are no statistics presented in this campaign but
others such as the Gatorade commercial has brought the issues to light. What the This
Girl Can campaign relies on are the real women that are all over their website, print and
videos. There is no real intellectual appeal but there is a call to change negative words,
defended by society and media, and play on them to make them sound less offensive
and show women that no one should care. There is a print that read sweating like a
pig, feeling like a fox. Things like this raise an eyebrow but yet draw in the attention of
the audience and raises curiosity. Once you know what the campaign is about this same
print then changes and become a inspiring ad and you, in a way, being to hear the
music and carry on a confident attitude. Unlike the Gatorade commercial that is
primarily to inform rather than advocating for a lifestyle and attitude. !

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Structure and Delivery!
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The Keep her in the Game spot is short 45 sec commercial that has not wasted

space and is very clear and direct to their message. There is a erie feel to the
announcement made about how ads bombard young girls. What would be important to
realize is that they provide a visual for the the statistic given and show about half of the
girls leaving the field. It gives the audience a realization about how important the issue
is and how it effects sports teams. Another key element is that they end the with a call to

Women in Advertising: !
The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !

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action and the last clip before the credit is a soft straight face of a young girl. This
ending adds personality, dramatic effect and an emotional aspect that grabs the
audiences attention.
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This Girl Can campaign doesn't show how long it will last or run but seems to be

a website that will remain online for a while until there is a lack of funds or until their
goal is obtained and adopted. Is is a upbeat website and in a way silly though some of
the print and showing women breaking their hard working faces with a smile and laugh
every so often. Their song of choice, Get Your Freak On by Missy Elliot, is very fitting
because it adds the grudginess that is needed but also provides for a fun and
empowering feel. The layout of the website is very easy to navigate and is clear who
and what the messages are. It is full of visuals but is easy o understand because the
home page doesn't have very many and is only print, stating what their purpose is. !

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Both Ads and campaigns have shown to be successful in their tactics to reach

their audience and make their issue heard. They have both understood the effect that
social media and society has on young women and women of all ages. They both tackle
the responsibility to show women that they do not have to fall into the social norms or
forms of meaning of a women in society. They have both made it clear that there is a
importance in living active lifestyle and ability to reach their potential though sports and
other activities and you do not have to be layered in makeup, wearing revealing
clothing, struggling to walk in heals or have beach ready abs. The aims for these are to
empower women and make them feel confident in who they are and ignore the loud
intercom of society. !My goal for this paper was to demonstrate the how much of an

Women in Advertising: !
The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !

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impact advertising has and how it is currently calling women to change their thoughts
about social and gender normalities. To address who had the better campaign I broke
down the tools and angles that each campaign had. For this analytical purpose This Girl
Can seemed more successful because of the way they use negative words with positive
images to get their message across and instead or using a impactful message they
went with a more real and relatable route. They also used a highly recognized song so
now when it plays over radio or any media device the audience will be recognize it and
die it back to the campaign, leaving a longer lasting impression. These ads are
successful in deliverance in their own way and iterate the importance of female self
confidence and physical activity. Women should be able to feel comfortable in their skin
and not fall into the directions and standards that have been established my marketers
and adverts.. !

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Women in Advertising: !
The importance of Sports and Physical Exercise !

References!

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Video!
Gatorade. (2012, June 19) . Keep Her in the Game !
posted to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URVYgTbbryE!

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Print/Website!
Meet The Girls - This Girl Can. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://
www.thisgirlcan.co.uk

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