The photo above is of a Kenneth Cole ad that has appeared in many fashion magazines over the summer. It is part of the company’s most recent advertising campaign, which makes a bold cultural (and political) statement about where they stand on the abortion issue. Kenneth Cole attempts to build a signifier/signified relationship in the mind’s of his customers, making them link the signifier Pro-Choice with his signified product, women’s handbags.
The woman in the ad is standing tall and has a serious expression. The angle of the photo is from below, looking up at her, which makes her look powerful. The ad asks the viewer “Where do you stand?” This forces the viewer to make a choice, either you are with us or against us, no middle ground. This seems to speak to the greater idea of the polarized ideologies that surround the abortion debate, it must be either black or white, and you have to pick one side or the other.
However, right in the center of the ad, in the woman’s arms, are two Kenneth Cole handbags, let us not forget that this is still an advertisement. Since the time this ad was fist published, Cole has come under fire from Pro-Life groups arguing that Cole is demeaning and exploiting the abortion debate by using it to sell his purses. The following two articles are from one Pro-Choice blog and one Pro-Life blog which both address the Kenneth Cole ad:
- Pro-Life: http://www.jillstanek.com/2011/09/kenneth-cole-pro-choice-on-purses-and-abortion/
- Pro-Choice: http://feministsforchoice.com/abortion-in-advertising.htm
I found all the hype around this campaign to be very interesting. Usually, it seems that American culture tends to praise companies for being socially aware and interested in cultural or political issues beyond just making a profit. Yet, in this case, they are taking criticism for using Pro-Choice social arguments where they supposedly don’t belong: in a handbag ad.
I am interested to see what you all think about this.
I am not that fluent in Pop-culture I'm afraid, and I have never seen this image before. But when I was scrolling through the posts. This one really surprised me. (Which I'm sure was one of the goals of this advertisment)
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought that this ad was very disrespectful, not to any reason of my belief or otherwise, but rather because it is replacing the meaning of a child with a hand bag inside that quote. "Should it be a right for the woman to choose if she is the one carrying it" could mean for either a handbag, or a child. It seemed ironic that they would make an ad for "chosing" a handbag seem like it was just as important as "choosing" whether or not to keep a child.
However, after reading your description of what you read out of the advertisement, I was a lot more relaxed about the issue, to the point that I feel like I overreacted. (something you mentioned was happening alot). They are protraying that they are standing with pro-choice and by buying their handbags you are supporting pro-choice as well.
(WARNING: PERSONAL OPIONION FOLLOWING)I myself, am pro-choice with aided education. I do not believe abortion is right, but I will not restrict anybody else from making their own decision. I would rather spend money educate any woman within that situation on all her options, (because there are plenty of them out there) before she goes through with the abortion.
So within my case, I would like to support this company after knowing that they did not mean for this advertisment to be disrespectful to the importance of a child.
I would also like to mention, that the woman in the photo is not noticably pregnant. (could that be some sort of message as well in line with the pro-choice support? Maybe she was pregnant and not anymore?)
And the cement wall does make her look more strong and sturdy next to it. And the quote is spray-painted "graffti" which is a rebellious sign... so the ad itself is a rebellion to normal advertsing.
The fact that the image is in black and white makes everything seem more serious too...
A very interesting advertisment. Thank you for sharing!
I really liked how you read this image. I remember my first encounter with this ad and saying to myself, "Whoaaaaa, Kenneth Cole is taking a stand in the never-ending abortion debate while advertising their handbags?" Maybe they decided that they didn't mind the controversy, because even if it was negative it got people talking about them. I agree with your statement that the American culture is ironic in the way that it is fine when companies tackle issues like HIV/AIDS, starvation, whaling, but when a company associates themselves with something more controversial like abortion, political stance, gay marriage, etc, they seem to get scrutinized in every way possible. We are so controversial ourselves. :S
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