Here's what the student says:
It is about a commercial marketing a video game. The commercial stars Serena Williams; it seems as though it is too riske and won't be aired. However, people are questioning why it won't be aired. There are plenty of other commercials and billboards with half-naked athletes on them ... why not one more? Or is there something more behind their decision?
YouTube has pulled the ad off its site at the request of the company that produced it, so it's difficult to judge the situation. The description makes it sound as if the commercial uses common advertising conventions: scantily clad women simulating sexual pleasure and availability for the consumption of a mostly heterosexual male market. Why was this considered over-the-top? Why draw the line here?
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2 comments:
I do not know why this commercial did not go on the air exactly. From the discribtion and what I read it didnt seem any worse than the commericals we see everyday. With the moaning I know herbal essence, which is a sampoo company, has a women in the shower making many moaning like sounds and those were on the air. And as for half naked people both men and women are shown with little clothing. I guess the only thing I can think of is the combination of the outfits, the sounds, and the women that sent it too far over the edge. I also read that Serena was excited for the video to come out and was tweeting about it, so if all participants agree do it, then why not air it? Many people say, "Sex sells" so I don't see how this would be any different. Wish I could have seen the commercial to compare it to other commercials that are on TV today.
Knowing that the video game market is mainly dominated by males I can see why 2K would want to make a video game commercial with one of the most dominant tennis players in the world who wears skimpy outfits to try and boost sales to males. In response to the original post to answer the question "Why draw the line here" it is possible that 2K decided that the video was to sexual for its target audience. In this I mean that they are trying to target younger children whose parents usually buy the games for them and if the parents saw this commercial on TV it might make them more hesitant to buy the game for them. Also it is possible that 2K doesn't want their company image to be seen as using sexy women just to boost sales to their target audience.
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