English
Advertisements are made with an already formulated target audience in mind. The media has put together efforts that aim at maximizing their reach to the target audience so as to guarantee sales at the end of the day, like prime time advertising. Advertisements tend to sell perfection, especially when targeting a huge market base like women or teens, and sell an idea of fixing a problem that could be common among the target audience(Craig’s Article,2006). An example of such is the Quick Trim, which is a weight loss program that largely targets women, and tries to paint an illusionary image of the ultimate Women’s Woman.
Quick Trim is advertised using images of Kim and Khloe Kardashian, who are celebrities and idols in the USA. They have a huge follower base and having their image on the advertisements was a great boost for sales. The use of the Kardashians for advertisement is to give an image of the body that a woman should have and offers a diet program that promises to help women cut enough weight through a 7-day program,as highlighted on the product’s website, www.quicktrim.net.au.The effect of such advertising on the public is overwhelming. The timing of these advertisements is impeccable, especially the television advertisements.
Beauty has been defined by society and such illustrations used as examples of the dreams and desired look, which in turn are used to influence the target population to subscribe to the products, portraying the gender stereotypes in the society (Craig’s Article,2006). The advertisers of Quick Trim by large managed to capture the imagination of young women, and offered a ‘way out’ for them; a way to achieving the ultimate female look.
Steve Craig, in ‘Men’s Men and Women’s Women, displays a belief that advertisers structure the images of men and women in commercials in order to be in sync with the fantasies and expectations of the target audience (Craig Article, 1990). This creates a motivation and excitement towards the product as in the case of Quick Trim, where women, in large numbers, subscribed to the Quick Trim program seeking the ultimate body shape- the ultimate woman’s body shape. The issue, however, is if this stereotype holds, and if the product actually delivers what it sells, as protrayed in the following quotation from Nicolas’ book.
‘Beyond the principle of utility, it becomes more and more important to associate a principle of pleasure to the value. The useful must be linked to the beautiful, the rational to the imaginary, the indispensable to the superfluous’(Nicolas,1988).
The strategy adopted by advertisers of Quick Trim is to offer a way to acquire an attractive body and maintain it. The success of this strategy cannot be understated, going with the response to the product, as there was widespread subscription across the USA by women from all states. This is largely a result of intense advertising and use of celebrities with a big fan base in the advertisement. However, there were widespread complaints and even lawsuits filed by the subscribers due to the effects of using the program from across the country. This uproar led to Quick Trim being labeled as very dangerous, with experts saying it touts ‘benefits that do not exist’. This, therefore, underlines the fact that these advertisements mostly have content that may not entirely be true.
Works Cited
"Diet Pill Dangers: Kardashian-Endorsed QuickTrim & Other Diet Pills Can Be Harmful, Not Helpful." Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2014. <http://voices.yahoo.com/diet-pill-dangers-kardashian-endorsed-quicktrim-other-11039110.html>.
Craig, Steve. "Men's Men and Women's Women." Signs of LIfe in the U.S.A.: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's: Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon, 2006. 161-72. Print.
"Quick Trim Weightloss Clinic." Quick Trim Weightloss Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. <http://www.quicktrimclinic.com/>.
"Quick Trim commercial - Live the dream." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Jan. 2010. Web. 18 Jan. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q69Igo7xcGA&noredirect=1>.
