Repesentation in Skyy Vodka Advertising

Women have become increasingly objectified in advertisements over the years. Alcohol advertisements especially objectify women by seeing them simply as objects. After analyzing four Skyy Vodka advertisements, I realized that they all dehumanize and objectify women. The discrimination of women is clearly shown in their advertisements by being sexualized objects. Women’s bodies are fragmented into parts, instead of being represented as human beings. It also shows how men use their money to degrade and control women. Male dominance is strongly emphasized in these advertisements by showing that women are subordinate to men.

All four advertisements belittle women by showing male dominance. For example, one advertisement shows a man standing firmly over the women with his hands clenching the Skyy Vodka and two glasses. This suggests that she has no choice but to have a drink with him. The representation of the women lying down and the man standing over her implies that she is dependent on him and he is self-reliant. This is showing the viewer that it is acceptable for women to be subordinate to men. The pictures portray the woman in a bathing suit and a male in a work suit to identify the power men hold over women. It emphasizes that the duties of a male are to bring home the money and to work hard, while the female relaxes. This advertisement belittles the woman and shows how she is some sort of property to him. This is also shown in another advertisement where the male is laying on top of female drinking Skyy vodka as money surrounds them. This shows how women depend on a male, or should, to unwind and let men take care of them. It also indicates how men can use their money to control women. It constructs men as powerful or dominant and women as weak or submissive.

Many advertisements create the allusion that purchasing the product will make one happy. In Skyy Vodka advertisements, linking the product being advertised to the good life or that, which makes people happy, shows this. Skyy Vodka uses the idea of vacation and relaxation to target the public; they specifically use a beach setting with a young girl in a swimsuit to promote relaxation and serenity. These ads associate their alcoholic beverage with having the ideal life of retreat. The marketing team targets men by using young, attractive women to connect the idea of drinking Skyy Vodka with having relations with good-looking women. This marketing tactic degrades women portraying they are easy by having them dressed in little clothing.

Skyy Vodka usually uses an island or beach for the background where a woman seems to be relaxing or on vacation. For example one advertisement shows two women on an airplane with a man drinking Skyy Vodka. This is associating the alcoholic beverage with happiness or the good life because they are on vacation. This also makes the men feel that by buying Skyy Vodka they can get idealized women. The female models serve as eye-catchers that create a feeling of sexual desire and lust. Skyy Vodka advertisements show women as sexualized and eroticized objects. In all of their advertisements the women are thin, tan, and have big well-rounded breasts. The women in the ads are usually wearing little clothing and are using their sex appeal to attract the men. For example one advertisement shows a man and two women on a plane drinking Skyy Vodka with only their legs showing. This proves that the women are being degraded because the ad is fragmenting the bodies of the women into parts. By emphasizing their bare legs, the women are not being represented as human beings. Another example is an ad where a women is in a revealing bathing suit seducing a man while they drink Skyy Vodka. This ad creates the image of a perfect body or ideal standard of beauty. The lack of clothing and sexual attractiveness seems to be the main reason why the man wants to have a drink with her. This sends the message to women that their popularity with men is reliant on how beautiful they are and how well they fit in this ideal standard of beauty.

Advertisements like these make women conform to these ideal standard of beauties or keep their adolescent figures for men by going on diets, exercising, or feeling guilty about food. Although Skyy Vodka may be very successful in selling their products, they are approaching their advertising process in the wrong way. They are sexualizing their advertisements and using women and certain body parts to sell their products, instead of using the product itself. This is not only showing women in a negative light but also could cause many underlying situations may result from their advertisements. For example, these advertisements are too sexual for children to see and if they do see them it could influence their decisions. They are also teaching children that if a person drinks Skyy Vodka, they are going to be rich and surrounded by beautiful women. The main reason that sky advertisements are negative is because of the way they portray women. Their body parts are fragmented which shows that they are seen as objects and not as human beings. The fact that they are portrayed and used in such a negative light is belittling and demeaning.