Pumping Irony

Smith argues that the reason the advertising industry has failed miserably in upholding the assertions made by the feminists of the ‘60s and ‘70s to discontinue objectifying women, and has gotten away with it, is because of humor and irony. In a post-feminist era both men and women (certainly not all) recognize that gender is a social construct, not something we are bound to or destined by nature to be. This realization has made many more consumers skeptical of what they are being sold; they might wonder whether they are being encouraged to buy something because they are a man or woman. To combat this growing skepticism, one company in particular (Jim Beam Whiskey)—and I’m sure many others are doing this as well—employed the use of humor and irony to distract its target audience (young, white, middle class men) from the fact that it was selling alcohol to them because of their gender.

Many of their print ads appeal to the modern “masculine” lifestyle for young white males, which involves drinking, being lazy, ogling at girls, and going to concerts; these activities are recognizable and attractive. The ads are also paired with catch phrases that suggest friendliness and inclusion in that they are making fun of the things that would normally annoy or upset men, namely, the things a nagging woman in their life would do to them. The phrases are meant to make fun of different scenarios such as when a girlfriend bitches about what her partner has been up to. Jim Beam consistently shows that drinking their product provides an escape from bothersome situations like this, that only real men can understand (wink, wink). Unfortunately, this type of advertising seems to be working really well; once again advertising has successfully brushed over issues of equality and respect, and has continued to encourage the polarity of gender roles. But this time, they have an excuse; they’re only kidding, right?