top of page

Mango Slice Ad being Provocative

This ad featuring Katrina Kaif was infamous when it was originally launched. It was initially targeted by the religious parties for being too 'provocative' However; one must not misunderstand the criticism of this ad as labeling it too vulgar or provocative. Instead, it is the sexualizing of women simply for their bodies in an advertisement that was the issue. In comparison, one would see men in advertisements in essential roles, sportsmen, businessmen, and actors having exclusive content in promoting products. However, when it came to women, the ads would feature women's overtly photoshopped and excessively airbrushed faces—indicating to society and consumers the desirability of women just in conjunction with their bodies. Often this will be defended by big capitalists with the motto, 'sex sells'; however, they fail to realize the implications of using sex as a selling point. It is not as if this motto affects men and women equally. Women constantly face the brunt of such philosophies as their use encourages the sexualization of women to the point where it is all they are seen for. It would go well if advertisements also feature women in the same wholesome capacity as men.


 
 
 

Recent Posts

See All

16 Kommentare


Sana Khan
07. Aug. 2022

Areej this is such an important issue! I have always been bothered by commercials that use women as a luring object to sensualize their product. You might have seen ads of Lux, Samsol, Veet, and various hair dyes where the models in the commercial are sensualized and only using the product which the ad is about to lure men (in one hair cream ad you can literally see a man creepily stroking mehwish hayat's arms and she being creepily happy about it because the cream she used served the purpose - appearing desirable to a man). You're right in saying that the producers use the "sex sells" idea here, and so they use that to advertise women's products, but what…

Gefällt mir
Areej Tauheed
07. Aug. 2022
Antwort an

The problem is that they never do such things for a man. Why is a woman always targeted and victimized? Thank you for giving such good examples. Suppose we say that lux made these moves, so one can even justify that in n someway. But there was no need to do this just for mango juice. Even when we see the ad, we can see that the mango was shown less, and her body, clothes, and facial features were used more to attract attention.

Gefällt mir

24020352
07. Aug. 2022

I think as a consequence, women try and live up to those photoshop standards because the reproduction of this sexualization of women establishes, in their minds, that that's the only way they're desirable. This has spilled over into social media too where its just a race to the most likes and most story views. This is a sad situation and it needs an immediate and consistent antidote.

Gefällt mir
Areej Tauheed
07. Aug. 2022
Antwort an

Precisely if we talk about the fake Instagram reality and how celebrities have created such unmeetable standards that one can never be satisfied with themselves and is always under the pressure of wanting more, looking more good, and not being comfortable in what we are.

Gefällt mir

This ad made me uncomfortable the first time I watched it when it came out and I was too young to understand what was bothering me so I thought maybe its too provocative. As a 10 year old, I probably wasn't the target audience for such an advertisement which is why it didn't make any sense in the first place and definitely did not encourage me to buy Slice. However, as a 21 year old watching this ad I have understood the reason for it and it doesn't at any level make me feel any better than what I did as a child. It is still uncomfortable to watch and to know the rationale behind the producers mind is even…


Gefällt mir
Areej Tauheed
06. Aug. 2022
Antwort an

I completely agree with your take! Media plays a huge role in our mindsets as children, and watching such ads can cultivate the wrong standards for beauty and success. I appreciate you pointing out Milo as an example of commendable ads. This proves the need for intelligent marketing. The fact that Milo has already proved intelligent and mindful marketing effective should be taken as a benchmark for all ad makers.

Gefällt mir

Thankyou Areej!


I agree with you actually Marketers believe that sexual appeal advertisement is a sturdy tools in ensuring the effectiveness of delivery of advertisement.

These marketer should change these misconceptions and construct a better image of women in a dignified manner so that her role is ensured to bring a change in the society.

Gefällt mir
Areej Tauheed
06. Aug. 2022
Antwort an

Thank you for agreeing with me! Sexual appeal as an advertisement tool has continued to harm more women than men. With our country's existing precarious conditions for women safety, these ads do nothing more than convince the masses of women being disposable, and only deserving of male appreciation for their bodies.

Gefällt mir

Jehangir Ali Shah
01. Aug. 2022

I think it is not a new thing for brands and products to associate themselves with celebrities to build an association in the minds of all those who are watching. The juice ads featuring Katrina Kaif were sort of an innovative venture because as far as I can remember it was the first time seeing a juice ad with such strong emotional overtones. Notice how I did not use the word sexual? Why should I?


There was nothing sexual about the advertisement if you ask me? Neither are there any sexually explicit scenes or behaviors engaged in the ads. It simply shows Kaif longing for the slice juice which she has in a sultry manner. Maybe we can say that…


Gefällt mir
Areej Tauheed
06. Aug. 2022
Antwort an

I agree with you about this being a media issue. Media has sexualised men and women both in advertisements for far too long. However, in a male dominated country such as Pakistan, the fact remains true that something that is negative for both men and women, ultimately ends up harming women more. Whether this be because of it feeding into an existing bias about women being deserving of only 'sultry' roles, or that women in our society should be adhering to such beauty standards. Whatever the implications of an ad sensualising a man may be, ultimately, a man's position in a workplace and in our society remains cemented. No one is going to view a man in a more sensualised…

Gefällt mir
Post: Blog2_Post

Subscribe Form

Thanks for submitting!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

©2020 by EDU 274: Media Policy Project. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page