Goffman’s categories in Van’s advertisements
Ad One:
Feminine Touch: Notice all the women in this ad are touching themselves or something in some way, and you can see all of their hands. It seems to be more femenine touch than unintentional since most of them just have their hands resting there which gives the impression that their touch is gentle
Licensed Withdrawal: Notice that none of the women are looking at the camera. This is often paired with people dressed scantily, which we can clearly see is not the case in this ad. In this instance, the vire just feels like they’re looking in on an interaction between friends.
Ad Two:
https://dailyskatetube.com/wp-content/uploads/philadelphia-demo-vans-skate-tea.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_4yPvwYQVh0/maxresdefault.jpg
This ad only shows licensed withdrawal, and it’s for the reaction that is commonly seen in ads with action, where the intention is to look in at what she’s doing rather than at her body.
Ad Three:
https://dailyskatetube.com/wp-content/uploads/chicago-demo-vans-skate-team-ska.jpg
Notice that this ad is very similar to Ad Two of the woman. They are completing the same action and their positions are very similar and the camera angle is also similar.
When I was looking at ads for vans, I noticed that there are very few featuring people. The majority of vans ads are just pictures of shoes so I had very few to pick from. In general, it doesn’t seem like they represent men and women all that differently.
Shared by: Marie Smith
Image Credit: https://media-assets-02.thedrum.com/cache/images/thedrum-prod/s3-news-tmp-170067-vanguards--default--1280.jpg