Consumer Culture, Modernity and Identity by Mathur Nita;

Author:Mathur, Nita;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SAGE Publications India Pvt, Ltd.

Figure 7.3:

1988 Virginia Slims ad

Although ‘Lights’ and ‘Ultra Lights’ continue to be the dominant Virginia Slims types, the phrase does not appear as a highlighted caption in the 1988 ad as it used to and the package does not appear either. No doubt this ‘heavy’ woman contradicts the ‘light’ image and the ad connotes instead power and (a dubious) progress for women rather than slimness or lightness. Yet the woman's teased and flowing blonde hair, her perfect teeth which form an obliging smile, and especially her crotch positioned in the ad in a highly suggestive and inviting fashion code her as a symbol of beauty and sexuality, albeit more autonomous and powerful.

The 1989 Virginia Slims ad, by contrast, depicts a more conventional image of woman, but one that is significantly different from the earlier, more traditional images of women in the ads. At the top of the 1989 ad, there are, once again, two vignettes in black and white that connote the bad old days for women. On the left, a working woman lights up a cigarette and angers her boss. Below, however, the beautiful Virginia Slims woman confidently and happily holds the cigarette in her hand. The ad as a whole connotes the standard message of progress, linking Virginia Slims to the ‘modern woman’ who has progressed from oppressed servant of men to independent subject of her own life.

The appearance of the 1989 Virginia Slims woman contributes to this message. Her hair is teased, her make-up is perfect, her smile is dazzling, and her clothes are flamboyant. Indeed, the woman could easily be a model for a fashion ad: she wears long, phallic ear-rings to connote her (quasi-masculine) power; the earrings are also mismatched, connotating her independence, style and non-conformity. The ‘loud’ red hat, carelessly strewn over her shoulder also connotes her individuality while the bright red shirt, which exposes both her shoulders and part of her stomach, connotes daring and sexuality. The gold bracelet on her wrist connotes luxury and fashion, while the belt with the silver buckle and the exotic short shirt connotes colourfulness and creative individual fashion. Thus, the Virginia Slims cigarette is not only associated with modernity and progress, but also with individuality, sexuality, fashion and style.

The point I am trying to make is that it is precisely the images that are the vehicles of the subject positions and that therefore critical literacy in a contemporary image culture and consumer society requires learning how to read images critically and to unpack the relations between images, texts, social trends and products in commercial culture (Kellner, 1995). My reading of these ads suggests that advertising is as concerned with selling life-styles and socially desirable identities, which are associated with their products, as with selling the product themselves or rather, that advertisers use the symbolic constructs with which the consumer is invited to identify to try to induce her to use their product. Thus, the Marlboro man (i.e. the consumer who smokes the cigarette) is smoking masculinity or

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