Advertising - objectification

When advertising, it often helps to dehumanize, inadvertently of course, and objectify an entire class of people. Think fairness creams and how they almost dehumanize the dark-skinned.
In this case, the ad for Durex condoms, plastered on the Garuda Mall in Bangalore, is aimed at achieving a sexual objectification of females. The pusillanimous will surely point out that the ad attracted attention and aided brand recall, which is the aim of most advertising, so what's wrong with it? Others will take refuge in the claim that the ad is not meant to appeal to everyone, and that it is "edgy", "pushes the envelope", and if it offends anyone they are, well, jolly well free to look elsewhere.

© 2010, Abhinav Agarwal. All rights reserved.