What do you think of advertisements for fitness equipment featuring women?
Tags: bisexual women, fitness center, instant gratification, lesbians, mindset, ponytail, pr0n, suspicion, sweats, target heart rate, treadmill, woman in spandex
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March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Same reason why advertisements don’t show a woman shaving her hairy legs when they are trying to sell razors or shaving cream. It’s always a woman shaving her already hairless legs. Or the same reason why models in spanx ads have fit bodies and don’t need body shaping hosiery for "support". Showing reality doesn’t always sell products. (Infomercials and "before and after" advertisements can be an exception, but normally people don’t want to be presented with realism when they are being targeted for advertising.) I don’t think many people want to see a sweaty fat man with armpit stains when they are buying exercise machines.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
My suspicion: they want to have women associate the use of the product with the promised result – slim, fit, confident (and confident means not sweating in most situations) even if the actual use of the product is much less "glamorous".
I think you’ve pretty much got it covered.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
So you’re going to buy a Bowflex because of jealousy?
Mission accomplished.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
‘Aspirational marketing’
The girl is used to appeal to female buyer who wants to look like her.
Same advert is used with a man to hit the other demographic.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Yup, that’s what it is. Advertisers betting on women being "slaves to their insecurities".
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Whenever I see these ads, my mind gravitates to the idea that ’sex sells’ too. But if the same ad featured a man on a machine, who was fit grunting and perspiring, I doubt I’d feel the same.
I think these ads do use sex to sell the machines, but do not sexualise the women in them. The idea that the images we are seeing are sexual seems to come from prior objectification of women. Hence, even something as simple as seeing a woman workout becomes sensual.
As to your second question, people in commercials are going to be the people we ‘want to be’, so they’d always be trim, happy, polished. If women see another woman struggling on a treadmill in grungy sweats, they’d most likely be dissuaded from buying the product.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
The female form is generally more visually appealing by the male form. I’ve even known straight women who can admire (non-sexually) other women’s bodies.
I go to a gym and see posters of both very fit men and women sweating as promotions for brands of equipment. I don’t really pay much attention to them other than "Yeah, if I was paid to workout many hours a day, I could probably look almost like him."
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Yes to all of the above. Sex sells. Image sells.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Ads never use models who resemble real folks from real life. Not men, not women. This is a gender-beyond thing. Normal, regular, people are too "ordinary" for the media, where even the janitors probably have to look like famous people. Tall, lean, perfect bodies. Sculpted males, nubile females. And always with perfect skin, fine clothing, etc.
That’s television/movies etc. for you. No normal humanoids allowed!
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
I actually think the women ought to be a little sweatier as well.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Its the common, use this product and you will look exactly like them.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
The people in the fitness ads are supposed to represent what the insecure consumer wants to look like. This will prompt them to buy the product.
Also, I agree that they should sweat more. It’s unrealistic otherwise… but then most ads are.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
That’s pretty obvious.
Many women will claim they want to be physically fit "for themselves." Liars. They want to impress men.
Why are they dolled up? The implicit claim, or not so implicit, is that if you use that product, you too, can be a smoking hot piece of a$$ like these girls.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
People who are buying a piece of exercise equipment (instead of going to the gym) are probably out of shape and taking that first step to coming back.
Images of people sweating are probably too hard core for them where they are.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
its a sad day when women have to use her body to get something sold
March 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Seeing a girl on those Bowflex and PX90 infomercials is much more visually appealing than seeing a ripped guy doing the same exercise. I mean if you go to your local gym, those fit athletic girls know they are hott and wear those revealing, tight spandex – some like it for the show or just for a booty call. Sex only sells up to a certain point.