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| Weight Watchers Small ad http://inthecrowds.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/weight-watchers-the-heavy-hitter-in-the-weight-loss-wars/ |
This advertisement of Charles Barkley that represents a company called "Weight Watchers" is to encourage women and men to lose weight and get in shape. The advertisement wants people to accept "good" lost to win the perfect body they have desired for years.
At the first glance, the advertisement has a quote by Charles Barkley that says "Lose like a guy who hates losing, as a professional athlete and lifelong competitor, losing is something I've never enjoyed. Until now." Also, the advertisement includes Charles Barkley holding a basket ball with a straight face showing no emotions and at the bottom of the quote there is Barkley's signature for approval of the quote (so people can believe it is actually Barkley saying that).
When Barkley says "Lose like a guy," he is encouraging women who need to lose weight with comparing them to male athletes who hate losing and are extremely competitive. Also, the phrase "Who hates losing," means be like an athlete who does not accept lost and pushes themselves toward becoming better because of lost.
The advertisement encourages people to lose weight by showing that even Charles Barkley lost weight even though he does not except lost.
However, looking at the picture with a closer lens. Charles Barkley is a professional athlete that has been exercising for almost his whole life so he is healthy and probably has a fit body to be a successful athlete. The advertisement presents Barkley as one of their clients that enjoyed "losing" even though he is one of the guys who hate losing by his saying "Losing is something I've never enjoyed. Until now."
Basically, the advertisement says if a well known athlete can accept losing to win his perfect body than you surely can.
The advertisement's mean target are men and women who need someone to support their self-esteem and help them believe that they can lose weight just like Charles Barkley did. The company targets people who are willing to pay for the diet program that the company has to offer. People around the world join Weight Watchers because they can economically afford it and the program is probably well known in their country.
Furthermore, the advertisement represents gluttony because it encourages people to stop eating fatty foods or "Bad" food for the goal of losing weight and fulfilling their desire for food without feeling guilty. In addition, it represents sloth because the mean aim of Weight Watcher is to encourage people to get off the couch, stop being lazy and respect their bodies by giving themselves time off to hit the gym or even walk around their neighborhood.
Examining the advertisement as a whole, the representation of a black male athlete shows the diversity of the company and the members of that company because stereotypes usually consider black male athletes being well structured and have better muscles than other athlete just because of their color. However, showing a male athlete presents the idea of every body wants to lose weight and focus on the idea of not only women and men how are overweight want to get in shape but also lifelong professional athletes.
