Introduction

Dolce and Gabbana is an Italian fashion based business that primarily

deals with items classified as a luxury in the fashion industry. Dolce
and Gabbana are infamously known for their controversial ad
campaigns that have caused outbreaks of rage and discomfort by
viewers of such advertisements. This paper analyses specific ads from
this fashion conglomerate taking account shifts in advertising, media
and consumption since the 1990s, and illustrates the use of stereotypes
in advertisements, and why some campaigns are the subject of
controversy.
Dolce and Gabbana are famed for their sexy fashion advertisements, however in
2014 the company may have taken things a little too far. Their ad, promoting D&Gs
ready-to-wear collection for 2014 features a girl with a hazy expression surrounded by
five men, one bearing down on her. The advert received much criticism from the press
including Debonair Magazine who called it a glorification of gang rape. When
questioned about the campaign, Stefano Gabbana stated the advert was intended to
show an erotic dream, a sexual game. Despite the unclear nature of the ad, the
controversy only went on to raise Dolce & Gabbanas profile in the fashion industry.

Semiotics allows third-party members to analyze media texts, using

Barthes tri-dimensional model. This model includes of the signifier,
signified (collectively forming a sign), and the myth (Barthes, 2013).
When viewed on a signifier level (most literal meaning), these ads
represent males and females, who are partially nude and performing
very abstract activities, with letters mentioned on the ad. On the
signified level, the interpretation is much clearer, and it illustrates the
fact that the image is actually an advertisement for a company called
Dolce and Gabbana, and it shows attractive & toned men and women
in different stances of power relations (Refer to Appendix). The
signified usually involves prior knowledge and understanding of media
texts. Collectively, they form the sign. However, on the third and final
level, the myth includes a much wider approach to semiotics. It is a
sum of signs and a global sign, and in these ads, the myth is the
objectification of gender, the use of the gaze to indicated power
relations, and how consumer culture has evolved over the years in
regards to fitness and beauty. (Barthes, 2013, p.3).
Over the years, women have always been subjected to being the
secondary character in media, especially within advertisements. The

constant depiction of women in the kitchen, and the heavy dependence

of the man for help and support has been one of the key theme of
advertisements since the industrial revolution. However, women were
the primary targets by the fashion industry. Much to the point, where it
expanded to other industries. Bordo (1993) argues that womens beauty
is subtly mentioned in advertisements involving food and medicines.
The terms such as dive in were used by Haagen-Dazs while depicting
a man in view with ice-cream, as portraying a woman would bring about
issues revolving around diet and eating disorders. Using advertisements
such as sugar free Jell-O and Virginia Slims for women, illustrate that
being thin is beautiful, and women are not supposed to have a hearty
appetite as men (Bordo, 1993). Advertisers hire models on the basis of
their looks, and have a certain criteria to narrow down their selection
process, which states that the female model must be atleast 59 in
height, and have a dress size between 0-6 (Mears, 2009). Dolce and
Gabanna deals with high end fashion, and thus aims towards having
size 0 models for their advertisements, which is clearly indicated in both
the ads (Refer to Appendix). The definition of beauty is constantly
reminded to the general public by the fashion industry.
The food industry and the fashion industry are very much related in
todays world, as fashion redefines beauty, which results in changes in
diet and appetite for both male and females. However, the use sexuality
in both industries to advertise products have prevailed as a primary
marketing strategy to attract customers. The Dolce and Gabbana
advertisements use sex as a tool to grab the viewers attention, with
artistic representations of a particular setting on print. In the first
advertisement, the setting indicates that the male and female are about
to engage in coitus, followed by the rest of the men watching her. In the
second advertisement, the reminiscent feel of BDSM, indicates a sexual
scenario as well (Refer to Appendix). Previous advertisements;
from the food industry also attract men and women using sexual
innuendo. Bordo (1993) illustrates this using an example of Sugar Free
Jell-O, where the tag line of the advertisement states, Im a girl who
just cant say no. I insist on dessert. The specific use sugar free Jell-O
is also intriguing, as it indicates the dietary restraints of a woman to look
good according to the fashion industry, whilst the using sexual innuendo
overshadows the controversial aspect of eating disorders in women
such as anorexia (Bordo 1993).
The objectification of womens bodies is a central theme of such ads,
and is used by industries for capitalist gains (Mears, 2009).
Objectification of women is when a women is literally reduced to her
body parts and sexual behavior (Murrow, 2010, p.71). The first
advertisement was released out in 2007 for the companys spring
collection. It was intended to attract customers using key terms such as

an erotic dream and a sexual game, however it was met with

backlash by several viewers, as it involved a man holding down a
woman by her wrists, as other men watched. The other men were
partially un-dressed, and the woman had a dazed look on her face
(Refer to Appendix). It indicated a gang rape scenario, and was
met by negative feedback by the media (Nickalls, 2013). Murrow brings
about a connection between pornography and the thought process of its
male viewers, but stating that exposure to pornography, leads to
viewers trying to link the pornographic expectation to real life
expectations, and begin to view women as objects rather than people
(Murrow, 2010). The advertisement was labelled as Dream, and was
meant to illustrate a fantasy, but was interpreted as a rape scene, and
thus enraged several communities in the public and online sphere, such
as the National Organization of Women. It was similar to an
advertisement by Calvin Klein, which depicted a rape scene, and was
banned by the Australian Standards Bureau (Rifon et.al, 2014). The
criticism for such advertisements generally revolved around the sexual
violence portrayed towards women.
The objectification of gender is not only restricted to women, but also
towards men. An advertisement campaign from the same company in
2007, showed the opposite. The second advertisement involved the
men being completely nude and protecting themselves by bending and
hunching over, while the women watch over them. This advertisement
as mentioned earlier, was met with mixed responses as it portrayed
men being dominated by women, which was reminiscent of BD/SM
(Bondage Domination) (Refer to Appendix). The designers
response specified that they were attempting to empower women, and
highlight the aspects of a dominant female character, i.e. the modern
woman (Greaves & Mercado, 2011). The objectification of men, was
seen in prior advertising campaigns, and around iconic characters such
as the Marlboro Man, where the company; Phillip Morris, was not
selling cigarettes, but rather the idea of the ultimate man, who is
independent, royal, and rebellious (Twitchell, 2000). Similarly, in Dolce
and Gabbanas ad, the idea of female dominance is being sold, by
objectifying men. Research has shown that due to this constant
objectification, men and women objectify others in the real life. The
erotic male was the key definition of masculinity, and this is evident
when the physical appearance of male model is concentrated upon,
while his face is hidden from the light (Morse, 2007, p.21). The size of
men has increased over time, making them more muscular, leading to
reverse anorexia and excessive bodybuilding (Reichert, 2014, p.116).
The men in the advertisement are muscular, and are completely nude.
Dolce and Gabanna and other fashion companies try to link the idea of
fashion with objectivity. Its an age-old advertising technique and

clearly shows that if a viewer purchases and wears the product in the
ad, they will dominate the other gender (Reichert, 2014, p.116). These
use of the gaze helps establish power relations in these advertisements.
The photograph is primary tool used to establish difference, thus the
use of binary oppositions have been used to organize meaning. Binary
oppositions organize the world and its representations, and are usually
encoded with values and concepts of power, superiority, and worth.
There is always a category of norm and the other in a binary opposition
(Sturken & Cartwright, 2009). The use of an example such as
man/woman as a binary opposition, throughout history, the norm has
been the man having power over the woman. As mentioned above, in
early advertisements the woman was dependent on the man. However,
in todays day and age, that concept has changed due to feminists and
the fight for equal rights.
Dolce and Gabbana have had a fair share of advertisements dealing
with stereotyping and deviating from the norm. The first advertisement
shows gender stereotyping, where the male is dominant, holding the
woman down, while the rest of the men stare at her. The use of the
male gaze, indicate power relations in favor of the men. They are
looking down at the woman, and the woman is dazed and confused.
The men are in control of what is happening, and the woman is
helpless. This scene mimics a gang rape scenario, and was met with
great controversy that this advertisement was pulled from several
publications (Greaves & Mercado, 2011). On the contrary, the second
advertisement uses gaze, but steers away from the gender stereotype.
It hands the power to the women, as they look down on the completely
naked men, and establish their dominance (Refer to Appendix).
The advertisement was meant to empower women, and to abolish the
stereotype of males being dominant.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that advertisements still use gender
stereotypes to sell their products, and do so with the use of the gaze
and objectification. The advertisements have changed over the years,
but still rely on the use of women being reminded of what is regarded as
beautiful, the use of a sexual theme to appeal to the masses, and to
attempt to sell an idea along with a product. Whether it is to advertise
sugar free products, cigarettes, or high-end fashion, advertisers still
repeat their techniques to appeal to the masses.

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Appendix