Duncan Quinn, (2008), Advert [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/duncan-quinn-suit-ad-depicting-strangled-woman [Accessed 4 December 2017].
Duncan Quinn, a high quality brand specialised on men clothing released in December of 2008 an advert that many considered to be disturbing. It featured two main characters, a man and a woman, in a black and white picture. The man located on the top right-hand side is dressed in a suit and poses with an expression of joy and satisfaction. He represents an individual from upper class with high income who depicts the poorest example of mannerisms and gentleman behaviour. He’s holding a tie wrapped around the victim’s lifeless body pulling it hard against him while he looks straight to the recording device. Meanwhile, the woman is lying on a car hood with nothing else than lingerie and her dark hair is lying on a puddle of what I imagine is blood.
The image seems to reveal a crime scene where the damage has already been done. Its almost like the picture is a prize to be kept by the murderer as a reminder of his accomplishments. On the other hand, the fact that the woman is lying defenceless on what seems an expensive car only communicates ideas of male superiority, woman slavery and dependency, as if women were inferior and only to be used as objects for pleasure.
I believe this is not the right way to capture the consumer’s attention, especially if we take steps back in the development of society to promote violence, sexual harassment and gender inequality. However, as unfair as it looks “Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they just remember the impression you make” (William Bernhart, 1911-1982); and without realizing here we are taking about the impact that this commercial had in the society of the time. What about all the other adverts that stayed inside the ethical limits? Who talks about those?
It is quite a delicate situation when a brand decides to take these risks. Whenever a company launches a new campaign they must select their public target and create an advert that they believe will result in higher profit. Nevertheless, it is essential that while doing this, they respect the rest of the possible consumers of the brand. For instance, the woman that will be buying suits for their close male relatives might take into consideration whether to buy from this brand again after seeing such publicity.
In conclusion, it is important for a company to sell themselves differently from the rest and cause an impression. However, I do not agree when they surpass the ethical boundaries to accomplish this. The consequences of this advertisement can be deeply devastating. Our eye gets easily used to seeing situations like this, and the more often we are exposed to these images the more likely events like this will appear to be normal.
Bibliography:
UKEssays. 2017. Ethical issues in advertising. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/ethical-issues-in-advertising.php. [Accessed 04 December 2017].
TrendHunter.com. 2017. Disturbing Sexist Ads: Duncan Quinn Suit Campaign Depicts Strangled Woman. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/duncan-quinn-suit-ad-depicting-strangled-woman. [Accessed 04 December 2017].
Advertising Is Good For You. 2017. Duncan Quinn. Suits for men who hate women. – Advertising Is Good For You. [ONLINE] Available at: http://pzrservices.typepad.com/advertisingisgoodforyou/2008/12/duncan-quinn-suits-for-men-who-hate-women.html. [Accessed 04 December 2017].
Kent Spiers. 2011. Student Example. [ONLINE] Available at: http://hcaldwell.typepad.com/files/student-example-1.pdf. [Accessed 4 December 2017].
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The Economic Times. 2017. Definition of “Advertising”. [ONLINE] Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/advertising. [Accessed 4 December 2017].