Final Thought

Male viewers watching these commercials are shown a world with very little consequences (other than ridicule from your friends) where one can act like a complete idiot and women will still throw themselves at you.  Contrary to this belief presented in these commercials, all men are not idiots and women are not sex objects for the male fantasy. These commercials present an idolized world that does not exist. As a society, we need to put a stop to these stereotypes and portrayals in order to help shape a brighter and more equal future.

More Beer and Alcohol Advertisements For Your Viewing Pleasure!

Oh how times have changed! 

Why Beer and Hegemonic Masculinity Go Hand in Hand

Here are some reasons why beer and alcohol consumption go hand in hand with what it takes to be a man, and why it is important in sustaining men as the dominant gender:

1. Consuming beer allows a man to demonstrate self-control, which is a key aspect of traditional American masculinity.

2. When a man becomes intoxicated, he feels strong - he may not feel strong when he does not consume alcohol. Strength = masculinity (at least that is what the media tells us).

3. When men drink, it facilitates an environment where gender construction and validation can take place. The interactions that occur among men who are drinking serves to strengthen and reinforce the drinkers’ socially constructed conceptions of masculinity.

Beer and Alcohol Advertisements - Past and Present - How These Portrayals Affect Women

The typical female models in alcohol advertisement, as a representation of the female population, are young, slim, and highly attractive women. This is only a marginal representation of the actual population and reality of women. This “ideal” physical perfection depicted during alcohol advertisement can lead to guilt, dissatisfaction and even depression to women who do not hold these physical attributions. Alcohol ads, in essence, illustrate the physical perfection of women as an erroneous way to measure their desirability to their male counterparts.

1950s advertisement on beer and alcohol focused on the notion of unity and family, specifically how a mother and a father, supporting a family and maintaining a household, should enjoy beer. This ad shows a group of young, white adults with strong socioeconomic status, surrounding beer they are consuming with very happy looks on their faces.

1960s alcohol advertisement, eliminated the focus on females and males together, and focused their attention on solely the male consumer. This ad shows a white male in a sophisticated suit leaned over a small table with a cocktail in his hand. This image portrays the working class man with hopes to relate the cocktail with independent men enjoying a beverage after a long day of work. The 1960s marked the beginning of what seems to be an obsession of catering to the male consumer.

In the 1970s, the alcohol advertisement industry began to elevate the way they wanted to grab the attention of male consumers. What do men like more than beer? Maybe women. The 1970s was the start of depicting women in alcohol advertisement in such a way that would make the male consumer to stop looking at the advertisement as a way of trying to sell a commodity, but instead, a way to show a beautiful woman being associated with the alcohol.

The 1980s presented a much more seductive utilization of women in their advertisements. The representation of women started to become young, slim, and highly attractive while wearing inviting attire. This ad shows attractive women in a one-piece swimsuit literary wearing the Budweiser logo. It is important to note that the advertising continued to focus on the product as these women wore the logo, as if they were the beer.

The 1990s marked another change in alcohol advertisement. While women continued to be shown in sexy attire, the advertisement industry began to utilize women as a way to simply be associated with the ad and not necessarily the product. This Absolut vodka ad shows a woman wearing a leather corset that compliments her good physical shape and appearance: thin and seductive. This ad shows no connection to the girl and the actual liquor itself, besides the name of it towards the bottom of the ad. The focus on this ad is the concept of “physical perfection” on display.

The 2000s continued to portray women in ways to make the male consumer happy. This 2002 SkyyBlue ad not only shows two very attractive women in swim wear, it shows women showing more skin and cleavage. More importantly, the women are looking at each other in a sexy way, acting on trying to fulfill the male fantasy of two women having sexual desires for each other.

Recent alcohol ads are the result of this evolution of what the consumer (mainly men) wants to see or what reality they want to live by, not necessarily what they want to purchase. This 2007 Miller Lite commercial embodies how the world of alcohol advertisement has become, in terms of the depiction of women. It shows what two guys at a bar; using their imaginations, consider being a “great beer commercial.”

To conclude, women are dehumanized in liquor advertisement, used solely as sexual objects to cater to the male consumer. Women act and look in seductive ways as if to say: a man would become more of a man as a result of the consumption of the alcohol being advertised. Also, these ads give men hope that because hot women are associated with certain beers, consuming that particular beer would connect them with these types of women. Obviously, this does not work that way in a realistic perspective, but has played a huge role in the economic boom of alcohol throughout the decades.

Kilbourne, J. (1995). Beauty and Beast of Advertising. In G. Dines & J.M. Humez (eds.), Gender, Race and Class in Media. A Text-Reader. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Hegemonic Masculinity Shown in Beer Commercials

Hegemonic masculinity refers to the dominant form of masculinity that exists within a particular culture (Mayeda 2012). For the most part, beer commercials present traditional, stereotypical images of men, and uphold the prevailing myths of masculinity and femininity. Thus, in promoting beer, advertisers also promote and perpetuate these images and myths. Furthermore, the commercials are highly accessible and attractive to children and offer answers to their questions about gender and adulthood. They have a real impact on social learning and attitude formation (O’Sullivan). Of even greater importance here, the concept of hegemonic masculinity is not only about men and their relation to one another. Hegemonic masculinity also represents a cultural system that dominates women.

Through their advertisements, beer and liquor companies encourage consumers to think of their products as essential to creating a stylish and desirable lifestyle. These advertisements work with consumers to construct a consumption based masculine identity relevant to contemporary social conditions. They paint a series of images that evoke feelings, needs, and ways of being which is called lifestyle branding. Rather than attach a name to a product, the brand emanates from a series of images that construct a plausible and desirable world to consumers (Messner and Montez de Oca 2005). 

As you can see, these actual beer commercials perfectly illustrate to viewers how men should act, what they should buy, and whom they should find sexually attractive.  They show what a real man looks like and what happens when a man does not live up to expectations, which often involves mockery and laughter at the man’s expense. These commercials portray manhood in the most stereotypical way, limiting our ideas of what a man should be.

Two Common Themes in Beer Commercials: "Losers" and Buddies"

Today, the common roles that men portray in beer commercials are the "loser" and the "buddy." Through these roles most men are put in situations encountering attractive women who they know they can’t have,  but that doesn't bother them because they always have each other and beer. These advertisements have been targeted to the everyday man which can somewhat construct the role of the loser. Typically the white male “loser,” whose life is apparently separate from paid labor, hangs out with his male buddies, is self-mocking and ironic about his loser status, and is always at the ready to engage in voyeurism with sexy fantasy women. This theme tends to repeat throughout all liquor advertisements that display that having buddies “provides solidity and primacy and emotional safety of male friendships.” These advertisements are geared towards targeting the emotions and thoughts of these “everyday working men” (Mendez, Montez de Oca 2011).

Miller Lite - Tiger Wings

What is Sexism? How Does Sexism Relate to Sport Culture Through Beer and Alcohol Commercials?

Sexism can be defined as any system in which people's life decisions are unnecessarily preordained on the basis of perceived biological sex. In the United States, it specifically refers to any belief or behavior that puts women and girls in a position of subservience to men and boys (Head 2009). Though gender domination and sexism has occurred from centuries ago, the definition of sexism was formed in somewhat recent years. The term is actually very new, coined by English professor Pauline Leet in 1965 to describe the practice of excluding women from poetry anthologies (Head 2009). Sexism has been created through gender. Our conception of what women and men are and what they are supposed to be is produced by the society in which we live, causing many people to say that gender is “socially constructed.” The day-to-day, continuous production of gender has been called “doing gender,” meaning that gender is “made” by us in everyday lives in our interactions with others (West and Zimmermann 1987). Processes of doing gender are not only carried on in our society by individuals, but also through socially-standardizing practices such as legislation or the institutions of the family and marriage. “Doing gender” thrives on continually establishing a dual order of two sexes.

The historical development of modern men’s sport has been closely intertwined with the consumption of alcohol and with the financial promotion and sponsorship provided by beer and liquor producers and distributors. The beer industry plays a key economic role in commercialized professional and college sports, and their advertisements heavily influence the images of masculinity promoted in sports. Beer and liquor are central players in a “high holy trinity of alcohol, sports, and hegemonic masculinity” (Messner and Montez de Oca 2005).