We live in a fast-paced society that is ruled by mass media. Every day we are bombarded by images of perfect bodies, beautiful hair, flawless skin, and ageless faces that flash at us like a slide show. These ideas and images are embedded in our minds throughout our lives. Advertisements select audiences openly and subliminally and target them with their product. They allude to the fact that in order to be like the people in this advertisement you must use their product.
             This is not a new approach, nor is it unique to this generation, but never before has it been as widely used as it is today. There is an old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" and what better way to tell someone about a product than with all one thousand words fitting on one page or a couple minute commercial.
             Take for example an ad for Virginia Slims cigarettes found in practically any magazine. This ad is claiming, in more ways than one, that Virginia Slims is the upscale smoke and is "appropriate for women". There are numerous subliminal associations contingent to this statement as well. One is that the people depicted in these advertisements are all extremely good looking and well dressed. Hinting to the fact that people who smoke these cigarettes are of a high class. Secondly, one other thing I noticed is that men are rarely shown in the Virginia Slims advertisements mainly because their presence hinders the "free sprit of the woman". When men are shown, they are found in the background behind the woman who is holding the Virginia Slims cigarette. Third, and perhaps most important is the brief text in the advertisement which reads "You've come along way baby" or "It's a woman thing".
             This is an attempt to let the reader know that this is not your ordinary cigarette by implying that these cigarettes appeal to the finest walk of life. These three elements described above combined target an audience of classy professional women in their mid-twenties t...