David Pacheco
David Pacheco
Harley Davidson’s Basic Info: Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Founded: 1903 Founders: William S. Harley, Arthur Davidson, Walter
Davidson, William A. Davidson Sells Heavyweight (over 750 cc) Motorcycles Harley Davidson’s logo accounts for 5% of their revenue. Harley Davidson sustains a loyal brand community
Teams, leagues, clubs, events, and a museum.
Introduction to Research Area Studied: Advertising Campaigns Research Question:
“How does Harley Davidson code gender in their advertising campaigns in the last 20 years?”
Significance: To critically analyze and challenge Harley Davidson’s advertisements and deconstruct their campaigns to see if there is any difference in the portrayal of gender.
Background to Research Critical Theory: Cultural Studies Earlier Related Studies:
Portrayal and Comparison of both Genders in Advertisements Leslie McArthur, “The Portrayal of Men and Women in American TV
Commercials” Journal of Social Psychology. Dana Kivel, “Consuming Media, Making Men: Using Collective Memory
Work to Understand Leisure and the Construction of Masculinity.” Journal of Leisure Research.
Portrayal of Women in Advertisements Natalie MacKay, “The Impact of Women in Advertisements on Attitudes
Towards Men.” Sex Roles Journal. Joey Senat, “Editor & Publisher Slow to Change Depiction of Women”
Newspaper Research Journal.
Methods to Research Method:
Textual Analysis
Framework: Glasgow's 3 Levels of Deconstruction
Levels of Ad Deconstruction: Literal Level Cultural Level Critical Level
Sample Text Information Time Frame:
1990-2009 Availability:
Harley Davidson’s Website Text Significance Area:
Gender/Power
Figure 1
“May wind be the only product in your hair. Plant your tail in the saddle of a Harley Davidson motorcycle and you’ve got an unflinching view. Here a man can undust his Adam’s apple. And in an age hell-bent on going soft, that bodes
well for the backbone. www.harleydavidson.com”
Figure 1 Deconstruction Literal Level:
Black and white picture (vintage) Close up shot of a man’s nose and beard
Age: 40-50 Beard is untrimmed, windblown
Text “May wind be the only product in you hair” appears in the top left corner
Text “Plant your tail in the saddle of a Harley Davidson motorcycle and you’ve got an unflinching view. Here a man can undust his Adam’s apple. And in an age hell-bent on going soft, that bodes well for the backbone. www.harleydavidson.com” appears bottom left corner.
Figure 1 Deconstruction
Cultural Level: Black and white suggests vintage, old, rustic. A bearded man suggests toughness, ruggedness. The untrimmed beard is a natural look. Age is a suggestion of experience, knowledge,
and power.
Figure 1 Deconstruction Critical Level:
•Ad is suppose to promote the natural qualities of riding, it is mislead through the following:
•Text Analysis: “Here a man can undust his Adams apple”, implies that the brand is clearly a mans brand and the older man has power.
•The catch phrase implies that wind is the only hair product needed for a man when on a Harley.
•Phrase mocks women, implying that hair products are not a part of this brand.
•Age and the body type in the ad also favors the male gender and gives men power when owning a Harley Davidson.
•Also there is no “natural” quality of riding ever truly stated it is only implied through hair products.
Figure 2
Figure 2 Deconstruction Literal Level:
Vintage color to picture Man on his Harley
Age: 45-60 Beard is untrimmed Wearing a leather vest, pants, and bandana. Spiked bracelet, black sunglasses, and numerous rings are also being worn.
House in background is rundown Graffiti on side of the house
Text, “I’d never let my wife ride it. At least not until she’s 18.”
Figure 2 Deconstruction Cultural Level:
Off color of picture suggests old, rustic, worn. A bearded man suggests toughness, ruggedness.
His attire and stance also suggests this. His age is a suggestion of experience and power. The background depicts a lower class neighborhood
Suggests a tough area to live. Text suggests the power of a husband in an underage
relationship.
Figure 2 Deconstruction Critical Level:
•The text makes a statement about underage relationships and putting it in context with the older man and his Harley Davidson.
•The ad is misleading stating that male toughness and power comes from a run down life (house), traditional biker attire, and having a dominant role in a relationship.
•Ad is also misleading the beliefs of women and relationships in regards to their husbands who own a Harley, putting forth that the wife is oppressed in the relationship and has no say.
Figure 3
Figure 3 Deconstruction Literal Level:
Black/dark theme to advertisement Supermodel Marisa Miller straddling a Harley
Wearing high leather boots, cut off shorts, long dirty blonde hair draped over back and shoulders.
Stance and smile very seductive Lighting of Marisa makes her stand out in advertisement Motorcycle blends into background. Text: “American Supermodel V-ROD Muscle”
Figure 3 Deconstruction Cultural Level:
Darkness of picture makes it very sleek and mysterious. Harley uses the supermodel as sex appeal to sell the new
bike. By using the bright supermodel and the dark background
the bike look modern, new, sleek, sexy, mysterious, and sought after.
Text suggests an “American Supermodel” supports an “American Brand”.
Figure 3 Deconstruction
•The advertisement is suppose to show off a new, sleek, and sexy Harley Davidson V-ROD Muscle.
•It is misleading because it uses a supermodels sex appeal as a more prominent figure in the ad than the actual bike itself.
•The bike is supposedly the showcased item but the supermodel is the only “well” lit part of the picture.
•The motorcycle is not even fully visible
•By doing this, the ad oppresses women to be seen as sex objects used to help promote the sale of a product.
•The ad unintentionally gives power to men because of how the supermodel is
Critical Level:
Conclusion Results for Coding Gender in Ads:
Males: Powerful, strong, rugged, rigid, and tough when owning a Harley Davidson.
Females: Oppressed and portrayed as sex objects. Limitations of Research:
Harley Davidson is a 106 year old company Ads only focused on last 20 years.
Future Research: To take a broader look at different ad campaigns and see
if the trends are consistent.
