Godiva Chocolate... in bed?

This Godiva Chocolate add portrays the woman as a sex object. In a sense she is more desirable than the chocolate itself. The model is put on display in a provocative pose and placed in a bed as if she is waiting for someone or something to happen. Also, she seems to be in a private moment of her own, which causes the camera so seem intrusive on this “Golden Moment,” as the ad describes it. Being alone in her bedroom and focussing on the chocolate -- not the camera -- further demeans the woman, similar to the Haagen Dazs ad. Both models are enjoying their own time, but the strong suggestion of voyeurism places a distinct separation between the model and the audience. Because she is in her bed, which is allegedly private, it can be concluded that the model is not looking for attention in this ad she is simply enjoying herself, despite the intrusion of the camera. Advertisements like this one along with the Haagen Dazs ad separate women (particularly models) from the rest of society and set them up as something to look at not someone to get to know or care about. This is wherein the problem lies and a simple advertisement can become extremely demeaning towards women. 


On a different note Susan Bordo explains how women are not supposed to indulge in large meals; society does not accept women scarfing food down like a man is allowed to. Instead, Bordo tells of how ads -- this one being a prime example -- show women eating a single piece of chocolate, as if that would fulfill her cravings. Advertisements such as this Godiva Chocolate ad support Bordo's believe that women are supposed to be satisfied with less food, which falls hand in hand with women needing to eat less to be thin. In other words, all women should look like the model if they are doing what is expected of them by society. 


http://www.namedevelopment.com/blog/archives/2009/11/godiva_sweetens.html