A presentation on Sexuality in the media focusing mainly on the Sheeba advert " What cats want'

1. Sexuality is presented very crudely in our media due to the
fact that ‘Sex sells’! This is our analysis of the Sheba cat food
brand that has also taken this approach.

3. AN OVERALL DESCRIPTION
Our chosen advert is the Sheba cat food advert, the advert sexualizes its content at
early stages in the footage. When analyzing the advert I found this was developed by
creating the illusion that there are two ‘pussy’s’ it is playing on the word pussy. The
advert began with the man and woman undressing each other. The man then left the
woman half dressed to follow the cat who was sat with his eyes open.

5. SEXUALIZATION IN THE CHOSEN
ADVERT
▶ With the advert of chosen being Sheba’s cat food, we can clearly see from the
early stages of the video advert that we see two individuals who we suppose are
a couple are hurrying to make out with each other.
Clearly showing that sex
sells, even though it has no
relevance to the actual brand
or advert.
The male looks over the females
shoulder to see the cat starring
him right back, could this be a
connotation of the derogatory
name associated with cats and
the female genetelia
Cleary showing the
male is the center of
attention and
dominance.

6. More heteronormativity being pushed in
the advert.
As the advert progresses into the main stage
we clearly see that the cat is glaring with
amazement which again is in a way
connoting that the cat is fascinated by sexual
activity and then is sexualized in the latter
stages of the advert.
We then finally see the moment when the cat in a
way seduces the male away from his female partner
mid way in there act. This showing the point that the
advert is exposing the cat to sexual connotations

7. The grand final of the advert which shows
the exposure to sexualisation
▶ As the ad finishes on the cat seduces the man and
then we see his female counterpart coming in with a
180 degree shot of a mid long shot showing the cat
protecting the male and showing that he belongs to
her, even though a second ago he was having
intercourse.
The ad is also showing us that the male's body is
not stereotypically masculine being muscular and
being handsome. To a degree arguing that they are
trying to not show some common conventions of
heteronormativity even though it was blatant
throughout the whole advert.
With the cat being denoted as a ‘pussy’ this could point to
the fact that the advert is trying to show hints of
unconventional ways to expose sexuality and how sexuality
and attraction doesn't have to be to other humans, with the
cat representing this perfectly.

9. SEXUALITY IN CAT FOOD
The advert as seen before depicted two elements in an explicit sexual light. E.g the
woman and the cat . Although the advert its self is entertaining the constant connotation
of sex and sexuality is both interesting and unnecessary .

10. THE WOMAN
This advert does a number of things when it
comes to the role of woman in a heterosexual
relationship, in terms of what they want and
what they are perceived to be. For example
we first see the woman being active as she is
the one who takes of the clothes of the man
seaming like the one in control( positive right)
However this does not last long as the next
image shows the woman being cast aside.
Over a cat!
This says a lot about how the media views woman by
basically saying they can be active only if it is to satisfy the
man and anything more is not attractive nor desirable. This
makes it difficult to dispute Mulvey’s male gaze theory when
in theory it is very evident in this advertisement.

11. The fact it was the man that left the woman delves into the question of how it represents sexuality. Him
leaving the woman she’s the hegemonic male is dominant and in control. Why couldn’t it be the woman
leaving the man to follow the cat? This could cause controversy though, because one could say the woman is
always the “caring” stay at home type, which is a stereotype. When referring to media and how Emma
Watson being the only female main character in the Harry Porter franchising and the media used this to their
advantage and sexualised her and not the male characters is an ongoing thing. This happens all the time also
in Hunger Games. Jennifer Lawrence in an interview described how she was encouraged to take magazine
covers which she would wear less and look sexy. This is because in short, sex sells.

12. THE CAT
The Cat is a very interesting figure as it conjures up an
element of Zoophilia; between the man and of course
the cat. The movement and actions of the cat from the
cat stare to the ’catwalk’ and even the defensive stance
towards the woman in the final scene shows the cat in a
very seductive & protective light, even more than the
woman herself. This peek into sexual affiliations with the
Animal kingdom though normal for some is still taboo
however, it was used to sell a product as it interlinked
the connotations of sex & seduction.

14. Adorno & Hokheimer
‘ see’s the audience as
being passive as if
images and ideas are
being injected into
viewers
This theory argues with Harts theory and suggests that the audiences do not
have control of what they understand as they become passive to the
information. This provides reason for importance of considering what is
projected within ad’s as they become memorable elements for many. So in
regards to sexualizing elements, it will become an ad that is not longer
remember for its product but more for the entertainment value. This
coincides with the slogan “sex sell’s”
Laura Mulveys:
Male gaze:
‘women are
presented as
sexual
spectacles’
Mulveys theory surrounds the ideology
of voyeurism. Which is to seek
pleasure through secretly sexualizing
objects, replicating the actions of a
‘peeping tom’. Mulveys suggests that
the view on women in comparison to
men in film or in the media in general
are unequal.
This theory suggest that
everything from the audience is
down to interpretation. So in
regards to the advertisement if
there is predominate use of
sexualisation of women, animals
or objects, the overall
interpretation will give an overall
reading that it is okay to
objectify these elements.
Andrew Hart
‘The meaning is
not in the text, it is
in the reading’
Audience theorist :
• Andrew Hart
• Adorno & Hokheimer
• Laura Mulveys: Male gaze

15. To understand sexualisation and sexuality through
audience Reponses I wanted to deconstruct the advert
to state ways in which the audience may interpret this
topic through imagery and theory.
In the advert we see there being a frequent use on nudity from both male
and female angles. One may suggest that despite there being
considerable fair amount of nudity from both sex’s throughout the
advertisement there appears to be little facial shots of the female in
comparison to the male. In a sense where he seems to openly own his
nudity despite not having the idealistic masculine body, suggesting there
to be a reduction in the females confidence of her body. This I believe
also increases hegemonic stereotypes of the sex’s and the role in which
they are traditionally meant to play in order to conform to social
standards. The screenshot 1 best reflects this analysis as it shows the
woman almost as a background feature despite being a main character
in the story line. This is illustrated through the shot being “the rule of
third”, which looks at the main object/character in the middle being
automatically considered as the feature of importance (the male).
Here we have a shot where the cat appears to be walking in front of the male where the
audience can only see the legs of the male. This all in all sexualizes the cat through an
angle which looks at bestiality, giving the audience the perception that cats have a equal
connation attached to its very slow almost seductive way of walking. I also carries a deeper
meaning in the eyes that the cat was able seduce the male during a possible act of
intercourse in a way the female was unable to do. This not only adds a more sexual
perspective to the audience but it also reduces femininity of the female character as it in a
sense replaces the role of the cat and the female. This objectifies the female actress even
further as her purpose was to play the role of a sex object.

16. Animalistic characteristics throughout the advertisement seems to be a dominate theme throughout, simply for the
fact that it is to sell cat food, however in regards of stereotypical representations of gender roles and the sexual
actions to which they perform, it is constantly a theme being showed. In this screenshot we see the male ’pouncing’
on the female almost to suggest she is a piece of meat to him. This purely sexualises the female as it suggest that in
order to feel fulfilled through the act, a form of aggression is a desired element to which is a acceptable behavior to
introduce throughout the audiences own sexual encounters. This element of the advert in particularly vital part to
analyse; when looking at audience theorist Adorno & Hokheimer, they “see audiences as passive as if images and
ideas are being infected into viewers” also known as the hypodermic needle theory. When taking this theory into
practice, the aggressive masculine behavior seen within the shot can become misinterpreted and play’s on a
traditional perspective of male dominance.

17. THE COMMENT SECTION
The comment section was a clear reflection
of how audience theories can never be
100% foolproof. Why?, well on one hand
we see that the audience was just as rude
and crude as the advertisement its self,
causing them to fall in to the trap of male
gaze( well one pussy is still hungry) and
Adorno & Hokheimer hypodermic needle
theory ( what genius made this). However,
we also see a negative reaction due to the
untraditional few of sexuality portrayed by
the brand as clearly scene in the last
comment showing the audience as more
than just a passive consumer of the media

19. SITOPHILIA
One word…sitophilia! As crude as it might sound this
advert wants to subtly make the point that one ‘pussy’
has been fed. This is It plays to the love of food in every
sexual way possible from the dim low lit lighting, the
gentle snapping of the cat food pack and even the close
up of the way the cat eats the food. Which sparks up an
image of sex discreetly so that every freeze frame is
loaded with sex and sexuality.

20. CONCLUSION…
Referring back to the advert, sex has no relevance to cat food, however, the marketing
team chose this approach because as I mentioned earlier sex sells. The fact there is
nudity and sexualisation it’ll draw viewers to watch the advert. Advertisements tend to
be overlooked, this was a way to attract viewers though innuendo's that can only been
shown at watershed hours, which makes no sense as cat food is a product used by all
people, the advert should have been an advert that can relate to a greater mass such
as a family scene. This advert is only relatable to a single male.