Airport+Love

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Russia's political views have come to the world's attention during these Olympic games. While LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) propaganda is not allowed in Russia, many organizations from other countries have been bringing their own views to light. One example of this is XXL, a retailer for sports and outdoor clothing. Their commercial, "Airport Love," has quickly become a favorite. The GIFs below will give a few quick highlights.



This commercial opens with a highly sexualized woman walking through an airport. The shots are meant to catch the eye of viewers. In the commercial, the men begin to notice her quickly. The first to notice her is one of the commercial's many athletes. His eyes follow a bit too low, appearing to focus not on her face, but on her body. He is quickly followed by a married and his son. Her short dress and thin figure are meant to attract the attention of the public just as it did with those men.



This part of the commercial emphasizes her sexual appeal again. She is placed next to a "normal" woman, which shows how tall and thin she is. More men fixate on her. The security guard in the back falls over and the athletes are performing tricks for her. By this point in the commercial, most people are drawn in by the eye-catching camera work.



Now we see her face up close. She is photoshopped and made up to be a very typically beautiful woman. The athletes, still all men, all do tricks to create a heart behind her. This creates a stunning image of a mass of athletes all centered around this gorgeous woman. Through this image, she is shown as something desirable, something that everyone should want. There is also a use of red, which is a color that represents passion and sexuality.



Finally, we get to the point of the commercial. Waiting for her is another beautiful woman who is dressed for sex appeal. This is the complete twist to the expected out come of the commercial. Before this, the commercial was meant to draw in watchers, especially straight male watchers. Because of this, we are forced to make a judgement of character based not only on her relationship, but on our assumptions from earlier in the commercial. It is an effective tool to make people think beyond the surface.



In this last shot, we see all of the male athletes staring in a surprised crowd. They, like many watchers, are caught by surprise. She shrugs at them, but she is not apologetic. Finally, we reach the moral of the commercial. The words have two meanings in this situation. It can mean support for whatever country you are representing in the Olympics, but in this context it also means support for whatever your sexuality is. This is one of many commercials that have appeared lately with this moral.

In summary, this commercial uses filming techniques, symbols, color psychology, and the stereotype of beauty to draw watchers in before throwing a twist at them. This forces watchers not to judge the subject based on her relationship before everything else.

__Citation __ XXL all sports united. “XXL Airport Love.” Online video clip . //Youtube// . Youtube, 6 Feb. 2014. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.