We make Virginia Slims especially for women because they are biologically superior to men. Women are more resistant to starvation, fatique, exposure, shock and illness than men are.
This ad for Virginia Slims, a cigarette brand marketed exclusively to women, depicts the comic hero Wonder Woman beneath text that reads, “We make Virginia Slims especially for women because they are biologically superior to men.” The ad lists all of the ways in which women may be considered “biologically superior” to men, including such obscure coups as being less inclined to suffer from “albinism of the eyes” and “nomadism.” This is a feel-good advertisement which manipulates women into believing that the brand is modern, forward-thinking, and supportive of women’s liberation. The juxtaposition of power with femininity is a marketing ploy which tobacco companies exploit decade after decade.
Comic, empowerment, Female, humor, liberation, Male, man, woman, Wonder Woman
