Abstract

With the knowledge that women make a majority of all consumer purchases in America, historically and presently, the target audience of most retailers is female and many advertisements feature images of women. Traditionally, this type of visual communication utilizes a combination of text and photography to create messages and also integrates rhetorical devices, such as metaphor, into visual space. This paper explores visual language and outlines recurring design elements through an examination of commercial images of women in magazine advertisements from a range of dates, beginning with the 1950s to present day. While technology advances the mechanical constructs surrounding the delivery of mass media, and many viewers recognize digital enhancement, a secondary discourse of pose, color, and costume remains fundamentally similar throughout time and continues to contribute to social semiotics.