I still remember my freshmen year in high school watching the super bowl where the patriots beat the rams at the last second. That was not the biggest moment I remember though, not even U2 playing that awesome halftime show was the most memorable. It was the Britney Spears Pepsi commercial. It has been known for years that sex sells, and Pepsi quickly jumped on the Britney bandwagon by signing her to a big deal in order to sell Pepsi.
I loved the commercial then, but that was 8 years ago. Now I know two things. First how offensive that is to women, and second that commercial in no way made me want to drink a Pepsi. In the Gender Communication Connection the Gambles point out a number of things that are consistent from ad to ad with women. A few of them that are present in this ad are the women are shown in isolation form other women, they are portrayed as dependent, they wear bathing suits/lingerie more than work attire. It is not a question of it being a sexy commercial, it is a matter of it being appropriate and it is not, especially during the super bowl when families with children are watching. Some ads are starting to portray women as independent rather than incapable of making important decisions without men.
Sources: Gamble, T. K., & Gamble, M. W. (2003). The Gender Communication Connection. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
