Dr. Jean Kilbourne Speaks About the Dangers in Advertising

Dr. Jean Kilbourne, internationally recognized for her work on alcohol and tobacco advertising and images of women in advertising, gave a presentation to the Westminster community Jan. 11 titled “Deadly Persuasion.” Her focus was the toxic cultural environment created through advertising that can sacrifice health and well-being.

Dr. Kilbourne began her talk by saying that the average American is exposed to more than 3,000 ads a day, yet most believe they are not influenced by it. What is really happening, she said, is that these images are working on people subconsciously.

 Throughout the presentation, she shared illustrated examples of ad campaigns by manufacturers of alcohol and tobacco products and explained how they target young people by using powerful images in order to get them addicted early. She explained how the ads are promoting more than mere products. They are telling people who they are and who they should be.

She also discussed the incredible emphasis in today’s society for women to achieve an ideal female beauty that is unachievable and falsely created in ads through altered digital photography. “We almost never see real images of women in the media,” she pointed out.

Dr. Kilbourne explained how that the prevalence of advertising images of extremely thin women has made eating a moral issue for women. “Our culture teaches us to hate our bodies,” she said. “There is a lot of contempt for women who don’t measure up to the ideal.”

Dr. Kilbourne said that most people are never educated about advertising and encouraged audience members to be aware of how they are targeted. “We all are affected by this and it is difficult to get free of it,” she said.

Dr. Kilbourne has lectured at colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as at many private and public schools. Her films, slide lectures and television appearances have been seen by millions of people. The New York Times Magazine named her one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses, The Boston Globe described her as “a superstar lecturer” and the National Association for Campus Activities gave her their “Lecturer of the Year” award twice.

She is the author of the book, “Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel,” as well as many articles in major publications. She also has made several award-winning documentary films based on her lectures.

Dr. Kilbourne earned a B.A. in English from Wellesley College and a doctorate in education from Boston University. She has served on many national boards of directors and advisory counsels, and has received many awards.

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