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We see them in the subways, bus stops, magazines, and television, but what do they mean? How do they
manage to catch our attention? Advertisements often find ways to sell their products by psychologically
manipulating people. The advertising industry makes us envious of others and convinces us to be unhappy
with what we have (Valko). Steve Madden ads usually feature women with absurdly large heads and
hourglass bodies which try to force the audience to wonder what the ad is about. One of these odd ads
appears in the March/April 2001 issue of Twist Magazine. It features a young woman with a big head
helplessly running, as an airplane zooms over her at an abandoned airport. There are three characteristics
within the ad that contribute the whole idea that Steve Madden shoes, clothes and accessories will improve
your self image. The main purpose of Steve Madden ads is to suggest to its viewers that they will feel good
about themselves by wearing his products. The model’s big head conveys self-esteem and self-pride and
she challenges the consumer to look as good as she does. The young woman wears a face of apprehension
and is running away from her old self to start her new confident life with Steve Madden products. The sleek
black leather jacket on top of a sexy white shirt, short enough to reveal her stomach and curvaceous hips
together with her tight low rider blue jeans, black pointy high boots, and trendy black bag complete her
fashionable outfit. The embellished woman’s physique is aimed to appeal to women and girls between the
ages of 16 through 25 in search of funky, hip, sexy clothes. Steve Madden likes to think of his clothes of as
being distinctive and he illustrates his idea by setting an abandoned airport as the background for the ad.
There is not a body in sight as the model runs across the old gum stained pavement. This calls attention to
the idea that by wearing Steve Madden buyers isolate themselves from everyone else. She is too proud and
conceited and cannot imagine being compared to anyone else. The Steve Madden logo in the ad also
contributes to the main idea of the ad. It could have been anywhere on the page, why the sky? . Steve
Madden ads always have their logos imprinted on the sky to imply that the “sky is the limit” with Steve
madden products (Liza). Steve Madden’s use of the airplane flying across the model’s head are to let his
consumers know that the only thing to stop them from accomplishing the look they have in mind is the
limit the set upon themselves. Steve Madden will help its buyers attain the appearance they have always
envisioned. Furthermore, it can be said, in Bertrand Russell’s words that “Good advertisements will either
make the audience envious of the lifestyle being advertised, or will generate within the audience the desire
to be envied by others” (Harris). Many advertisers aren’t as successful but Steve Madden manages to
persuade his buyers to buy his products through his eccentric ads.