Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Articles Article Faculty Publications -Articles Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource How Offensive is offensive? A Closer Look at Controversial Advertisements Subject The topic of the resource Advertising Standards; Focus Group Discussion; Gender Discrimination; Offense Description An account of the resource We live in a world inundated with messages that seek to promote products varied and eclectic in their feel and purpose. Capitalism has rooted itself in many societies; corporate enterprises enthusiastically advertise their products around the world. Over the years we have had countless advertisements bombard us through our TV sets, newspapers, billboards and now through our smartphones. While attention-grabbing, these advertisements are unfortunately often considered questionable. Rising competition among advertisers for consumer attention has led to the production of advertisements that are increasingly risquand frequently downright offensive. There have been growing concerns about the increasingly low standards of advertisements. Be it excessive sexual content, discrimination on grounds of gender, or propagating regressive philosophies, advertisements seek attention for the wrong reasons. While some advertisements were once downright discriminative towards the female population, things seem to have gradually gotten better over the past few years. However, that is not to say that stereotyping and sexism have been wholly eradicated from advertising; these issues are still prevalent today. Though some consumers watch advertisements through a critical lense and critique unethical advertisements, many offensive and discriminative advertisements have still become widely known and popular among viewers. The present paper seeks to explore the idea of offensiveness in advertisements through an analysis of advertising content on the basis of gender discrimination and stereotypical portrayals of gender. Further, a focused group discussion adds audience perspective to the issue as well. Straddled by Uses and Gratification Theory, Social Responsibility Theory, and Self-Construal Theory, this study attempts to explore the concept of the offensiveness of controversial advertisements and to determine the reasons why an advertisement is deemed offensive. It is never too late to question How Offensive is offensive? 2021 Journal of International Womens Studies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource DeSouza I.; Naresh S. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Journal of International Women's Studies, Vol-22, No. 3, pp. 96-109. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Bridgewater State College Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-01-01 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context <a href="" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85104718183&amp;partnerID=40&amp;md5=41d6572f12a378587830225f7646b66e" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85104718183&amp;partnerID=40&amp;md5=41d6572f12a378587830225f7646b66e</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Restricted Access Relation A related resource ISSN: 15398706 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Online Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Article Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant DeSouza I., Christ deemed to be University, Bangalore, India; Naresh S., Christ Deemed to be University Bangalore, India