Alan Sugar and his hopefuls are back again, in a dog eat dog competition to be his next ‘apprentice’. Participants are drilled in big business methods, exploiting others as much as possible and stabbing one another in the back.
This week’s task involved creating a free magazine, and selling advertising space. One team wanted a patronising magazine aimed at older people (insensitively named ‘Hip Replacement’) while the winning team decided to produce what they call a ‘classy lad’s mag’.
Despite its name -‘Covered’ – the team leader consistently argued for more pictures of women, as uncovered as possible. Arguments such as ‘sex sells’ convinced other team members that a magazine presenting women’s bodies as objects for sale was necessary to sell advertising space.
In the end, this argument was apparently proved correct. Top advertising executives ‘loved it’ and bought hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of ad space in the magazine.
It showed how big business seeks to use the female body to make money. This contributes to the sexist attitudes which say that a woman’s body is more important than her mind.
Disgracefully the BBC thinks a show like The Apprentice, actively putting forward right-wing, bigoted, anti-worker politics week in week out is harmless fun.
