‘Advertising doesn’t sell
things; all advertising does is change the way people think or feel’ (Jermemy
Bullmore). Evaluate this statement with reference to selected critical theories
(past and present).
With more than $500 billion a year being spent on advertisements
worldwide it is clear to see the sheer power in which this manipulating
business upholds. Whether it’s being splashed all over our TV screens or
plastered on almost every bus which happens to pass, advertising has almost become
the ‘Simon says’ of our commercially led lives, led into believing that what we
own is what we are, or realistically what we own Is what we want to be. I’m
going to explore and evaluate Bullmores statement ‘Advertising doesn’t sell
things; all advertising does is change the way people think or feel’, and
highlight the factors which show advertising in its realistic state, and how
the idyllic lifestyle portrayed to us is a clever way of manipulation.
In the 19th century developments in technology
introduced mass large- scale coloured printing, which created a boom in company
advertising. Companies figured they could use the intellectual and high class
nature of fine art to speak to their customers in a manner which promoted their
products as great quality and reliable. Advertisers realised that they could
start to manipulate paintings for their benefit. Here’s a quote which relates
to the reproduction of fine art on different mediums and on different scales, ‘Because
paintings are silent and still and their meaning is no longer attached to them,
but has become transmittable, paintings lend themselves to easy manipulation,
they can be used to make arguments or points which can be very different to
their original meanings. (Ways of
Seeing, 1972) Bergers arguing the debate that paintings create such meaning
when stood in their atmospheric context that taking the painting out of this
environment can give it a whole different meaning. One company which took
advantage of the benefits of this mass printing was Lever Bros. who
manufactured soap. They took Albert Taylors A Dress Rehearsal (1888)(see fig
1)(which depicts a bride wearing her mother’s passed down wedding dress),
renamed it As Good As New to show their soap can transform old linen to be ‘as
good as new’. So through this manipulation of imagery advertises could
successfully change the mind set of what their customers thought about, before
purchasing.
Fast forward into the 21st century and advertising
is the leader of our consumer culture. The portrayal of its ever so glamorous
lifestyle tricks us into believing the better life is achievable through the
purchasing of goods which we think are a necessity. Sexuality is one area which
publicity is very reliant on. The ideology that purchasing a product may
enhance your sexuality, or make you seem as appealable as the man and/or woman
in the advert. ‘Publicity increasingly uses sexuality to sell any product or
service’ Bergers, J (1972), page 144. A truthful statement here by Bergers, in
this day and age it’s all about how you look and how others see you, an attempt
at creating a fake alter ego for yourself to fall into. Take for example this women’s
perfume advert by Yves Saint Laurent (2009)(see fig 2). The advert connotes a
scene in which the woman (Kate Moss) I in a car, presumably leaving her lovers
apartment, with the memories of her night being reminded to her by the smell of
a rose. The advert uses a whole set of symbolic and sexual references, the rose
imitating the romance and the perfume itself, an indicating that the perfume
has provoked the spell of love, the erotic and fleshly flashbacks in which the beautiful
model is reminiscing and the mysterious and anonymous identity of the male
lover in his French apartment, adding to the romantic and heart aching fantasy.
The advert throws out these symbolic references putting forward to the viewer
the idea that the perfume is linked with passion and love, constructing the
idea in the customers head that using this perfume is the instigator of romance,
and by wearing the product you can also be as desirable as the model. From
Judith Williams, Decoding Advertising which can be compared to the perfume, ‘Diamonds
may be marketed by likening them to eternal love, creating a symbolism where
the mineral means something not on its own terms, as a rock, but in human
terms, as assign, thus a diamond comes to ‘mean’ love and endurance’.
Williamson, j (1978), page 12. The perfume I the advert almost takes on the
role of the diamond, changing its meaning from a bottled liquid to a fragrance
of affection. A lot of high-end brand advertisement for products such as
perfume and clothing can be very manipulative, playing on the fact that
everyone would love to live a wealthy way of life, allowing the customer to
think, if they purchase this product they two can delve into the fantasy
lifestyle of the rich.
Although envying the rich and famous and buying into
high-end brands is reassuring to the public that they are not far off being any
different from their most beloved celebrity, the realistic chance of them ever
getting famous is very unlikely. This is where advertisement plays a big part
in controlling what people purchase for the benefit and guarantee that they fit
in with society and live a supposedly perfect lifestyle.’ Thus instead of being
identified by what they produce, people are mad to identify themselves with
what they consume’ Williamson, J (1978), page 13. It’s far from just high-end
brands selling luxury products, almost any retailer will sell a brand in a
manner which changes the way you think about their products. We are always
being offered an alternative lifestyle, an imaginary one which is seemingly a purchase
away, and with it being so easy to spend our hard earned money, people are so
easily pressured into buying into the consumer way of life. ‘We feel the need
to belong, to have a ‘social’ place, it can be hard to find. Instead we may be
given an imaginary one.’ Williams, J (1978), page 13. It’s not our intention to
nip to the shop and buy say a new car, but the clever way in which language and
imagery is used can easily shape our thoughts on what we purchase. ‘The more
convincing publicity conveys the pleasure of bathing in a warm, distant sea,
the more the spectator/ buyer will become aware that he is hundreds of miles
away from that sea and the more the remote chance of bathing in it will seem to
him. This is why publicity can never really afford to be about the product or
the opportunity it is proposing to the buyer who is not yet enjoying iy’
Berger, J (1972), page 144. Customers are easily fooled by being shown how
their life could apparently be improved with unnecessary items, shown to them
as a necessity and an improvement to their ‘envied’ lifestyle.
Adverts only ever reflect on the advantages of a product and
only ever highlighting the benefits of it on your part, adverts play on the
realism of the subject that is being advertised. ‘Publicity is effective precisely
because it feeds upon the real. Clothes, foods, cars, cosmetics, baths and
sunshine are real things to be enjoyed in themselves.’ Berger, J (1972), page
132. Using these real possessions an advert then clearly underlines the
highpoints of what the item has to offer, again going back to the perfume
advert, the way in which items are used as symbol of emotion or of something
precious to make it more appealing to the customer.
The social relation of these products plays a huge part in
selling goods. ‘Publicity is about social relation not objects’ Berger, J
(1972), page 132. One reason for wanting an item of clothing or a bottle of
perfume or a fancy car is not only because you envy a celebrity lifestyle portrayed
in an advert, it’s because you subconsciously want social acceptance, be it by
your friends, family or strangers. ‘Without social envy glamour can’t exist’
(ways of seeing, 1972) Glamourizing products which aren’t necessarily important
is vital for advertising to work. Again it comes back to the imaginary way of
life which is being sold to us, envying a glamourized image of what you want to
be if you purchase a certain product. ‘The spectator/ buyer is meant to envy
herself as she will become if she buys the product’ Bergers, J (1972), page
134. Having this attitude convinces customers to purchase what is deemed a
necessity, replacing it for an item which is a necessity. ‘It works because it
works of genuine ‘use-value’, besides needing social meaning we obviously do
need material goods. Advertising gives those goods social meaning so that two
needs are crossed, and neither is adequately fulfilled. Material things that we
need are made to represent other non-material things we need: the point of
exchange between the two is where ‘meaning’ is created’ Williamson, J (1978),
page 14.
‘Advertising rather provides a structure which is capable of
transforming the language of objects to that of people, and vice versa’
Williamson, J (1978), page 12. Giving an object or brand human characteristics
is often used to create a bond between a product and its buyer; it allows the
consumer to relate to the object. Take for example this Audi advert (see fig
3), the advert follows the very first streamlined Audi illustrated in a fairy
tale fashion, showing how far Audis cars have come since the beginning. The music
and the way the actors interact with the car humanise the vehicle. The
techniques used in the adverts cleverly manipulate the spectator, making them
understand how the object, in this case the car, is feeling. ‘We may remember
or forget these images, but briefly we take them in, and for a minute they stimulate
our imagination, either by way of memory or anticipation’ (ways of seeing,
1972) So although the advert may be forgotten it ‘stimulates our imagination’,
speaking in a language which shows happiness being portrayed in an imaginary
world, but showing to you that it could be reality if you purchase that
product. ‘Speaks to us in a language we can recognise but a voice we can never identify’
Williamson, J (1978), page 14.
Advertising has managed to twist the consumer society into a
vicious cycle of purchasing goods to keep their deemed-upon ‘glamorized’ lifestyle
at an acceptable level, so they stay enviable, then introducing new products;
cars, clothing etc. for the consumers to then re buy new products which are
supposedly fashionable. ‘Promises and threatens, plays upon fear, often the
fear of not being desirable, enviable.’ (Ways of seeing, 1972) As the saying
goes, ‘Jump on the band wagon’, it seems a necessary and the safest option for
everyone to almost copy one another, ‘well they’re doing it so we’ll do it as
well’.
Money plays the biggest role in the advertising business,
but with clever tricks people are convinced into spending their money for items
which will keep them satisfied, until something else pops up. ‘Works on our
anxieties about money, urging each of us to scramble competitively to get more’
(ways of seeing, 1972) What advertisers basically work upon is the fact that
other than food and the important necessities needed, no one has anything else
to spend their money on, so publicising an item for a better way of life and to
get away from the normal is going to appeal to people.
The invention of television has had a huge impact in the
role of advertising, with the advertisements being strategically placed during children’s
TV because they know kids and their parents are going to be watching. ‘The
child looks and recognizes before it can speak.’ Bergers, J (1972), page 07.
Kids watching the adverts will pick up on the colours, the other children
enjoying the toys and the upbeat tempo in which the advert is being sold. The
use of familiar songs and characters from TV shows grabs the child’s attention
making them happy, and with that happiness only temporary the child’s excitement
will change into them wanting that specific product. Adverts play on the
vulnerability of the child’s mind. It’s the same for adverts aimed at adults,
take alcohol adverts for example; again, they’re strategically placed so they
come on when that supposed audience watches TV. The adverts always involve
friends, celebrations and having a good time. These clips stimulate the
imagination so the next time you go to the shop to buy booze you’ll be subconsciously
of the happiness of what this product has to offer.
Branding has a huge impact on the way in which customers view
a product. Having high end brands and glamourizing yourself with the familiar
brands is something which we do almost as a routine, but to familiarise
ourselves with specific brands we have to be shown them first. To get a message
or brand across an advert will constantly flash the logo or the specific colour
schemes associated with their company into your head, be it through TV,
billboards, posters, leaflets, shops etc. Take for example Coca Cola; it’s such
a widespread brand which almost everybody knows about, wherever you are you
always know it’s going to be a safe option. Adverts for Coca Cola have been
able to drill a sense of happiness, family orientated and quality into us so we
then attach these characteristics to the brand. A quote here which I disagree
with, ‘Brands like coke have suffered so much adverse publicity, especially
over the water scandal in India, that its behaviour has redefined the brand. Even
given billion dollars of advertising, kids see it as a bad brand’ Arnold, C
(2009) page 8. I believe that coke and other family brands don’t heavily rely
on the billions of money put into their advertising, it’s more of how they are
portrayed to the public, and with coke being portrayed with such a happy and
positive attitude it’s hard to want to criticize it when something goes wrong.
Relying heavily on money and the ever changing development
of technology and goods being produced, advertising manages to work its ever so
convincing magic into making people buy goods for their believed benefit.
Advertisers use devices such as celebrities, luxury vacations and
quintessential desired necessities to target their specific audiences. With the
mind set of individualism and the clever devises for manipulating their
customers, advertisers have been able to flourish and build on the ever
expanding consumer society in which we live in. People are always trying to
reach the height of glamour, the need to display their enviable self to the
world. Customers are forever chasing this highly glamourized ‘imaginary’ way of
life, and as they are tricked into this misinterpretation of the necessity of
products it’s hard to escape the cycle of purchasing these enviable and desired
goods. As we are constantly bombarded with advert after advert it’s not surprising
that we follow the path of misconception, it’s delivered to us as the norm, and
why should people question it if it’s making them happy?
Bibliography
Arnold, C (2009) ‘Ethical Marketing and The New Customer’,
England, John Wiley & Sons.
Berger, J (1972) ‘Ways of Seeing’, London, Penguin Books.
Berger, J (1972) Ways of Seeing – Advertising, www.youtube.com [web]
Bullmore, J. (1991) ‘More Bull More’, Oxfordshire, World
Advertising Research Centre.
Williamson, J (1978) ‘Decoding Advertising’, London, Marion
Boyars.
Fig 1
http:/2.bp.blogspot.com/lzeqasj3t2s/tzotv40iovi/AAAAAAAADK4/ynsk7ozhecy/s1600/adressrehearsel.jpg
Fig 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v61q1z0ynoa&feature=player_embedded
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