Advertising, Publicity & the Media - Lecture notes (week 3)

• Advertising is inescapable - always in our face, we are always effected by it - be it consciously or not.
• Times Square, New York sums up how high profiled modern advertisng is.

• Karl Marx (1818 - 1883)
• wrote 'Communist Manifesto' in 1848.
• Wrote 'Das Kapital (volume 1)' in 1867.
• He was (and still is) a well known philosopher, social critic and theorist of how the world works and people behave.
• His most famous quote is "religion is the opium of the people", he suggested that people get a false sense of security from believing in religion.
  

• Critique of consumer/commodity culture.
• Marxists do not like this as they are against the idea of capitalism and personal wealth and gain above others.
• Our lives are consumed by what we buy and what is advertised. Stewart Green calls this "the commodity self".
• Judith Williamson - "Instead of being identified by what they produce, people are made to identify themselves because of what they consume."
• E.g. CK One aftershave - is just scented water - advertising creates an atmosphere in which to the public is is perceived to be socially empowering. We will never become like the figures in the advert but we are led to believe by the advert that we will.
• Products are sold to use on the basis that the product can enhance or positively effect your life.
  

• How does commodity culture perpetuate false needs?
• Aesthetic innovation.
  
• Planned obsolescence - products are designed to last a few years - we are tricked into spending by having to buy more of the same product. E.g. cars are designed to fall apart than they could do id designed differently.
  
• Novelty (Ipods)
  
• Advertising makes us believe that we need things that are not necessary to live in the world and commodity culture tricks us into thinking that we want stuff.

• Commodity Fetishism
• Advertising conceals the background 'history' of a product. E.g. A certain type of ladies Nike trainers that were marketed in the early 90s were imaged as being synonymous with the notion of an empowering woman when in fact it was hidden that they were produced by women themselves in sweat shops for pitiful pay. This is the Adbusters advert that counter attacked:
  

• Reification
• This is where products are given human associations.
• Products themselves are perceived as sexy, romantic, cool, sophisticated, fun etc.
• This makes us develop false human-like attachments to consumer products.
• Commodity culture manipulates us and makes us think one dimensionally - it stifles us and prevents us living full, meaningful and creative lives.
  
• It encourages addictive, obsessive and acquisitive behaviour.

• Conclusions:
  
• Advertising works in an ideological way to trick people into consumption.
• It tricks us by telling us to spend in order to fund the economy.
• Advertising perpetuates stereotypes.
• It seeks to make people unhappy with existing material possessions.
• It even has the potential to distort language and spelling eg. 'iTunes'
• It encourages children to want things that they can't afford causing feelings of inadequacy and envy. It psychologically effects them.
• Advertising uses images that encourage us to buy products and brands that have the potential to be unhealthy.
• It encourages unnecessary production and consumption therefore depleting the worlds resources and spoiling the environment.