Throughout our daily lives, we are constantly susceptible to a countless number of advertisements. These advertisements can play a major role in the ways that we view ourselves and others, and can even have an impact over the different items that we decide to purchase.
In Chapter 8 of the Baran and Davis reading, it stated, “media might have the power to intrude into and alter how we make sense of ourselves and our social world. Media could alter how we view ourselves, our relationship to others, even the image that we have of our own body” (199). Do you think there are advertisements are so powerful that they can actually impact how we view ourselves? If there were no advertisements in our society, do you think that it is possible that we might have an entirely different outlook on ourselves and the world around us? Other than altering our views about ourselves and others, advertisements may also impact whether or not we decide to purchase certain products.
In Chapter 27 of the McQuail reading, it stated, “instead of being identified by what they produce, people are made to identify themselves with what they consume” (300). When you go out and purchase certain products, do you purchase them based on their quality or simply because of their brand name? For example, it is hard to go an entire day without seeing an advertisement for Budweiser or Bud Light. It is also hard to walk into an American bar and not see Budweiser or Bud Light on tap. Do you think that Bud Light is such a popular beer because it tastes better than most beers, or do you think that it is so popular because we constantly see their advertisements on TV, billboards, etc.?
This CNN article discusses the power that advertisements have over their consumers. What I found so interesting about this article was the way in which the author, Monita Rajpal, ended it. The article ended with Rajpal saying, “Bottom line though, advertising is part of our existence. The good news is that we’re the ones with the power to choose.” Do you think that this is true? Do we have a choice over whether or not we are influenced by advertisements, or have we gotten so engulfed in their messages that there is no turning back?
The CNN article that Kieran used as his media example was a great article that described advertising in today’s society. “It offers us a look into the ideal life, the ideal body, the ideal mate, all wrapped in an ideal world,” says the article. This is a perfect picture of how advertisements attempt to influence the viewer. They want you to think that the person or product they are presenting is what you NEED rather then what you want. The quote from CNN can be supported by the theory titled ideology in the Baran and Davis textbook. The theory is stated, “Ideas present in any culture that mislead average people and encourage them to act against their own interests. People viewing the advertisement may not know they want something, but after they see the commercial, they are more likely to think they need it; even if they may not agree with the product.
ReplyDeleteJudith Williamson, the writer of chapter 27 in McQuail, also discusses ideology in reference to advertising. “Ideology is the meaning made necessary by the conditions of society while helping to perpetuate those conditions” (300). In my opinion, the advertising industry should be renamed the ideology industry. It is obvious that advertisers goals are to make the consumer think that the product is absolutely necessary and make them believe this for a long time to ensure loyal customers. The feeling of necessity is what the advertisers are reaching for; “Advertising gives those goods a social meaning so that two needs are crossed, and neither is adequately fulfilled” (Williamson 301). Consumers will feel they need a product more if it will fulfill another need they may have; weather they do this consciously is undetermined.
Without advertisements the world would be a very different place. Ads are necessary for a company to get their product to reach all consumers but are ads a healthy source of media? Should Ads be their own entity or should they remain part of the media wave? In my opinion, Ads have given a bad name to media because of their deceptive tendencies. On the other hand, if advertisements didn’t exist, the world would be a boring place.
I agree that advertising is part of our existence. We see advertisements all over: on television, on billboards, in magazines, and even in the side bar of Facebook. We are a consumer society, and I believe that the media does play an important role. The article states, “A good advertisement tells us we need something even before we think we do. It offers us a look into the ideal life, the ideal body, the ideal mate, all wrapped in an ideal world,” (Rajpal). This is such a profound statement and really captures how the media can affect society. In some cases, the media plants the image of an “ideal world” into the minds of consumers, and some people believe what is being presented in front of them.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Baran and Davis, “Media affect society because they affect how culture is created, learned, shared and applied,” (Baran and Davis 199). I think this is true when it comes to advertising. For example, we have mentioned numerous times how the media can have harmful effects on a person’s, especially a young girl’s, body image. With numerous ads for make-up and beauty products, it is no wonder that the “ideal body image” has become a part of America’s culture and society. I also believe that advertising largely impacts what we choose to purchase and what we choose to consume. The commercials that come to mind when I think of the power of advertising are the Sonic commercials. I think the reason the Sonic commercials left an impact on me was because I had never been to Sonic fast-food place before, and the commercials were so funny and made the desserts sound so good that I was immediately drawn to the first Sonic I passed while driving. America is known for having a great deal of fast food, and this could be partly due to the amount of money spent on advertising.
The McQuail reader states, “Advertisements must take into account not only the inherent qualities and attributes of the products they are trying to sell, but also the way in which they can make those properties mean something to us,” (McQuail 299). Advertisers choose to use images and messages that relate to people, so people truly believe that a specific product should be purchased. I think the advertisements that remain in my mind are the truly ordinary advertisements, and the ads in which I can relate to the most. I’m not sure how society would function without advertisements. I know that some people would save a lot of money if advertising did not exist.
I think that advertising is a part of our culture and there is no escaping it; however it is important to become aware of the fact that false advertising does exist and not everything may be as it appears. It is important to become aware of how the media shapes our society.
I find your blog particularly interesting because I have grown increasingly more aware over the past year or two just how many ads we are exposed to every day. There literally is no escaping them. Billions of dollars are spent on making sure that their company's product gets sold. Most businesses have their own best interest at heart; what matters at the end of the day is making the most profit. As Judith Williamson states in her article we read from the McQuail Reader, "Obviously it has a function, which is to sell things to us. But it has another function, which I believe in many ways replaces that traditionally fulfilled by art of religion. It creates structure of meaning…. Advertisements rather provide a structure that is capable of transforming the language of objects to that of people, and vice versa." Advertisers attempt to reach the consumer on a deeper level so that their product will appeal to a certain type of person. The viewer is then compelled to believe “That’s me; I need that.”
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to answer the question of how much advertisements influence us and whether or not we have control over their influence because there is nowhere to turn without being confronted by an ad! “Media have become a primary means by which many of us experience or learn about many aspects of the world around us. Even when we don’t learn about these things directly from the media, we learn about them from other people who get their ideas of the world from media” (Baran and Davis). Companies and advertisers are well aware of this notion and take great advantage of the fact that we consume an obscene amount of media. Thus media has turned into a nonstop advertisement. Businesses work so hard to retrieve our hard earned money. Honestly, I think that advertising has gone way too far and advertisers have overstepped their boundaries. I wish they would take a few steps back and give us as consumers some breathing room instead of vying for our attention and approval like some kind of 5 year old child.
I see where you’re coming from about society being engulfed in advertisements. However, I can also agree with both Rajpal’s and your statement. I believe we have the power to choose from the pile of advertisements presented to us. It’s the fact that we are given those choices. On the other hand, they encourage us to pick a name brand whether it is Budweiser, Coors or Heineken over a brand less advertised in America such as Bass Ale, Stella or Keystone. However, society also bases their decisions not just on the quality, but the prices as well. It’s more likely that our typical domestic beers are cheaper than the imported ones.
ReplyDeleteAs a media studies student, I feel I’m privy to media’s tricks and treats. I’m not patting on Loreal or Neutrogena makeup because I want my face to look like so and so’s on the commercial. I do however, buy brand name makeup because it’s better for my skin and I buy specific brands based on which ingredients agree with my face. Baran and Davis said, "media might have the power to intrude and alter how we make sense of ourselves and our social world," (199). I think what impacts us the most, especially the younger generation, is the letdown when we don’t turn out to look like the people on television who may or may not really be sporting the makeup or hair products as shown. Advertisements have made some of us gullible.
Without advertisements what would we do, and HOW would we choose? Advertisements are a part of our culture. The Baran and Davis reading stated, “Media affects how culture is created, learned, shared, and applied,” (200). Not everything is really negative about advertisements. They can be informative and actually lead us to enjoy the products we consume. "Many of us experience or learn about many aspects of the world around us. Even when we don't learn about these things directly from the media, we learn about them from other people who get their ideas of the world from the media," (Baran and Davis 200). There is a liaison between the different types of consumers. In a way, advertisements and media in general connect our society culturally.
Your blog was really interesting to me because you mentioned something that truly made me aware of how ads really affect me personally. I would like to think that, as a media studies major, I am conscious of what the ads are attempting to achieve and that the advertising techniques are employed to lure in the target demographic—sometimes through embellishment or by stretching the truth. I understand what the advertisers are trying to do, yet I still find myself feeding in to the agendas.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned how we tend to buy into the brand name because we constantly see how “wonderful” Product A is during our daily hours of media consumption. You made me realize just how guilty of this I am. I was out grocery shopping with my roommate and actually cringed when she purchased Walmart brand window cleaner...I may or may not have grabbed a small bottle of Windex behind her back. The idea of store brand milk disgusts me. Why? Because I guess I am gullible and believe that Hood is the only milk company that doesn’t use growth hormones that are going to give me cancer...or something. And you are completely right about Bud and Bud Light. If I have no idea what to get at a bar, Bud Light is always my go to drink. It’s the first beverage that pops into my head when faced with choices because I consume its advertisement more than any other.
The CNN article states that “we’re in the power to choose” in the world of advertising, but we tend to choose what we see the most or what products have the most entertaining advertising. In that way the most “elite” products are the ones that continue to gain the most benefit and revenue from advertising—because they can afford to have the most impact in media and the most innovative advertising techniques. The Baran and Davis text discusses ideology as part of the Marxist theory. It states, “Marx believed an ideology operated much like a drug. Those who are under its influence fail to see how they are being exploited...” (207). Even as a savvy media consumer, I still had to take a big step back and analyze my own purchasing habits to see that I have fallen to an ideology. I think that my brand name addiction proves that I have been “encouraged to act against my own interests” and have been misled by product advertising (207).
As I was reading Judith Williamson’s article in the McQuail Reader, the reasons for my and most of society’s vulnerability towards advertising was made clear. She made points about advertising that I had never considered before. Williamson states, “Advertisements are selling us something else besides consumer goods: in providing us with a structure in which we, and those goods, are interchangeable, they are selling us ourselves” (300). I took the time to analyze the ads of some of the products that I use and they really are selling a certain kind of person—a certain kind of individual (that I want to be) uses these products. A health conscious individual drinks hood milk and a social, fun-loving individual drinks Bud Light while they watch their favorite football team. I guess we sort of shape our personality through the products that we use and in a way, that’s a little scary.
I definitely think that advertisements have the power to impact how we view ourselves. This is evident by the simple fact that millions of dollars are spent on advertising everyday. If advertising did not work, then companies would not spend as much money as they do on self-promotion. Advertisements position the products or services in the minds of consumers as things that they need in order to fulfill a need in their life. These needs may be formed by the advertisements themselves. Airing for about a quarter of a program, advertisements develop a relationship with the viewer. The fact that “the sheer amount of time young people spend using media—an average of nearly 6½ hours a day—makes it plain that the potential of media to impact virtually every aspect of young people’s lives cannot be ignored” (Baran and Davis, 200). Because of the extent that media consumed, advertising plays a role in viewer’s everyday lives and could be very much a part of their lives as real life social interaction. If a friend says that they like your shirt, you’re going to wear that shirt again and perhaps buy another shirt from the same company or of the same style. This can parallel the role of advertising. If an advertisement shows people enjoying something, more than likely, the viewer would enjoy that same thing, which may increase the likelihood of a purchase by the viewer.
ReplyDeleteAlthough highly unlikely, if advertisements ceased to exist, no, I do no think that we, as the general population, would have an entirely different outlook on ourselves and the world around us. We have plenty of other ways that we consume media that molds our lives. McQuail does bring up a good point about advertisements though, that, “they can make those properties mean something to us” (McQuil, 299). My cousin has been in many commercials for companies such as Verizon, McDonalds, Cheetos, and Old Navy. Her role in these commercials is to portray situations in which she must get you, the viewer, to care about the products at hand. One of my life goals is to get people to care more about other people and to appreciate life. I do not have to make a commercial to accomplish that goal though. For example, I can make a movie, I can do a voiceover on a documentary, I can host a talk radio show, among many other things. For these reasons, I believe that consumers might not have a completely different outlook on things if advertisements did not exist.
To answer the question, “do you purchase them based on their quality or simply because of their brand name?”, my answer would be that quality is more important than brand name. It does not take a genius to find out that as a college student and someone who just wants to own products that last, quality is more important than a brand name (which will probably cost more). I think there is much more to advertising and brand names than buying power, such as the social needs I had mentioned before.