Class summary: week 9: Advertising + reproduction/manipulation
The class started with Elina’s image presentation. She presented a Lucky Strike ad which dates to circa 1928, it was made by Edward Bernays. This advertisement targets women and the message conveys that if they use this product, they will look a certain way and/or keep this slender figure, smoking is what they should do.
It capitalizes on women’s insecurities and another ad from Lucky STrike shows women that smoke have slender figures and their shadows show larger women in the back.
To advertise this way is unethical as it is feeding into constant desire/wanting to have what we need or don’t need.
In John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing” he says that in advertising it is always placed in the future. It is promising but never fulfills that promise and always keeps this constantly in the future.
A parallel to another cigarette brand is Marlborough. Their ad made in the 1920’s also targets the audience to smoke. Cigarettes are seen everywhere in ads as they are part of a representation of being an intellectual, of a certain status. Cigarettes were also considered as substitutes for food. These ads from 100 years ago look satirical in today’s society.
Quotes from class discussion:
Vilda- Berger strives for the idea of the happiness of the people around the consumer, the illusion that is created is desirable, as discussed in ways of seeing, Vilda
Willow- Capitalized on the insecurities of women, provide an alternate lifestyle, world of publicity and ads trying to get us to obtain what we don’t have, or what we desire consciously or unconsciously
Vilda- department stores function well due to women coming thinking they could buy their confidence (during war time)
Ada- how desire plays a role in the photos, many times photos and depictions are used as a sort of bait, ethical and unethical ways of creating this, ads using sensitive topics or unrealistic depictions, too controlling and/or stimulating to be an advertisement
Lorraine:
The way the woman is represented in the Lucky strike advertisement: attractive, healthy looking, a lot of makeup, mouth is pursed for kiss
“You want to be her or you want to be with her”
Lucky strike as a name is a way of selling a life that we are not living- implies you will be lucky, you will become skinny
Marlborough advertisement 1920 woman; the black and white filter implied less color damage to the body, selling cigarettes through placement in movies, before the war, france did not put out a single ad without the feature of a cigarette
The class then moved onto today’s lecture: Advertising + reproduction/manipulation.
In today’s society we live in constant advertisement so much that we don’t even notice them anymore.
The public spaces become private as private companies are taking over spaces to have their advertisement hence becomes a private space.
Advertisements can be as small as logos even, for example Levi’s jeans. They are images to be desired, how the world should be and look like. They show an example of how the future can be for example Dior: eau sauvage.
They show the “perfect” person using their product.
Ads feed into the consumer culture. They can also be reused/recycled.
Capitalism>mass production/consumption>consumer culture.
There are things that you don’t necessarily need but ads make it seem that you need them, and so you have to buy it. The rise of mass production came with WW1 and WW2, that’s when a change happened. Cities are born for advertising.
Term “therapeutic ethos” by TJ Jackson Lears.
Ads are made for individual fulfillments, there is a shift in social evolution and values, people don’t buy stuff because they need it but because they want it.
The world is constantly changing culture and the growth of cities pushes towards consumerism.
Before the industrial revolution the pace was much slower but as time went on it became a much faster pace, almost a sense of overwhelm.
They create a problem and then resolve it by creating products. Consumer products will resolve problems (identity crisis, …)
For example, Coca Cola made an ad in the late 1900 where drinking the product will help with physical and mental exhaustion, where Coca Cola helps manage stress. Another example is the ad from Lifebuoy soaps that is related to health and how using it improves and saves it.
Companies create a problem and sell the product as the solution.
Spatial and environmental relationships are very important to attract people. People used to go to stores because they needed something, there weren’t any storefront windows. Now it is completely different, everything has to be aesthetic and visually pleasing to attract customers. For example le Bon Marché which translates to “Cathedrale of commerce” by Emile Zola.
An example of how malls disconnect you from the world outside is Galerie Lafayette. They are made so that you stay inside and look at as many products as you can, and push the person to buy things.
In the late 1900, product design and packaging became very important and maybe even more important than the function of the product itself (for example with the emergence of cars in the 1910-1920)
Margaret Bourke-White
The term “consumer’s republic” by Elizabeth Cohen
Post war, products were made to solve pleasure, reassurance, anxieties and insecurities.
The relation of art and fine art have been blurred as ads like Grey Goose used traditional painting to show their products.
Pierre Bourdieu
- Economic capital = material wealth
- Social capital = social network
- Symbolic capital = prestige/honors/titles
- Cultural capital = cultural knowledge
Hyundai creates a special relationship with consumers
John Berger states that “advertising is always in the future”
Stuart Elven quotes “ commodity self”. People construct their identities, to convey their identity and through products they show what kind of person they are. Which creates a false sense of individuality.
Commodity = use value and exchange value
Commodity fetishism
Exchange value = buy something because it looks better/its value and not for the function but it’s worth(monetary value)
The last example is Levi’s jeans:
- that the country wasn’t built by men in suits
- Go forth
