of Structure Advertsing
Contemporary Advertising - Does not offer fixed models of behavior to replace traditional ones, but successive waves of associations between persons, products and images of well-being in an endless series of suggestions about possible routes to happiness and success. o Used to do this through fear (halitosis) - Works by allusion, free association, suggestion and analogy rather than by literal or logical rule. - Metaphor is at the very heart of the basic communicative form of advertising. Metaphor - Transfers qualities from one "domain" of life to another. o Source domain o Target domain - This transfer is selective, and never complete - Set up associations between images and ideas. - Can be accomplished verbally and visually. - Examples: o A fruitful idea: Source domain= fruit of blossom; idea of bearing fruit Target domain= want to make associations between blossoming and ideas. o "We must jump-start the economy" Source domain= "jump-start", gets going, stimulate, sudden, needs to be quick. Target domain= want to make associations between jump-strart and economy. o "Player is on fire" Source domain= fire= unstoppable, quick, warmth, dynamic, consumes things (but could also mean destruction)\ Target domain= player= dynamic (= unstoppable), hot (=unable to handle) Could be negative o "Our company is a family" Source= family= connection, sharing, obligation, fight, abuse, divorce, blood Target domain= we want them to think about the connection, sharing, obligation, we don't want them to think about fighting, abuse, differences, but we can't always control that! - When we say associations are selective and not always complete is that we can't know how people are going to associate things. Figurative Language in Advertising McQuarrie and Mick - Look at meaning as well as information - Interpretation as well as stimulation - The way something is expressed may be more important than prepositional content. Advertising- creation of deliberate ambiguities
- Open-endedness - Fluidity of meaning - Leaves much to the interpretation of the viewer - Often require audience to bring in "outside knowledge" to interpret the ad. - Examples? Figuration - When an expression deviates from expectation - Everyday vs. artful language o "Say hello to your child's new bodyguards" Band-aid ad - Every communication encounter sets up expectations - A deviation, a violation carries additional meaning. - The audience searches for a context where thee is sense - Provide a way of making the familiar strange and the strange familiar. - Incongruity attracts response. Their taxonomy is based on a gradient of deviation.
Schemes and Tropes Schemes o Excessively regular Sounds- violate conventionovercoding Trophes o Irregularity Combination constraints- limit how signs can be combined in sentences Selection constraints- which signs can fill certain positions (subject, object, verb) Trophes invite elaboration by the reader.
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Historical trends in elemental codes and formats - Away from rational appeal - Away from emphasizing utilitarian aspects of products - Away from text; toward images - Away from products themselves and toward associating them with persons and lifestyles and social contexts After lifestyle... the symbolic campaign - LKJ- to th late `80s - Since then the "symbolic advertising campaign" has become ascendant - Symbolic advertising campaigna series of advertisements which maintain a thematic connection across individual ads so as to offer a recognizable, recallable product or brand association. o PC vs. Mac o Verizon wireless network following people around. Thematics - Color or stylistic harmonies; as well as musical or cintmagraphic techniques o Absolut - Repeated tagline
LKJ -
o "Can you hear me now?" Verizon Repeated use of actors or models, settings or situations Incongruent good news- car insurance Goodsmovement from satisfiers of wants to communicators of meaning. Sounds like...? o Movement from economic to cultural approach Three forces strongly assist in this movement o Consumption as a legitimate sphere for the realization and experience of self, of authenticity and identity o Interpersonal realm is key o Technological innovation
LKJstatus concerns and status differentials are most important for consumers in a fluid world of goods and meanings. - Status or prestige is inherently scarce - Contradictions of economics of scale o I.e. mass production inherently devalues goods. - Role of advertising to enhance the meaning or image of goods as special, prestigious, even singularized o Even when they are mass produced.
Themed environments- Branding
Mark Gottdiener, The theming of America- 1997 Themed environments - Extensions of television, magazine and newspaper advertising - Provide space for realization of consumer fantasies - Link between supersaturated culture of symbols and icons of commercial venues - Advertising becomes part of the space, not one aspect of it. o Celebration, FL - Themed environments are fueled by o Domination of market considerations above all else o Segmentation of markets to keep up with a highly differentiated consumer public - The environment itself as a whole functions. - Entertainmenthighly valued and utilized - Motifs disguise the spaces fundamental purpose - Helps advertisers realize desire and advertises producer benevolence Examples- Themed restaurants o Simulations ChiChis Hard Rock Caf- totally themed environment, food is nothing special o Functions as a form of branding and packagingoutside or visible enticement hides virtual sameness of content.
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o Implosions Ruby Tuesday- implodes various eras or themes into one hodge-podge o Not about accuracy or "authenticity" o Other examples? Extensions of theming merchandising of clothes, etc. Mixe generic themed signs, like Greek temple or national colors of Greece on take-out cups Themed malls o Malls as particular destinations, not generic o Needs overarching means of identification o Mall of America
Theming One response to competition, a form of branding - Urban attempt to replicate downtowns by re-creating a simulated "urban" environment - What is urban about it? What is left out? - What about Marketplace Mall? Other themed spaces- Airports - Las Vegas/casinos - Amusement parks o Disney's town Celebration - Vs. daily life (differences in behavior) o Walking, clothing, money, family relations What happens to a person when entering a theme park or themed environment? - shift from multi-faceted self to consuming self What are the symbolic functions of themes environments - hide principle function of commerce, it is a selling space - represent the unrepresentable.
Purchasing Power
Elizabeth Chin article How are the public, media images of African Americans regarding consumption?
No Logo
A new era, beginning in the early 1980s, when companies began to produce images and meanings first and foremost That is, they began to produce brands Brands began as early as the 1800s with the rose of mass production o They informed consumers as what was inside the can of food and who made it o The products themselves were new. The first (and many would say last task of branding): o Bestow proper names to generic goods such as sugar and four which has been scooped out of barrels in stores
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Goods became associated with persons names o Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben o The beginnings of the development of corporate "personality" Over time, a gradual realization that o Companies make products; consumers buy brands o There is a separation of production and consumption in a number of ways They led to a search for brand "essence" o I.e. what attributes the brand has for the consumers. The brand begins to stand for or represent the company, and not just the product Companies come to realize that a brand is a continuous and cumulative investment of meaning (and, of course, money and resources).
Marlboro Friday - There was a recession - 1993, slashed prices by 20% - "Death of the brand" Why? - At the same time, o Consumers were increasingly buying private label goods o AND a number of brands flourished- Nike, Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Coke, Pepsi, McDonalds, Disney Marlboro Friday brought two types of consumers into focus - Big box, bargain shopping - Extreme attitude brands The end result was increasingly abstract advertising and brand associations CEOs most consumers don't really believe there is much of a difference between products Advertisers and brands become meaning brokers o About corporate transcendence (of the product) o A lifestyles, an attitude
The brand expands: - Logos move from hidden to outside the clothing - Sponsorship of events, branding of cityscapes - Not just part of culture, but a culture itself - Advanced branding, nudging host culture into background. Is this a case of "innocence lost"? Of a previous pristine world with no sponsorship? No, - Artists have had sponsors at least since Renaissance - Buildings have had ads painted on them before - Some school materials in the 1920s were sponsored by cereal companies - Musicians created jingles Why the controversy now? - "Wag the Dog" Sponsorship o begins to dictate terms of relationship
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Relationship of dependence o Editorial policy and reporting o Point of many media is to deliver an audience, not to impart news (McChesney, U of I)
Brand bombing - Assault on choice in the marketplace o Ikea, Blockbuster, Gap, Kinkos, Body Shop, Starbucks - Constant cloningswallowing up competition A new era, beginning in the early 1980s, when companies began to produce images and meanings first and foremost That is, they began to produce brands Brands began as early as the 1800s with the rose of mass production o o They informed consumers as what was inside the can of food and who made it The products themselves were new.
The first (and many would say last task of branding): o Bestow proper names to generic goods such as sugar and four which has been scooped out of barrels in stores
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Goods became associated with persons names o o Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben The beginnings of the development of corporate "personality"
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Over time, a gradual realization that o o Companies make products; consumers buy brands There is a separation of production and consumption in a number of ways
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They led to a search for brand "essence" o I.e. what attributes the brand has for the consumers.
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The brand begins to stand for or represent the company, and not just the product Companies come to realize that a brand is a continuous and cumulative investment of meaning (and, of course, money and resources).
Marlboro Friday
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There was a recession 1993, slashed prices by 20% "Death of the brand" Why? At the same time, o o Consumers were increasingly buying private label goods AND a number of brands flourished- Nike, Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Coke, Pepsi, McDonalds, Disney
Marlboro Friday brought two types of consumers into focus Big box, bargain shopping Extreme attitude brands
The end result was increasingly abstract advertising and brand associations
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CEOs--> most consumers don't really believe there is much of a difference between products Advertisers and brands become meaning brokers o o About corporate transcendence (of the product) A lifestyles, an attitude
The brand expands: Logos move from hidden to outside the clothing Sponsorship of events, branding of cityscapes Not just part of culture, but a culture itself Advanced branding, nudging host culture into background.
Is this a case of "innocence lost"? Of a previous pristine world with no sponsorship? No, Artists have had sponsors at least since Renaissance Buildings have had ads painted on them before Some school materials in the 1920s were sponsored by cereal companies Musicians created jingles
Why the controversy now? "Wag the Dog" o Sponsorship begins to dictate terms of relationship
Relationship of dependence o o Editorial policy and reporting Point of many media is to deliver an audience, not to impart news (McChesney, U of I)
Brand bombing Assault on choice in the marketplace o Ikea, Blockbuster, Gap, Kinkos, Body Shop, Starbucks
Constant cloning, swallowing up competition Two models - Price wars - Wal-mart Model - Economy of scale: - Price Buster strategy -> can under price anyone - Located on edge of town - people coming off the interstate
- low property tax - close to distribution centers = lower shipping costs - Deplete downtowns of local businesses - Anti-sprawl/anti-Walmart campaigns - Questionable labor practices - Clustering/Cannibalization - Starbucks Model - Relies on economy of scale like Wal-mart - Build many Starbucks in close proximity - this drives out competition - then close the stores that aren't making a ton of money (cannibalization) - Workers out of jobs - Workers as pawns - New international Division of Labor - Never just "transcendental goods" - They must be made somewhere, sold somewhere - Material world/production still important (Marx?" - First World primarily dealing with images - Third/Developing world dealing with low wages, no unions, pollution - Anti-globalization campaign
Consuming Kids
Excessive commercialism, now not only targeting parents, but kids too. How many sides are there in this struggle? o Parents parents should be saying no, but that is hard when they are being bombarded all the time. o Marketers o Researchers Linn compares marketing to gangs. Why? o Parents can't compete with the seductive offerings of both?
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A tug of war between parents and advertisers. Examples? o Food! parents are trying to teach their kids not to play with food, marketers are trying to present food products as playful o "Nutritious food" vs Other foods (colored ketchup, chocolate-flavored etc)
Transgressions - Contrary to parents expectations and values - The "nag factor" or "pester power" o What kind of parent gives in the most? Divorced parentsguilt! Parents of teenagers don't want to fight all the time so need to pick your battles Parents of very young childrenkids will throw tantrums so just appease them - Why? o Persistent nagging o Importance nagginggive a reason why they want it Categories of parents- Western international media - Indulgersbasically give in to their parents every whim - Kids palswant to have fun too, just like their kids - Conflicted singe and or divorced parents, whose purchasing behavior is often influenced by guilt. - Bare necessities seem to be able to fend off kids pleas and ultimately make all of the purchasing decisions on their own. Academic research is regulated by "human subjects review", while marketing research is not Marketing benefits by feeding children's "need to be in control", at the expense of exasterbating the tensions existing in family life Branded babies(from cradle to consumer) o Imprintingwhen babies are exposed to these marketing items from a very young age, they will have very strong brand loyalty o "have you ever met a baby, or even a toddler, with even remotely adequate critical judgement"
The overspent American
New consumerism since the late 1970s Culture of spending has changed New points of reference New reference group dynamics Relentless ratcheting up aspirational living standards "Keeping up with the Joneses"sounds like? o But not the Joneses next door who have similar incomes o Many don't know their next door neighbors anymore. o Trying to keep up with...either known people who have incomes 3 to 5 times higher than the middle class. o Or with the "imaginary buddies" on television where images of lifestyle are inflated
o But Schor argues that Americans on the whole are no longer satisfied merely with "keeping up" with the neighbors- but with besting them, outdoing them How did this "upscaling of American Dream" happen? 1. Daily exposure to an economically diverse set of people, particularly by women. a. Changing womens roles b. More workforce preparation c. New contacts, expanding reference groups 2. Television a. Gives many exposure to products, images of lifestyles of higher group b. Product placement c. Images of upscale life abound. Consumer spending rose anywhere from 30-70% between 1979 and 1995 Savings have declined to almost nothing (lately, even negatively by some measures) Lower priced designer lines emerged (Martha Stewart and Kmart) Focal image for many Americans is not just one step up the economic ladder... o Living largehomes, number and kinds of cars, vacation o Bottom 80% setting sights on top 20% Images of the "good life" beliefs in amount of income requisite to be happy or satisfied historically have moved upscale. Quality of life squeeze keeping up with imaginary or real idea of good life requires going into high levels of debt. Overspending is often the response Social comprison/referebce group found by Schor @ Telecom o In descending order of importance: Friends, coworkers, relatives, others of same religion, others in same occupation, neighbors Spending fantasies- seems as if everyone has them Almost imperceptibly creeping up of lifestyle beyond ones means See, want, borrow, buy More educationless savingswhy? TV watchingeach additional hour of TV watched per week reduces savings by $208 Distorted view of social world (O'Guinn study also) o TV is replacing personal contacts as a source of information about how members of other social groups live and what they consume When TV was introduced in the 1950s, increase property theftincited desire Same thing happened in 1920s rise of department stores o Goods on display, window shopping, kleptomania as new disease, now shopping "addiction" (shopaholics) Emulation process never ends Denial by many the keeping up or envy or emulation is motivation but it seems that no level is ever adequate to ones desires Problems with upscale spending: o Not wanting to deprive children of enjoyment or to appear less than othersbirthday parties
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o Gift giving Christmas, Birthdays, couples "upscaling" each other o Practical reasons for keeping up: Must "look" the part of ones occupation, socializing costs money, physical attractiveness important in many circles Difficulties extend to "downshifters"--those who purposely reduce consumption and/or work time.