Advertising and Identity through Consumer Culture Essay

Never before in the history of the new-made world has advert become so prevalent, ubiquitous, and an undeniable essential to a modern mans everyday life than that of our century. Advertising run intos of every sorts, now flood public spaces from billboards with eroticized images to the blinding electronic billboard, down to the solacement ads which oddly st ars back in the rest rooms of malls.Magazines and televisions be resemblingwise full of products that entice the readers and the audience to buy and patronize a reliable inciter. Similarly, cultural events washstandnot be seen without a popular brand nor is a clean-living event complete without a corporate ad. Indeed, advertising has become explode of todays agri burnish and has become an inescapable ghost that dominates our media, our pathway, and our home.The road towards the advertising era began its transition during the 1880s to1920s. It is during this period that ads foc dod generally on the products themselv es. Products took the center stage, using heavy texts to introduce, feature and foodstuff the product. authentic theatrical performance of populate were absent in advertisements, only when preferably bringation of people who stand for the friendly values such as family bodily structure and status differentiation were seen during this stage (Jhally, 1990, p. 228).With the written material properly explaining optic the visual imagery, ads during this period were instructional. At the homogeneous time they were also educational as well as promotional. These ads taught the consumer audience how to read commercial messages. However, by the postwar period, education was replaced for a puzzle of numerous visual messages. ocular images then took the limelight during the 1950s. Texts were highly reduced and were then replaced by icons and images to inveigle the consumer. These visual imageries eventually took over the product. The image, rather than the product, became the main message that is communicated to the consumer audience. The at a time educational ads were now replaced with a hodge-podge of pictures and visuals (Jhally, 1990, p. 229).As the 21st century ushered in, the radical of individuation was then marketed to the buying audience, convincing the public that the products they buy represent their identity identity which can now be brought in the warm mall and exit assure not only satisfaction only happiness as well.This paper lead discuss the contemporary culture in the advertising industry as it permeates and even molds todays thought process of beauty, style, as well as identity. Similarly, it will discuss how people are influenced by this media medium by citing several studies and researches related to the menti championd topic. aside form this, it will also discuss the benefits and the disadvantages brought about by the culture of advertising.Ours is an era whose society is in constant struggle to find their professedly identity. Never before has a mankind been so engrossed in a quest for an identity, life, and beauty only to be directed to the market place. Ads that promote images with identity are prevalent. A popular celebrity endorsing this broth of clothing, for instance, will give the audience the message that buying these kinds of clothes will devil you happy, beautiful, or popular. Likewise, purchasing this brand of shoes will gather in you a region of the settle down or in group.Through these visual representations, consumers appetency to be like the image they see on ads, and the uptake of this certain product will help them imagine, create, and sustain their idea of themselves, their image, and their identity.The idea of beauty is perhaps one of the most capitalized and used advertising ideas. many snips ofttimes represent a beautiful woman as slightlyone who is skinny, blond, tall, and has a porcelain-like skin. These faces are evidently plastered on every magazine cover. Of course, a brand logo is placed along side the photo of the model as if saying You can be just like me if you use this brand. Aside from this, almost every celebrity has the same body type. A small or fat woman would then mean that she is not conforming to societys image of beauty, which and so automatically shows her ugly.With all of these images, it is no wonder why millions of girls from different separate of the world accept the idea that in order to be beautiful, one should opine like a cover girl or a celebrity. This also means that buying that certain skin handle zephyr or go againsting the same brand of clothes would automatically convert them as they conform to the idea of beauty as well as their identity.In a report which studied the usage patterns of youth, consumers regard consumption not as a mode of cultural activity, but rather as a rationalized process of fulfilling their desires. This means that a number of item-by-items genuinely believe that buying a product will fulfill their desire to look a certain way. Since their idea of perfection is duly represented by images of stunning models and celebrities, their pursuit of what is perfect can only be realized by using the same products or items that these models endorse.Although these ideals of perfection someway give directions to the consumers, the truth is the images presented are first and foremost unattainable. More often than not, the audience is oblivious to the fact that the images they see, both on screen and on print, has already undergone a process of editing in order to make it even more perfect.The idea of beauty did not used to be boxed up with the idea of being skinny. In fact, during the prehistoric times, women are portrayed not as a wafer thin woman but rather as a full-bodied female with breasts, hips, abdomen, and thighs. The statuette called genus Venus of Willendorf for instance, has been revered as a goddess of beauty and fertility. Similarly, the statuette Venus of Morav any and Malta are both revered because of their physical attributes.These images of beauty however, began to change as advertising empha surfaced the need to fit in a size two dress. This is particularly used by companies who promote diet and exercising weight -lose products. Likewise, other manufacturers and business also saw the need to create slimming pills, slimming tea, and so much more. This eventually led other manufacturers to create clothes that will emphasize a womans thin frame.Apart from a persons physical attribute, a persons modus vivendi is also used as a handle by the advertising world to create a market-based image. According to the same report, more than fractional of the young consumers believed that the products they buy represent their identities and lifestyle in some way.For them, identities are depicted in a variety of products such as shoes, clothes, cosmetics etcetera Even seemingly trivial things are supposed to express their lifestyles. For instance, 3 6 percent of young males answered that their choices of telephone/ mobile equipment represent in some way their identities, and 63 percent of young females think that their choices of hair beauty parlour is a representation of their identities (Report on Youth Consumption Trend, 1994, p. 114).The one hr documentary en named Merchants of the Cool is perhaps one of the most critical examinations of how popular culture and advertising are entwined together.Exactly as the title suggests Merchants of the Cool chronicles how the media both reflects and influences pop culture. A large amount of property is paid to nerveless hunters in order to find out what is cool and what is hip. This information is then coursed through mediums such as the television. MTV for example, pay its cool audiences as well as the hosts and performers to attend to their party to make it look even cooler. Behind all these happening, there lies a gargantuan logo of a soft drinks brand. Much like how a ventril oquist controls a puppet, it is also the same with how a company and how advertising is behind how the image of coolness is presented (Frontline, 2001).This construction of a sense of identity, according to British sociologist Robert Bocock (1993), can be seen as a process which may make use of items of consumption such as clothing, footwear, popular music or sport activities, including being a supporter of particular music groups, singers or association football clubs. Such consumption patterns could be used as a of import means of defining who is a member and who is outside a specialized group. It is through material items that eventually determine an individuals social group, which then ultimately gives him or her identity.A brand is a reigning tool that mates commodities with consumers because it symbolizes various elements of the product so that consumers have relative liberty in finding the association between their identities and commodities. The visual images, even th e indorser of the brand also plays a crucial role in tempting the consumer to believe that by purchasing this product, you will become like me or that you will be popular or will have an identity like mine (Bocock, 1993, p. 4).However, the more important question is how does an individual associate his or her identity through the purchase of a certain brand or a certain product? The research mentioned above illustrates the mark mentality of a young consumer. I do not care about what other people choose. I think of design as an important consideration when I choose things, and my choices of commodities express a part of my personality.This statement underlines the prevalent belief that the freedom of choice of the consumer leads to the expression of his or her identity. In other words, since it is the choice of the individual that made him or her wear this particular pair of shoes, this particular pair then represents the identity of the individual who made the decision. Representa tive form of their self-identities derives from the individual level individual consumers make a decision by themselves to buy things in order to express their own identities (Hattori, 1997, p.10).