Advertising Text as a Sociocultural Object - Literature review Example

Advertising text as a sociocultural object Introduction Advertising has been around a very long time. The oldest written advertisement known comes from the ancient city of Thebes (triptravel, 2012). In it the advertiser describes the slave he wants to sell in persuasive and glowing terms. In America the first printed advertisements were published in 1704 in Boston (Advertising Age 1999). The social role of advertising, for good or ill, is a matter of contention. Advertisers try to generate increased use of their products or services by "branding". This involves the association of a product name or image with particular qualities such as reliability or taste in the minds of consumers. The claims made may be or may not be entirely justifiable. Advertising tells us what is available. We can compare advertisements to find which is the item which best fits our particular criteria and budget. On the other hand advertising encourages us to buy things we might not otherwise have spent our money on. It also tells us what we ought to want, how we ought to be. Hackley ( 2009) tells us how advertising has to serve many masters , from business owners, employees and shareholders, advertising agencies as well as consumers, while at the same time fitting in with government rules and the norms, beliefs and desires of society, as well as creating new markets by bringing to our notice novel items and ideas. Advertising is concerned with human communication, with behavior and thinking. It revolves around human society and culture. According to Hackley ( 2009, page 32) the study of advertising theory draws upon a variety of fields such as cognitive psychology, anthropology, cybernetics, mathematics, literary theory and the science of communication. Bogunia-Bowrowska ( undated ) mentions two purposes of advertising as a sociocultural entity. She cites the ‘stimulation of social and cultural change’ and the ‘ creation and reproduction of social order.’ Sutherland ( 2009) asserts that advertising works by adding value to a product by altering our perceptions about it, rather than the product itself. His claim is that how we think about a product is more important than the actual features of the product. Mehand ( 2013) describes how consumers make quite deliberate logical and purposeful decisions about what they purchase, but says such decisions are affected by the way they interpret their own social context. Mention is made of such things as evaluation of particular brands and items and the priorities given to certain attributes. One person may for instance value organic origins, whereas someone else evaluates according to the perceived value for money, so each consumer has a particular set of criteria they are trying to meet. This is coupled with a person’s previous experience, perhaps of a particular brand they found to suit their taste or be reliable. He also says that the more experience the person has the more confident they will be, so someone who buys car parts perhaps on a regular basis, will feel quite comfortable buying other car parts, but might have doubts and questions if he were buying perhaps kitchen units, or perfume for his wife. This makes the difference between limited problem solving, and a more extended and careful share for something less familiar. Mehand ( 2013) also discusses the issue of brand loyalty, with some consumers deliberately choosing a brand they know for a number of different purchases, whereas someone else might prefer variety and so almost deliberately choose a different brand for their new purchase. Other aspects covered by Mehand ( 2013) are how our strongly held personal beliefs affect consumer choices, whether this be ‘local is best’ or those who follow a particular sport and are influenced by celebrity endorsements. He stresses how too much advertising creates overload and so consumers ignore many advertisements, or skip over them very quickly. They may however be taken by advertisements which challenge their beliefs by using particular persuasive language. They may for instance think Ford make the best cars , and then see a particular advertisement from another company which shows a vehicle which fits their ideal criteria, so this makes them think. If there is any doubt that advertising text is a sociocultural object then one should look at how advertising has changed over the years, reflecting changes in society, in technology, in fashion, in politics and in attitudes. Until the early sixties for instance much of advertising aimed at women had them depicted as housewives and there was often an emphasis upon pleasing their husband. Black or Asian faces were more or less absent, yet today, in 2013, one can see for instance a banking advertisement which features a mixed race family. Such families are a common feature of life , and so the advertisers feel safe in using such images and ideas. Also, in many countries the average age is getting higher, and so one is more likely to see the older generation represented, and also lots of advertising which is aimed primarily at older adults. Image 1,1960s advertisement for a kitchen gadget , Google, 2013 . Smoking advertisements, featuring both men and women were also prominent in earlier times, although today this is frowned upon, or even illegal. Advertising also reflects the advance of technology, as in the early advertisement for a television featured below. It is saying you can have this, and you can show it to friends and family and share with them . The advertisement doesn’t actually say you can show off, but that is implied surely. To have a television at that time was saying that you were a successful person, someone who could afford such a product, even if there were few programs to watch, just as the advertisement above implies that the wife is a good cook who produces fine food for her husband, without actually saying that she will suddenly be a better cook. Such advertising is as much about what is not said directly as about the actual words on the page. To some extent it reflects everyday life, but it also has an influence upon the society it is aimed at. It is saying this is the norm; this is what everyone should want; this is how you should spend your money. Just think of the advertising for certain toys before Christmas each year and the way in which particular items , often toys, are very highly promoted , so that children put pressure on their parents to buy whatever it is because ’Everyone’s getting one.’ Advertising affects the ways in which we think about things. It does this in a number of ways as outlined by Shrank, (2011). He mentions flattery, but also includes what he refers to as ‘weasels’, that is words which actually negate the rest of the facts claimed in the advertisement. Shrank mentions ads which make unfinished claims. An example would be that for Ford products which are said to be ‘700% quieter’ – quieter than what? It could be referring to earlier models by the same company, or it could mean all of its rivals, but surely they would vary in the amount of noise produced, which means that this claim is really nonsense unless other information is given. Another way in which advertisers get their message across is by using endorsements, which seem to be saying this famous person uses this product. Is it also saying that if you use it you too can become a famous pop singer or successful sportsperson? That is certainly implied. On the other hand buying the object gives fans a kind of virtual link to the celebrity concerned. Thesis Advertising text reflects the society at which it is aimed, and also its hopes and dreams, but it also has an effect upon shaping that society. Language and the reflexion of gender. The Genderlect theory. The Genderlect theory was developed by linguist Deborah Tannen ( Coughlin, 1997). Her theory has been accepted by some scholars, as cited by Coughlin, but there are those who disagree with her. The Genderlect theory is concerned with the differences between the way men and women communicate , and also with the need for each sex to be aware of how the other seeks to communicate. The theory describes differences in values, that is what is important to one gender may not seem to be important to the other, as when for instance a man spends a large amount on a new car , but doesn’t understand why his wife thinks a new dress is important and vice versa. What is important to someone from a particular race, social community , or who has particular values and aspirations , all of these have their effect upon consumer choices, but the Genderlect theory sees gender as one of the most important issues. Tannen says that women communicate communication in order to build and maintain relationships their with others. Men on the other hand are rather more likely to talk only when if it enhances their status by making them feel look good, strong, more competitive, or independent ( Theories of Gender Communication, undated). Advertisers are aware of these differences and many advertising texts will be aimed at one gender only, or a particular social group. Women are seen as providing good things for their familes. With men it is more about good things for the man himself. Tannen believes that if men and women come to learn about these differences in the way they communicate then relationships will improve. Coughlin believes that Tannen has quite a negative view of cross gender communication and herself believes that the differences are ‘what makes life exciting’ ( Coughlin, 1997). She cites feminist Troemel-Ploetz who believes that Tannen does not take into consideration the ways in which men can dominate women at times. The article ‘Sexism in Advertising’ ( undated), speaking about American society, but with wider implications, says that sexism has always been present, because women in American society have always been expected to fit themselves into roles dictated by society. These roles, according to this writer, are cleaner, cook, child bearer and of course sexual object. Image 2, 1940s television advertisement, GAJITZ Image 3 from ‘Sexism in Advertising’( undated). . He goes on to discuss the rise of the women’s movement, especially since the 1960s onwards, with women having greater opportunities in education and in careers. The writer of ‘Sexism in Advertising’ ( undated) also discusses changing ideas about beauty. Early in the 20th century a voluptuous and curvy body with a pale skin was considered good , as it indicated both fertility and delicacy, whereas now, in the 21st century young women are exhorted to be slim and to have a golden tan. These are just fashions, but again they are about women fitting certain pre-designated roles. The web page “ ..and I can be a priest” ( 2013) shows just some of the things women have proved they are capable of – from being an architect to a butcher, from a mechanic to a priest, all careers that would have been considered impossible for a woman in earlier times. The ideas of fitting into roles designed by men is obviously less important than it once was. According to Chittester (2013) modern feminism isn’t about being superior to men, but nor is it the old idea of being inferior and dependent . Successful advertising aimed at the modern women needs to reflect modern ideas about who women are:- Feminism is about allowing every member of the human race to become a fully functioning human adult, to make choices at every level of society, to participate in the decision-making that affects their lives, to be financially independent, to be safe on the streets, secure in their homes, to have a voice in the courts and constitutional bodies of the world -- to enjoy, in other words, full and equal civil rights.(Chittester, December 2013). How to read gender. (Linguistic comparison of the men’s and women’s magazines) In 2005 Bonham looked at gender images and power in magazine advertisements. She was considering the Consciousness Scale as devised by Pingree et al in the1970s and trying to see if it was still valid (Pingree et al, 1976 ) The scale requires participants to view advertisements and to see how women are depicted and how this reflects power roles. Are the women merely ornamental, the dumb blonde? Do they show her only in a home situation or in a situation usually considered to be a female role such as a secretary? Are the women shown professionals, but is it clear that they are also first of all wives and mothers, rather than the other way round? Finally does the advertisement depict man and woman as equal? Frith (1998) discusses how we read advertising at different levels. The surface meaning. This is concerned with the overall impression gained from a quick glance of the ad. It might consist of a simple listing of the various components such as one women, a child, a stove. The intended message. This is the message the advertiser wants to get across to readers. I tis sometimes described as the ‘preferred’ or ‘expected’ meaning. The cultural and ideological meaning. This refers to how readers make sense of advertising by relating to their own knowledge and society, as well as related it to shared belief systems. The example is given by Frith of an advertisement for male underwear, which features a quite dominant man in underwear, with a naked woman lying down behind him, and the slogan ‘For the benefit of mankind.’ So we see an advertisement which brings the message that this underwear is comfortable for men, but we are reading it culturally and ideologically. The slogan speaks to a patriarchal society, a society from which men rather than women benefit the most . The specific choice of ‘mankind’ implies the superiority of males. The picture shows the dominance of male over female, and the handsome man implies virility. So the message received is that if men wear these garments they will be successful with women, and that women will serve them sexually, so it speaks about society and social relationships. Bonham also cites Courtney and Lockertz in 1971 who found that advertising clearly placed women in domestic situations ; showed women as only making unimportant decisions or only doing unimportant things . They saw the majority of women who were dependent, and at the same time tended depict men as seeing women only as sexual objects, and who were completely uninterested in women as people in the same way they saw other men. Much advertising today is aimed at young women , people at a vulnerable time in their lives when they are still discovering who they are and who they want to be. Levine, Smolak and Hayden (1994) investigated the relationship between sociocultural factors and the behavior, in particular the eating habits of middle school girls aged from 10 to 14. It was found that cues about such things as eating behavior, with body satisfaction, as well as any concern with being slim, were taken from several sources , from parents, their peers, and from magazines. This includes both teasing and criticism from family and peers. This study showed how the girl’s levels of dissatisfaction and concerns about weight show how they have adopted a female image shaped by society, and advertising is part of that. It has negative implications in that some of the girls may become over-concerned about these issues and so expose themselves to the risk of developing a serious eating disorder. With regard to young males Whitelock ( 2013) reports upon how researchers in Canada analyzed hundreds of advertisements in North American male orientated magazines, and found that more than half of these portrayed what are described as hyper-masculine ideals which encourage their readers to take up negatively violent and aggressive sexual tendencies. The researchers state that these:- Young men are still learning appropriate gender behaviors, and their beliefs and attitudes can be subtly shaped by [media] images So, in both the case of young men and women, advertising can have a negative effect upon their attitudes, changing young society in less than the most opportune ways. Jhally ( 2013) cites Goffman in his book Gender Advertisements ( 1979) who asked “Why do most ads not look strange to us? He believed that they portray gender relationships in a very strange way with men taking on what he describes as parental roles and women are depicted as behaving like children. While this isn’t true of all advertisements , it is certainly true of some, and is hardly a reflection of society where many women have to take on great responsibilities , in the home and elsewhere. Attitudes to Advertising Shrank (undated) states that many educated people claim that they are immune to the language of the advertisers, unlike those they consider to be less unsophisticated people. The advertisers on the other hand believe them to be mistaken. According to Shrank’s argument the person who thinks he is immune is the one most likely to be affected by advertising language, because it works below conscious levels, using a combination of symbolism, images and values . He goes on to describe how the biggest advertising budgets are those for parity products e.g. those products where there are many different products which are very similar, with no one really being better than the others. This means that the language used can be misleading, if not actual lies if it claims that a particular brand is better than the others. Another aspect of advertising is that we come to trust certain brands, brands we perhaps grew up with and are familiar with. Supermarkets these days may source their products from many countries, and often the products are more or less indistinguishable from the longer established brands. They may even be cheaper, but there will always be those buyers who stick to what they know and will only buy a particular brand of beans or chocolate. At the present on British television there are a series of advertisements put out by Aldi supermarkets. This it must be remembered is during a time of austerity, when for many it is very important to save money whenever they can. The advertisements show various people with two very similar products, everything from baby nappies to Christmas treats . They point to the more expensive well known product. ‘We like this one.’ Then they point to the Aldi version. ‘We like this one as well.’ Prices come up and there is a clear difference. This advertisement is aiming at our pockets, but is also saying that if these two products are both good then any sensible and intelligent person would chose the cheaper one. The aim is to overcome the reliance on familiar brands, carried in the main by the larger supermarkets. The supermarket concerned won an award as ‘Supermarket of the Year’ in both 2012, and 2013 (Aldi 2013) so the strategy is working, both for them as a company, and in terms of cheaper prices for their clients. On the company’s web site there is a ‘Swap and Save’ challenge, ( Aldi , 2013) . In this customers are asked to buy goods from their usual supermarket for 4 weeks, and then to buy the same products in Aldi for four weeks. Savings can clearly be made. It also shows clearly a shift in the way advertising is being used. The people in the advertisements are very ordinary. The viewers can relate to them, rather than dream about the unobtainable. The public is being portrayed as not particularly beautiful or hyper-masculine, nor are they celebrities , but as ordinary but able, and capable of making intelligent choices for the benefit of themselves and their families. It reflects a society where managing a budget has become more important than in earlier days, and where saving even small amounts is a positive advantage. It also portrays a company who seems to be caring about its customers, rather than trying to get every last penny of profit out of them. It is however a very successful company, meeting both the needs of shareholders and buyers, fitting in with advertising standards and other legal requirements. It seems therefore that clients respond to being treated in a positive and honest way. Conclusion We are surrounded by advertising all our lives, in pictures, words, logos, ideas. If anything this is even more so today, in an age of mass communication, than in earlier years. Even on a country walk we might see a company logo on someone’s clothing, a house for sale with a house agent’s board outside, a particular make of car drives by, and we pull out of our pack a bar of chocolate with a distinctive and familiar logo on the wrapper. Many of us would say we are not personally influenced by advertising, but we know it isn’t really true. We are people of our age and society. Advertising reflects that society and time, but on the other hand our age and society affects the kind of advertising which is produced. Images Image 1 Google , 1960s advertisement for a kitchen gadget, 2013, 25th November 2013 , https://www.google.fr/search?q=women+in+advertisements+,+1950s&rlz=1C2FLDB_enFR563FR563&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=z0yTUsbeMcWh0QXvyYHICw&ved=0CDkQsAQ&biw=1008&bih=638 Image 2 GAJITZ, Advertisement for a television, 1940s , 1913, 25th November 2013, http://gajitz.com/the-big-picture-10-fun-1940s-ads-for-first-generation-tvs/ References Advertising Age, Ad age Advertising Century: Timeline, 1999, 26th November 2013 < http://adage.com/article/special-report-the-advertising-century/ad-age-advertising-century-timeline/143661/> Aldi, 2013, 10th December 2013https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/information/awards-endorsements/which-best-supermarket-2013/ ..and I can be a priest, 2013, 10th December 2013 Bogunia-Bowrowska, M., Social and Cultural Functions of Advertising transmission in consumption society, (undated) 10th December 2013, Bonham, L., Gender Images and Power in Magazine Advertisements: The Consciousness Scale Revisited, Department of Communication, Georgia State University, 2005, 26th November 2013, http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1000%26context%3Dcommunication_... Chittester, J., Dec. 11, 2013 We are at a crossroads for women in the church, National Catholic Reporter , December 11th 2013, 12th December 2013, Reporter http://ncronline.org/blogs/where-i-stand/we-are-crossroads-women-church Courtney,A. and Lockertz,S. A woman’s place: An analysis of the roles portrayed by women in magazine advertisements. Journal of Marketing Research, 7, 92-95. 1971 Coughlin, C., A Critique of the Genderlect Theory,1997, 26th November 2013, http://www.modlinguistics.com/sociolinguistics/gender/Critique%20of%20Genderlect%20Theory.htm Frith, K., How to read ads, 1998, The Gender Ads Project, 2008, 11th December 2013, < http://www.genderads.com/page4/howtoread/howtoread.html> Goffman. E. Gender Advertisements. New York: Harper and Row.1979 Hackley, Theorizing Advertising and Promotion 2, 2009, http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/32952_02_Hackley_2e_CH_02.pdf Jhally, S., Advertising , gender and sex. What’s wrong with a little objectification? , 2013, 12th December 2013, < http://www.sutjhally.com/articles/whatswrongwithalit/> Levine, M., Smolak, L. and Hayden,H., The Relation of Sociocultural Factors to Eating Attitudes and Behaviors among Middle School Girls, The Journal of Early Adolescence, Sage Publications,1994, vol. 14 no. 4 471-490 8th December 2013 http://jea.sagepub.com/content/14/4/471.abstract Mehand, H., Advertising Transmits Socio-cultural Meaning, 2013, < http://www.scribd.com/doc/37036772/Advertising-Transmits-Socio-cultural-Meaning> Pingree , S., Hawkins, R. P., Butler, M, & Paisley, W. , A scale for sexism. Journal of Communication, 26(4), 193-200. .1976, Sexism in Advertising, undated, 10th December 2013, < http://womeninads.weebly.com/history.html> Shrank, J., Word Play, The language of advertising, 2013, 26th November 2013, Shrank , J. ,The language of advertising claims, undated, 26th November 2013, http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/comp/ad-claims.html Sutherland , R., Life lessons from an ad man, 2009, 10th December 2013, http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_an_ad_man.html Theories of Gender Communication, undated , 11th December 2013, < http://personal.tcu.edu/pwitt/gender.doc> Triptravel, The oldest advertisement in the world found in Thebes, Egypt | Did you know that, 2012, 26th November 2013, < http://tripandtravelblog.com/the-oldest-advertisement-in-the-world-found-in-thebes-egypt-did-you-know-that/> Whitelock, S., How sexist advertising causes men to adopt 'violent and sexually aggressive behavior' as they aspire to the macho ideal, 9th May 2013, 9th December 2013, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2322136/How-sexist-advertising-causes-men-adopt-violent-sexually-aggressive-behavior-aspire-macho-ideal.html#ixzz2myMI0MJh Read More