Advertising and Identity through Consumer Culture Essay

Never in the beginning in the history of the raw world has publicise buzz off so customary, ubiquitous, and an undeniable essential to a modern mans everyday life than that of our century. Advertising images of all sorts, right off flood existence spaces from billboards with eroticized images to the blazing electronic billboard, down to the comfort ads which oddly stargons back in the rest rooms of center of attentions.Magazines and televisions are overly full of products that entice the readers and the audience to defile and patronize a certain differentiate. Similarly, cultural events can non be seen without a favourite scar nor is a sporting event complete without a corporate ad. Indeed, advertising has become part of todays culture and has become an inescapable ghost that dominates our media, our road, and our home.The road towards the advertising date began its transition during the 1880s to1920s. It is during this period that ads foc workoutd largely on the produc ts themselves. Products took the center stage, using heavy texts to introduce, throw and market the product. Real representation of plenty were absent in advertisements, but rather representation of people who stand for the social values such as family structure and status differentiation were seen during this stage (Jhally, 1990, p. 228).With the write material properly explaining opthalmic the visual imagery, ads during this period were instructional. At the identical 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.Visual images then took the limelight during the 1950s. Texts were highly reduced and were then replaced by icons and images to allure the consumer. These visual imageries ultimately took over the product. The image, rather than the product, became the main message that is communicated to th e consumer audience. The once educational ads were now replaced with a hodge-podge of photos and visuals (Jhally, 1990, p. 229).As the 21st century ushered in, the intellect of identity 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 nearest mall and entrusting assure not only satisfaction but happiness as well.This paper allow discuss the contemporary culture in the advertising industry as it permeates and even molds todays idea of beauty, style, as well as identity. Similarly, it will discuss how people are influenced by this media specialty by citing several studies and researches related to the mentioned topic. Apart 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 true identity. Never before has a mankind been so engrossed in a quest for a n 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 line of clothing, for instance, will give the audience the message that buying these kinds of clothes will make you happy, beautiful, or popular. Likewise, purchasing this brand of shoes will make you a part of the nerveless or in group.Through these visual representations, consumers longing to be like the image they see on ads, and the purpose of this certain product will help them imagine, hold, 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. Numerous magazines often represent a beautiful woman as someone 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 ju st like me if you use this brand. Aside from this, almost every celebrity has the same body type. A small or fat woman would consequently mean that she is not conforming to societys image of beauty, which because automatically makes her ugly.With all of these images, it is no wonder why millions of girls from different parts of the world accept the idea that in order to be beautiful, one should look like a cover girl or a celebrity. This also path that buying that certain skin care line or wearable the same brand of clothes would automatically transform them as they conform to the idea of beauty as well as their identity.In a report which studied the consumption 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 individuals actually believe that buying a product will fulfill their desire to look a certain way. Since their idea of beau ideal is duly repre sented by images of stunning models and celebrities, their hunt of what is perfect can only be realized by using the same products or items that these models endorse.Although these ideals of perfection somehow give directions to the consumers, the truth is the images presented are first and foremost unattainable. More often than not, the audience is oblivious(predicate) 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 package 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 venerable as a goddess of beauty and fertility. Similarly, the statuette Venus of Moravany and Malta are both revered because of their physical attributes.These images of beauty however, began to change as advertising emphasized the need to fit in a size two dress. This is situationly used by companies who promote diet and weight -lose products. Likewise, other manufacturers and note 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 psyches physical attribute, a persons lifestyle is also used as a handle by the advertising world to create a market-based image. According to the same report, more than half(prenominal) of the younker consumers believed that the products they buy represent their identities and lifestyle in some way.For them, identities are recorded in a variety of products such as shoes, clothes, cosmetics etc. Even seemingly trivial things are supposed to express their lifestyles. For instance, 36 percent of young males answered that their choices of telephone/ mobile equipment represen t in some way their identities, and 63 percent of young females think that their choices of hair salon is a representation of their identities (Report on Youth inspiration Trend, 1994, p. 114).The one hour documentary entitled Merchants of the Cool is perhaps one of the most scathing 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 money is paid to cool 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 big logo of a soft drinks brand. Much like how a ventriloquist controls a puppet, it is also the same with how a company and how advertising is behind how the image of coolnes s is presented (Frontline, 2001).This construction of a sense of identity, correspond 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 sporting activities, including being a supporter of particular music groups, singers or soccer clubs. Such consumption patterns could be used as a primal means of defining who is a member and who is outside a specific 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 powerful tool that associates commodities with consumers because it symbolizes various elements of the product so that consumers have relative liberty in determination the association between their identities and commodities. The visual images, even the endorser of the brand also plays a crucial subroutine in alluring the consumer to believe that by purchasing this product, yo u will become like me or that you will be popular or will have an identity like mine (Bocock, 1993, p. 4).However, the more eventful 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 characteristic mentality of a young consumer. I do not care about what other people choose. I think of intention 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 make him or her wear this particular pair of shoes, this particular pair then represents the identity of the individual who make the decision. Representative 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).