The Power of Advertising

by Dr. Constance Hill and Bruce Henry

"The American economy, having reached the point where its technology was capable of satisfying basic material needs, now relied on the creation of new consumer demands - on convincing people to buy goods for which they were unaware of any need until the "need" is forcibly brought to their intention by the mass-media." Chrisopher Lasch: "The Culture of Narcissism" "What is the great bulk of advertising other than the stimulation of greed, envy and avarice….at least three of the seven deadly sins!" E.F. Schumacher, from a 1979 passage about the role of advertising in a sustainable society.

A century ago, the main form of communication that touched the lives of ordinary folk were church sermons, political oratory, and the words and teachings of family elders. Even though these influences may remain with us to this very day, their significance within the affairs of everyday life and the rhetorical force and moral authority that they carry have greatly diminished. The space that they have left has been filled largely by the communication through and about objects. Nowadays, people in contemporary society tend to be considered as mere market segments that represent distinctive consumption patterns.

In the 21st century, advertisements are regarded as the most accomplished means of communication that we have. Admittedly, they are expertly and sometimes brilliantly constructed. But, not everyone agrees that this form of communication is good for society. It is a topic where many people hold contradictory and sometimes diametrically opposed views. Advertising has given rise to harsh criticism ever since it became prominent in the national media on the grounds that it has a negative impact in general. Some say it encourages people to over-value the "material" things in life. Others point out that subliminal messages hidden in ads sometimes affect us without our even being aware of their influence. Jean Kilbourne writes: "Ads succeed so well precisely because we don't think they're working on us. The average American sees over 3000 ads per day and spends over 3 years of their life watching TV commercials whose messages work their way inside our intimate relationships, our homes, our hearts and our heads". (2)

The main argument of critics such as Kilbourne is that advertising creates demand among consumers. That is, producers create wants through their advertising. Perhaps family breakdown and loss of community has facilitated this to happen. As a replacement for human ties, material objects presented in advertising messages now play an increasingly important role in social interaction and everyday life as symbols of prestige, status, and power. "By implying that happiness comes from products, advertisers exploit our real human desire for connection, calm, respect and excitement, leaving us romantic about objects and deeply cynical about humans, who are, after all, much more complicated than products. ("Who says guys are afraid of commitment?", one ad asks. "He's had the same backpack for years") Over and over, ads tell us that human relationships are fragile, difficult and disappointing, but that products won't let us down! ("The ski instructor faded away three years ago, but the sweater didn't") Ads turn lovers into things and things into lovers" (Kilbourne (2))

It is well known that consumers tend to be manipulated by an advertisement's promise that the product will do something special for them. That is, the ad says that something magical will happen by consuming such and such product or service. It will transform our lives or, at least, solve our problems. Advertising promises all kinds of things, which may establish the wrong priorities. Ads assure us that goods can make us more attractive to the opposite sex; give us power; cure us of all kinds of illnesses, lift our spirits and bring us instant self-gratification. Thus as Kilbourne says "they can steer us away from what really makes us happy - meaningful work, authentic relationships and a sense of connection with history, community, nature and the cosmos."

In fact Contentment, Joy, Inner Ease, and Peace of Mind are qualities which are obviously not attained through the purchase of a particular car or hair conditioner. Michael Crooke argues not just for us to be aware of the subtleties of advertising, but for a complete "change of mind", a change in our view of our culture and of each other in our efforts towards our inner freedom. (3) He quotes Chogram Trungpa from the book "Shambala: The way of the warrior": "When you live your life in accordance with basic goodness, then you develop natural elegance. Your life can be spacious and relaxed, without having to be sloppy. You can actually let go of your depression and embarrassment about being a human being, and you can cheer up." Many others have written about how to achieve happiness or contentment. Discussing personal fulfilment is beyond the scope of this small article. However, if you are interested, you may wish to refer to other articles in this series.

References

1.  The main text of this article is adapted from an article by Constance Hill, Lecturer in Marketing, University of Woollongong, 2001
2.   Jean Kilbourne, Deadly Persuasion: Why Everyone Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising. New York: Free Press, 1999
3.   Michael Crooke: in a talk entitled "Consumption and Happiness" delivered to a 1995 Ballarat Community Aid Abroad Seminar "Consuming Patterns"