Thursday, April 3, 2008

Revolution of Advertising

As society changes, so do the meanings being associated with the elements. Keeping symbolic interactionism in mind, advertisers need to evolve with the community. On March 10th we looked at the variations of the Volkswagen television ads. I found it really interesting to see how much these ads represented the culture of their time. With cultural awareness about the bombardment of media we receive everyday, the advertisers are also becoming conscious of the level of ads people can take. Even more so now, advertisements need to be creative, and catchy more than ever due to the competition of other media. Each and every ad that a person views is not going to register in their minds. Companies are trying extremely hard to be one of the ads they see and remember. In order to be different, the ads must appeal to a different side, other than the consumeristic tendencies. Take Buckley’s ads for cough syrup “It taste awful but it works”. We are so used to seeing products that are delicious, that when we hear the word awful, we automatically are curious about the product. Another item that does the same thing is the cereal Honey and Oats, I believe. Their slogan revolves around the idea of how people won’t like their product because it is healthy, so they should have any. Both these advertisements are making the consumer think, which for the most part is a unique tactic.

1 comment:

I. Reilly said...

i'm just wondering what the implications of your post are. you seem to recall what makes certain advertisements stick. if certain ads do stick, what does this say about the cycle of advertising you describe and/or about the culture of consumption that it fosters? after reading your post, i'm left wondering if it's okay to like/love advertising?

i.