Advances in technology, psychology and neurology mean that advertising is more subtle, insidious and powerful than ever. That’s why in recent years there has been a call from the public to enforce stricter regulations on advertising. Currently advertising is regulated voluntarily, not statutorily, and this has to change. There are various techniques employed by advertising agencies that are not exactly beneficial to the societal good. Matter of fact, they are down right immoral. By promoting insatiable desires that fuel customer debt and make us miserable, they are ripping society apart. From public viral campaigns that are constructed to look authentic to market research methods that are being gathered without our consent, academics critique …show more content…
Advertising in Society, Rachel Eyre goes through the four historical periods of advertising covering 1900-2000. Over the years, advertisements have started off from the product-oriented in which they focus on the product predominately—drink Coca Cola because ‘It’s Refreshing. Then it was advertisements primarily use products as symbols that allude to associations of lifestyle—like the Bulova Watches advertisement. Advertisements then moved on to focus on personalisation that employed techniques of seduction that focused on the self image of the consumer. Take for example, the Maybelline ad format that still exist today and is a testament to it’s success. The picture of an attractive female with the slogan ‘ Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline.’ It’s up to the consumer to figure out what the answer is by buying the make up. In the 21st century, the trend has tilted towards market fragmentation where each consumer is placed into a designated niche and the elements of each advertisement appeals to the stereotypical characteristics of that niche group. Advertising agencies need to control public behaviour in order to ensure that supply constantly outstrips demand. The problem is that by having the monopoly on the control over public behaviour, it promotes the fundamentally unjust status quo. Through advertising commodity fetishism has developed, meaning that products, instead of being perceived in instrumental or utilitarian terms have been infused with social, cultural and even erotic value. Not only has this had an effect on objects but also individuals. Models or actors in adverts and by projection, consumers are creatively constructed as embodiments of specific configurations of capital. Their bodies as then seen a ideological codifications of success specifically defined according to ownership, rather than physical entities. Ownership of private property is now seen as signifiers of success and in turn all other