Advertising
Advertising emerged in the late 19th century as business
leaders concerned with overproduction developed methods to
stimulate consumer demands. Early advertising was modeled
after the circus with its colorful billboards and flyers. The first
phase in American advertising lasted from the 1880's until the
start of World War I. During this period the first ads and
billboards emerged. Advertising agencies convinced
businesses to contract their services to promote goods. These
early ads place a heavy emphasis on product design, and the
product's ability to enhance production. The ads utilized copy
to educate the consumer about the product.
Between World Wars I and II, U. S. advertising
changed with the country's shifting mores and cultures. Instead
of focusing on the products, ads emphasized the consumer's
shortcomings. Playing on the consumer's fear, advertisements
cautioned consumers that they may not be accepted or
successful due to critical problems with their breath, hair, or
feet. Spokespersons such as Betty Crocker and Aunt Jemima
answered consumers' questions about product and became
trusted friends of the American consumer.
After World War II but not fully emerging until the
1960's, advertising took another major shift. Instead of
promoting products based on increased productivity,
advertising marketed products for pleasure consumption to the
consumer's libido. Instead of products helping the consumer
become the "good" mother, wife, husband, or father, these ads
broke from traditional roles and encouraged consumers to
purchase for their own personal fulfillment and happiness. By
the 1970's advertisers became dissatisfied with mass
marketing and shifted to target audiences. Advertisements
promoted products geared toward specific lifestyles
reinforcing stereotypes and categorizing neighborhoods.
Sociologists attempting to understand advertising are
divided into four theoretical perspectives: neo-conservative,
neo-Marxist, liberal, and feminist. Neo-conservatives argue
that advertising undermines individual character making the
consumer a slave of pleasure. Neo-Marxist see advertising as
a cultural apparatus which generates false consciousness.
Advertising misrepresents social classes due to the individual's
participation in the consumer lifestyle. Liberals believe that
advertising subverts the marketplace by manipulating
consumer choices by telling you what to want. Feminists argue
that advertising's targeting of women emphasizes emotional
instead of rational appeals perpetuating gender stereotypes
such as the woman whose vocation is shopping.
