Traditional vs modern makes the diffrences - Essay Example

Traditional & Modern Advertising Number Introduction Given that Burger King was founded in 1954 as an international fast food chain, it is almost obvious that Burger King has used several advertising programs. The preponderance of these advertising programs makes it possible to bifurcate the same [programs] into the traditional and the modern. The traditional forms of advertising for Burger King therefore cover the point of inception [1954] up to the late1990s. The determination of 1990s up to the present as the modern age of advertising is underpinned and informed by the advent of the use of the World Wide Web and the use of the same to run advertising programs.

The import of this is that while the traditional forms of advertising were more localized, because of the use of then conventional forms media, the latter become more global in scope and approach, because of the use of the World Wide Web. An example of traditional form of advertisement for Burger King Products is Have It Your Way: Make It a Whopper, dated in 1976. The picture is attached here below, and can be traced back to http://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/retrotisements-burger-king-76 An example of modern form of advertisement for Burger King Products is, It Just Tastes Better, It’ll Blow Your Mind Away: BK Super Seven Incher, dated in 2009.

The picture is attached here below, and can be traced back to http://www.examiner.com/article/burger-king-oral-sex-ad One can clearly see that there is a world of difference between traditional and modern form of advertising. The difference between the two is underpinned by a radical shift in social values, not just in America, but throughout the entire globe also. The shift in social values involves a departure from conventional and familial values to values that are more liberal. With the embracing of liberal values, there is the use of raunchy culture and individualism as a way of appealing to the market [through advertising].

This is in diametrical opposition to the traditional form of advertising which appealed more to family and social values than parochialism and hedonism. It is noteworthy that the radical shift in values is also evident in the pieces of advertisement that have been availed above. In the first case (Have It Your Way: Make It a Whopper), there is an appeal to more collective values than individual interests. Burger King managed to do this by portraying its products [burgers, beverage and fries] as things to be enjoyed by the entire family.

The family is portrayed as joyous when taking Burger King food, in the comfort of its home. Conversely, the piece of modern advertisement that appears second in the essay appeals to sexual and individual pleasure and will. In the advertisement piece, a woman is pictured with her mouth agape in readiness for a burger. However, the longitudinal [rather than the rotund shape that burgers take] dimension of the burger betray the insinuation that the woman is about to engage in felatio. A phrase such as, BK Super Seven Incher reveals the sexual undertone further, as it seems to refer to the size of the male genitalia.

Again, a clause such as It’ll Blow Your Mind Away easily helps make sense of the sexual undertone in the advertisement. It is more likely that the appeal to raunchy culture to increase sales is an admittance of the loss of creativity and innovation in the pursuit of client satisfaction. This is the case since, if Burger King has to use felatio to make its sales, then the taste of its food must have really become too bland to attract clients.