Mass media criticism - marxist analysis from ad - Essay Example

Module: McDonalds is a multi-national company and therefore, it has a large target market and has to achieve the attention of people all around the world. They have basically targeted all parts of the demography. Demography includes family, genders, nationality, income or even races. An advertisement by McDonalds from the 1970s consists of a black family of four with a father, mother and two sons; one being 6-8 years old while the older one being 13-15 years of age. Also shown in the ad is another black man who is not a part of the family.

The ad shows very clearly about the happiness and joy which surrounds the family and demonstrates the fact that being in McDonalds showers nothing but contentment and jubilation. Also shown in the ad is the fact that there is an interaction between the family and the guy sitting in the other booth. This interaction is rather a friendly one. as depicted by the huge smiles on the black guy and the father with his child. The Marxist theory emphasizes over the importance of social class, keeping in effect the ownership by the media and the response of the audience to the media text that is being brought forward.

Talking about how the audience will react to the ad, there are certain point of views that can be emphasized. The major response of the audience will be positive. The ad depicts harmony and peace as well as joy and delight. Also, the audience will give an optimistic response to the ad because the ad emphasizes on a family-oriented nature and how it brings nothing but happiness all around. The audience might also react in different ways to the involvement of African- Americans in the ad and not white people.

Some people might act in a negative manner however, others might have a positive response to having African Americans. 1970s was the time during which the African-Americans rose to greater heights than before. More visible than ever, African-Americans became a formidable presence in entertainment, politics, and science. This ad thus depicts the time of joy for the African-Americans. The text written at the bottom shows that McDonalds is a casual and comfortable place and invites the targeted audience by mentioning about the quick service and about the excellent quality food.

talking further about the ad, it shows that how Macdonalds packages history and concrete memories to sell products that enlists its audience in the commoditization of memory and celebration of basic ideological values of U.S. society (i.e. patriotism, the continuity of history, family, consumption, etc.). The ad reflected the fact that McDonalds has been serving for generations and to different ages. The French fries, burger and drink that the family and the guy were eating has stayed the same way and of the same quality for a long time.

The targeted market in this specific ad was not only family but also those people who want to savor the flavors alone .The critic agreed that the advert explained its true meaning but it is also true that the effects were somewhat distributed in different dimensions.