The Extent to Which Advertisers are Mode Myth Makers - Essay Example

THE EXTENT TO WHICH ADVERTISERS ARE MODERN MYTH MAKERS By Due Introduction Advertising isthe main way of communication between the seller and the buyer. The move to increase market share requires the use of creative and unique ads. Modern advertising techniques make contradictions between natural and cultural aspects. The first time sellers used advertising, it was dimmed irrelevant with the many products available for advertising. Marketers felt that consumers already have enough of ads in print media and promotions. The growth of advertising over the years has, however, changed many to agree with online communication, print, and visual advertising. Advertisers do not only contradict past myths, but also create modern myths to woo clients. Social myths in advertising give the indication of portraying information to what is cultural accepted versus what is natural. The David Beckham boxers advert turned into a campaign because of its positive reception. The ad displays a confusion of natural and cultural indications of running naked in the streets. Advertisers change the culturally accepted situation by using celebrities such as Beckham to counter negative critics (H&M, 2013). Social and Cultural construction in Advertising Advertisers apply the use of the consumer culture theory when advocating for ads. The consumer cultural theory analyses various distribution and cultural groupings conducted within the socio-historical frame of globalization. Modern advertisers still consider this aspect but deploy the use of current myths, ideologies, and narratives concerning a particular society, culture, or market place. The business market remains saturated with female models advertising everything. The female figure is used to attract audience to the advertisements. David Beckham’s underwear campaign ads change the reception of the male body being used in advertising. Consumption of the product is important for maintenance, representation, and construction of the male bodies. Advertisers make men feel comfortable in their underwear by using a respected celebrity as their main character for the campaign. Markets have changed the advertising of many products to use a normative sexual dualism maintained and reinforced within the contradicting cultural institutions. Market segmentation and communication acts as the engine of consumption that allows the use of promulgating dualistic gender roles in the description of sexual identities. The David Beckham underwear campaign invokes gender identity to draw attention to the stereotyped icon of femininity and masculinity. Marketers of the ad campaign find a way for masculinity and femininity to interact with the logic of marketing advertising practices (Elliot & Elliot, 2005). Advertisers creating myths in today’s settings Advertisers use sexual imagery in magazines, placards, and billboards to attract individuals to their products. The use of glossy women and men in robes that suggest sexual imagination create contradiction in nature and culture. Images used in advertising are compelling that it is difficult to watch some adverse as a family. Advertisers however change the conception to create myths. They make it look like it is natural for a man to run in the street with only the undergarment. Current advertisements are so seductive that they have changed human social communication (Baert, 2012). Image communication is a myth advertisers create to eradicate the previously used written and oral communication. Historical evolution of social interaction in human beings has moved through oral, written to image centered. Cultures used oral communication in the traditional setting to pass information down generations. Writing made it easier to preserve information of various traditions. Today, advertisers simply use images to creating a lasting impression on the customers. Advertisers commonly use sexual imagery to generate positive and negative publicity. Any publicity for the advertisers is positive provided it gets people talking. Beckham’s advert takes the similar approach to generate public feedback (Business Psychology, 2011). The New Myths A myth in traditional context refers to an idea that explains the customs of a people (Denisi, 2011). Advertising myths is the use of various contexts relating to people to advertise a particular order. For instance in the underwear ad campaign expressed by Beckham show his skills in football regardless of the main idea being the undergarment. These are motivating stories and ideas shared by a common person. Advertisers of the ad campaign create a new myth by having Beckham run in the streets with only his boxer. Since he is a celebrity, the advertisers use him to generate new ideas specifically for celebrities. Myths are ideas that motivate the daily behavior of an individual. It is easy to recognize the new myths of image culture since they are ideas that emerge from existing patterns. Advertisers succeed with creating new myths provided they keep the audience from thinking negatively about them. The concept shows in the David Beckham’s boxer campaign where the ad starts as Beckham coincidentally finds himself in his briefs. If the advertisement had stated with Beckham voluntarily walking outside in his briefs, it could have raised negative criticism. The audience feels comfortable with the adverts considering the myths are unconvincing unless they relate with entertainment, news, and advertising. Image advertising in today’s setting should be in two levels. The first is the emotional level, which immediately attracts the attention of the individual. It could be the use of a flag message or a sexy body trapping inner emotions. David Beckham’s ad campaign is a good example as it portrays the sexy physique of the athletes. The new myths generated by the advertisers use basic ideas, which are obscured by powerful stories and emotional links to sell their ideas to consumers. Once the myths are identified, the advertisers bombard the audience with better concepts (Cortes, Chapa, & Dania, 2011). Advantages of Modern Myths to advertisers Sociologists face challenges of linking the culture and the social structure. The nineteenth-century tradition highly follows the Marxist perceptions that change the social structure imagination. The success of using celebrities in advertising comes with the awareness of the audience. The celebrity is also popular, which makes it easier for the audience to relate with the product. Advertising boxers with Beckham as the face of the campaign appeals the local community, sparking positive results for HM products (Polzer, 2012). Since most consumers are interested in the celebrity, it becomes easier for them to relate to the product. The use of celebrity endorsements is one of the modern myths that advertisers use to promote their products. This however comes with advantages that could cause disadvantages of the ad. The use of celebrities is a modern myth that advertisers have created to gain attention of consumers. Many products use celebrities as the ad campaigns to help in developing positive stereotypes for their products. It is a myth that has helps manufactures increase sales, but it has also caused them losses (Polzer, 2012). Consciousness Using celebrities in advertising creates attention hence generating product awareness. The product can attract new clients from the fans of the celebrity. For instance, the David Beckham boxer ad attracts the attention of many including a fan who is wearing a shirt with his name at the back. This means that soccer fans, who admire Beckham, are likely to purchase the products from HM. Consumers with casual interest are likely to purchase the products. In this case, women casually interested in Beckham are likely to purchase the products for their male relatives. Advertisers use the myth that using a celebrity helps in building brand equity. Prior to David Beckham, HM boxers relied on store sales to make their profits. Using the soccer celebrity as the ad campaign model has increased the publicity of the company (Weiss, 2003). This does not necessarily generate income for the organization, but generates reception from their consumers. HM’s partnership with Beckham is likely to blossom into high sales. Reliability A sincere celebrity can lend reliability to the product. It is easier for consumers to believe the message if the celebrity portrays it. Branding the product with a celebrity makes it easier to gain positive feedback. The organization can get negative reception if the celebrity does not uphold the company’s values. The product stands out from the rest. People like watching his athletic body without realizing that the advert is targeting male boxers. The advert gets the attention of women to, since they have represented them in the advert. Companies need time and repetition for their advertisements to create a link with the consumers. Using a celebrity is short term yet it generates a greater impact (Weiss, 2003). Reputation The reputation of a celebrity tags the company even after appearing in the advertisement. Views of a brand can improve if the company decides to use a celebrity for the publication. For instance, HM’s Boxer have gained popularity with the use of Beckham as the product model. This may go negatively for the celebrity since his reputation could worsen. If the reputation of a celebrity decreases, the brand of the product suffers due to the relationship (Elliot & Elliot, 2005). Brand Recall The market is competitive in nature hence the advertiser ensures the use of a memorable advertisement to make their product outstanding. The use of a celebrity relates well to the consumer since they easily remember the advertisement. A manufacturer stands out since celebrities are known for purchasing quality products. Celebrities help consumers remember the ads since they already a public figure. The use of celebrities can improve the reception of a brand, especially in a new market. When customers see that Beckham wears HM boxers, they are more likely to purchase the product (Cortes, Chapa, & Dania, 2011). Sales The use of celebrities in advertisements can increase or decrease the sales. Consumers buy the products only if they relate positively with the celebrity. Sales could go down if the celebrity feels that the celebrity does not fit the target market. Some cases do not show any changes in the purchase of a product. Beckham is a soccer celebrity, who also has a large female base. The reception of the advertisement is positive to all genders regardless of the product being male oriented. The female shoppers purchase the product for their male friends or relatives. Beckham makes the customer believe that the boxers are of celebrity quality. The pricing strategy can change by using the celebrity without facing negative reception. This means that HM can set their price higher than their competitors can without facing low sale volumes (Elliot & Elliot, 2005). Conclusion Brands are valued assets to the organization. Advertisers need to relate their products to celebrities that represent and protect their brands. It is appropriate for HM to use Beckham as their product model. Beckham is one of the best footballers in the world. The sporty nature of his career gives him an excellent body. A bigger percentage of people find it comfortable to look at him naked. It would have been inappropriate if HM would have chosen a celebrity without a sporty and masculine physique. Boxers need to be comfortable at all times; hence, Beckham displays this in different scenarios. The negative aspect of the myth of using celebrities could affect the company in a long-term perspective. Image change of celebrities due to mistakes may affect the brand in a negative manner. If Beckham would have a scandal that would portray him in a negative way, it would affect HM products. This may force the company to eliminate the ad campaign and start another, which is costly to the organization. Celebrities became linked to many companies making them overexposed. This negatively affects the current product since it may look like the celebrity is doing the ads for business. Eventually, consumers will not take the products advertised by the celebrity seriously. Beckham links to a variety of products, but rarely does ad campaigns for long, which give HM an advantage. Celebrities can easily overshadow brands by having consumers focus on them instead of the product. This becomes a problem especially if they perform multiple products. David Beckham advertises for many companies, which make him the product image in print. Beckham is the focal point of the advert, which removes the attention of the consumer from the product. References Business Psychology. (2011). Journal of business Psychology 2011 , 153-159. Baert, P. (2012). Politics, Culture, and Society. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 1573-3416. Cortes, A. C., Chapa, S., & Dania, A. (2011). Approaching The Asian Elephant: Understanding Business-To-Business Relationships In India. International Business & Economics Research Journal, 50-62. Denisi, A. N. (2011). 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