Self Identity Image Ads Unethically Manipulate Individuals and their Image of Themselves - Essay Example

Self Identity Image Ads Unethically Manipulate Individuals and their Image of Themselves of the Marketing of the Concerned November 23, 2014 Self Identity Image Ads Unethically Manipulate Individuals and their Image of Themselves Introduction There is nothing wrong with the fact that advertisers the world over do resort to an array of strategies to influence consumer preferences and to persuade the target customers to subscribe to the specific brands they showcase. However, in the current context, the ethical credentials of the self identity image ads have accrued much attention and criticism. According to John Douglas Bishop, self identity image ads do happen to influence consumer choices by portraying “an idealized person-type (Bishop, 2000, p. 371)”, and declaring the advertised product to be a symbol of that idealized image. Thereby, these ads convince the consumers to buy that particular product so as to discernibly project their self image as an affiliate of the projected idealized person-type. Simply speaking, if advertisers do happen to contrive and popularize idealized notions of self identity, there is nothing wrong with it. Practically, all creative art forms directly or indirectly try to aspire for an idealized version of the subjects they focus on. However, the sad thing is that self identity image ads are not that innocent or innocuous. Advertising may be an art form, but it is an art form that always has concrete commercial objectives and goals. In a generalized context, not all self identity image ads may be unethical. However, a major proportion of the self identity image ads are unethical in the sense that they tend to exploit the recidivist and conservative values, notions and aspirations pertaining to gender, race and class, to play on the innate fears, anxieties and concerns of the targeted consumers (Danesi, 2008, p. 148). They take advantage of the fact that not all viewers do have the analytical insight and critical knowledge to be able to see through the psychological manipulation they resort to. The irony is that even some of the seemingly progressive brands do resort to conservative notions of gender, race and class, to play on the emotions, fears and anxieties of the potential consumers. They rely on the power that traditional symbols and motifs pertaining to gender, class and race do command, to psychologically coerce their target consumers. This is indeed utterly unethical, immoral and highly deplorable. Gendered Self Identity Image Advertising Even in the current times when the traditional gender roles are undergoing much change, it is a fact that a considerable proportion of populations in both the developed and developing societies does carry patriarchal notions of gender identity and gender roles (Wolf, 2002, p. 11). Most of the times, both men and women do aspire to mould and shape their identity in terms of how the people of opposite gender would prefer to view them. This stands to be truer in case of women, considering the social pressures and pulls they have to bear with, at a psychological, if not a visible level (Wolf, 2002, p. 11). Even in the case of many liberated and empowered women, going against the patriarchal gender identities and roles is something that attracts much resistance and criticism. The thing is that even today the ads that present alternative and progressive gender images and identities are more of an exception than a norm. A majority of the self identity image ads exploit the social and psychological power that patriarchal gender identities command to subconsciously force the targeted individuals into aligning their identity with the highly gendered idealized women they showcase (Danesi, 2008, p. 144) . Instead of focusing on the actual needs of the targeted individual, they try to psychologically push her into conforming to the patriarchal notions of female identity. The advertisers not only carefully select the timing at which these gendered self identity image ads are aired, but they also focus on the specific patriarchal gender identities that the targeted individuals may be pushed into. For instance take the recent ad showcasing Chanel Nº5 Perfume (Chanel, 2014). This particular add is woven around a storyline, with the images of a singer repeating the refrain, “The One that I want” surfacing intermittently. In this ad the female protagonist is white, blond, exceptionally beautiful and attractive. There is no doubt that the self identity image that it projects is highly sexist and patriarchal. Moreover, in all the screen shots, this woman is shown carrying very revealing attires. The storyline underlying this ad focuses on the dilemma of this idealized woman type, who is torn between her career as a successful model, and her role as a mother and a wife. Eventually, this highly gendered woman type gives up her career for the happiness of the man she loves. It is but evident that this self identity image ad plays on the gender related fears and anxieties of the targeted individual and tries to convince her that if she uses this particular perfume, it will win her the admiration of her man and consequently the security of a stable domestic life. This ad pushes the targeted women to subscribe to exclusively patriarchal hallmarks of female identity, which are a mother and a wife and positively discourages liberated and empowered female identities. Playing on the Aspirations of the Middle Class Consumer The amazing thing is that self identity image ads also target the anxieties, hopes and aspirations of specific social classes to push the products they intend to market (O’Shanghnessy & O’Shanghnessy, 2004, p. 14). The basic ploy here is to project a particular product as a symbol associated with the rich and the famous and to convince the middle class consumers that they can join that elite group by merely purchasing that product (O’Shanghnessy & O’Shanghnessy, 2004, p. 156). Such self identity image ads blatantly exploit the very natural human tendency to better one’s lot, to delude the targeted individuals into believing that the product they are marketing does allow them one chance to become somebody special. Now, simply speaking there is nothing wrong with any ad that encourages people to aspire to be rich and influential. However, things are mostly not as simple as that. The reality is that such self identity image ads really trivialize genuine ambition and success, and rather exploit the aspirations of the middle class consumers to convince them that they can match the rich and elite by simply consuming or purchasing a particular product (O’Shanghnessy & O’Shanghnessy, 2004, p. 156). Consequently, while the actual class identity or status of the targeted consumers does remain unchanged, these ads do manipulate them into spending their hard earned money on the projected and perhaps needless symbol of elite identity. Such class focused self identity image ads are very common in the case of automobiles. For instance take the recent ad of Acura 2014 ILX (Car Ads Collection, 2014). The automobile experts do know that this particular car is an entry level sedan, targeted at the middle class customers aspiring to break into the luxury segment. This self identity image add plays on the middle class aspirations by showing a faceless person driving this car, when the byline “We say, let them watch” in the bold pops up in the frame. To put it in a few words, this car ad influences the targeted middle class individuals into believing that they can escape their working class identity by buying this car. Moreover, it also debases the class identity and self image of individuals who cannot or will not buy this car. Focusing on the Majority Race Identities The other thing that is so wrong about and yet so peculiar of the self identity image ads is that the ‘idealized person type’ they project mostly belongs to the majority race or ethnicity (Williams & Lee, 2004, p. 321). Now such self identity image ads may not be directly targeting the ethnic and racial minorities, but in an indirect way, by the very density of the race identity images they carry, they may lead the individuals belonging to racial minorities into believing that it is the tastes and preferences of the majority that matter. For instance, some researchers considered the commercials telecasted around the children’s programs aired on popular American networks during the spring of 1997 (Johnson, 2007, p. 79). They found that 99 percent of these ads featured only white characters, and Blacks, Asians and Hispanics were miserably underrepresented in the self identity images projected in these ads (Johnson, 2007, p. 79). The influence of these ads on the self image of the minority children who may have watched them was aptly summarized by the observation that, “Caucasian children may learn to believe that other ethnic groups are just like them, and thus fail to respect differences that exist among other ethnic groups (Johnson, 2007, p. 79).” Conclusion It would be really truthful to say that a majority of the self identity image ads aspire to harvest maximum profits for the brand they carry and they do not hesitate in taking advantage of the gender, class and race associated biases and prejudices in an indirect, subdued and glorified manner to achieve this objective. Moreover, one could least expect any advertiser to be a carrier of progressive gender, race and class identities and images. The goal of any advertiser is to win customers, and one will resort to any stratagem to do so, without showing any concern or respect for the individuals who are mislead, coerced, manipulated and influenced by the identity images they project. References Bishop, J.D. (2000). Is Self-Identity Image Advertising Ethical? Business Ethics Quarterly, 10(2), 371-398. Car Ads Collection. (2014, June 3). Acura 2014 ILX Lights Commercial AATV [Video File]/ Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p84Ag6tdkCw Chanel. (2014, October 14). CHANEL Nº5: The One That I Want- The Film [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8asRWe5XNw8 Danesi, M. (2008). Why it Sells. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield. Johnson, F.L. (2007). Imaging in Advertising. New York: Routledge. O’Shanghnessy, J., & O’Shanghnessy, N.J. (2004). Persuasion in Advertising. New York: Routledge. Williams, J.D., & Lee, W. (2004). Diversity in Advertising. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Wolf, N. (2002). The Beauty Myth. New York: Harper Perennial. Read More