Advertisements in the Face of Economic Recession - Thesis Example

 Advertisements in the face of economic recession – A textual analysis Introduction Advertisements are the most volatile yet strong representations of social reality which reflect the way how a society thinks and acts in a particular moment in history. At the same time, like any other media discourse, advertisements also depict the half-truths and often a single dimension of truth most favorable to the advertiser. This study has selected to examine advertisements that have come out during the recent and ongoing economic recession so that one can better understand the buyer-seller interface in a globalized economy. Also, it is under this stressed period that the notion of equality in communication between the seller and the buyer can be closely watched. The real and virtual elements of need created by the market are yet another interesting aspect of the communication that is canalized through advertising. Method Textual analysis is the method used in moving forward with this study. The texts of advertisements selected for this study are described in detail, then the meanings of these texts are explored in depth and finally judgments are made based on “the ideologies and values that are identified in the text” ( Buckingham, 2003, 71-72) . The description of the text is an analysis of what is shown and how it is shown ( Buckingham, 2003, p.71). Then the discourse proceeds to looking at “the connotations and associations invoked by the various elements of the text” (Buckingham, 2003, p.72). Intertextuality of the texts is also investigated into. The quality of the texts in connection with how far they succeeded in conveying the intended meaning and how far an aesthetic appeal is created is also examined. How the texts are marketed to the audiences and how they were received are the other two important areas of concern for this study. Review of Literature Advertising is basically a process of communication that happens between the media and the society. Burton ( 2005, p.9) has delineated the key concepts linking media and society. They include mythologies, ideologies with power relationships embedded in them, representations of the world, mediation of experience and events, discourses which are the ways of thinking and talking about a subject and conventions of media texts (burton, 2005, p.9). Further he (Burton, 2005, p.16) defines audiences as belonging to three categories. They are, “a disparate collection of individuals who happen to be consuming one text at one time, a coherent social group who have in common characteristics outside their consumption” (Burton, 2005, p.16) and “a mass group whose identity comes from the very fact of their consumption” (Burton, 2005, p.16). An advertisement targets all these three groups but the attention to a particular group varies in degrees in relation to each other. As John Wanamaker in his famous quote said, “ half the money spent in advertising is wasted” but “the trouble is “ one doesn’t “know which half” ( Coe, 2003, p.98). This element of uncertainty in advertising is mostly a result of the strong connotative element inside an advertisement and also the difficulty in identifying a uniform target group. Another issue of concern is that the viewer or reader of an advertisement is always compelled to make a judgement simply based on what is shown before him by the advertiser. Price (p.152) quotes Outhwaite saying, “advertising is not an ideal speech situation and in some ways it could be systematically distorted communication.” Also it is said, “what is true about the media-audience relationship is that it remains unequal, even when audiences are part of the production of the text, as in the case of reality TV.” (Burton, 2005, p.17). So a social interaction model is not applicable for the advertisement media textual analysis (Burton, 2005, p.17). Another valuable observation that has been made in this regard is that “the meanings of media texts, the dominant discourses which produce certain kinds of meanings about how the world should be, are a consequence of the patterns of ownership and of the production practices of media owners. They are also the result of a collusive relationship with advertising.” (Burton, 2005, p.19). This inference draws attention to how advertisement could make an impact on the decisions made by a society. It is keeping these analytical discourses in mind that this study analyses the nature and impact of advertisements by companies meant to overcome the dip in sales caused by recession. Aims and methodology This study aims to un-reveal the intrinsic interplay of values like honesty and social commitment with marketing strategies, the interplay of truthful claims with deceptive selling motives. The advertisements in question are scrutinized to find out how the society is forced into self-deception in the face of a crisis, whether it is war, financial melt down or a natural disaster. It also tries to throw light into whether it is always the dominating discourse that gains upper hand even if it is logically wrong. The texts of the selected advertisements are analyzed in terms of the content, the format, the embedded values, the denotations as well as the connotations. The advertisements are approached one by one and then the inferences are compared for inter- textuality. To begin with, a set of marketing strategies prescribed in the website of Vietnam Marketing and Management Institute (2009) can be taken as a starting point for this discussion. The website of the institute has synthesized a list of marketing strategies for an economic recession period. This list includes providing assurances through rational appeal, use expert endorsements, traditionally respected figures and satisfied-customer testimonials, avoid celebrity endorsements, adopt an advisory tone and use discounts and premiums. The advertisements are moving exactly in similar lines as far as this recession is concerned. Jake Swearingen has shown in an article in the website, BNET (2008), how these strategies are worked out by some companies and shops in US. The website has exhibited the picture shown below along with this article. Figure 1: Shop offering price cuts in view of recession (BNET, 2008). This advertisement is mainly focusing on price cuts. The advertisement promises that even recession can be made a matter of celebration by saying that this offer was a recession special offer. The connotation of the word ‘special’ articulately hides the fact that recession is a bad thing. The image of the crowd in front of the shop suggests that this offer is accepted by many and is an inducing factor for those who see the advertisement. There is also a health advice included in the advertisement which endorses the credibility of the whole venture. The picture of $1 is presented in such a way as to make an impression that there is something on offer for an amount as cheap as $1. The golden letters printed in black background, psychologically suggests the presence of a golden streak in a dark scenario. A combination of golden and black colours is also one of the most powerful combinations in a colour spectra. Given below is another advertisement that had come out during the same period. Figure 2: ad showing a family vacation paid for with money saved at Wal Mart. (The New York Times, 2008 ) This advertisement is published by Wal-mart where it shows a family vacation paid for with the money saved while purchasing at Wal-Mart. Stuart Elliott, in his New York Times article, published in the website of New York Times (2008) has drawn attention to this advertisement. The article can be found in the website, . Here also, the mood is of celebration. The psychological eye, here, can see the human nature of finding positive aspects even in least positive situations in this advertisement. But it also depicts the real motive of the advertiser which is only to open up the wallet of the customer and grab something out of it. So the message goes saying that spending is saving. The happy kids and the content mom also can be considered as a legitimate and credible image endorsing this message. A suggestion to adhere to the family in adverse times goes as a subtext along with this. This particular message of course is not deliberate and it has emerged from the social unconscious of the makers of the advertisement. The advertisement is also trying to woo the kids by using this kind of a picture. Advertisement budgets are observed to be going up as sales go down. Stuart Elliot has cited TNS Media Intelligence in New York estimating that ad spending will increase by 4.2 percent (2008) in the same website as mentioned above, namely, . The third advertisement that draws the attention of this study is the flat bread sammies ad given below. Figure 3: Quiznos lower calory sandwiches (The New York Times, 2008) This advertisement also stresses on the lower price, but along with that, there is an equally important stress on lower calories. Here, the figures, ‘200’ and ‘2’ are given a graphically important space which is almost in the middle of the picture. The health aspect is introduced as an added attraction. This also answers the question of critics that why should one eat this junk food even in a period of financial constraints. The two advantages offered are aesthetically endorsed using pictures of two food items. This also suggests a double advantage from a single purchase. No extreme claims are raised as is the practice in a period of economic upheaval. The format of the ad itself suggests simple living both graphically and content-wise. The fourth ad given below has adopted a different strategy. Here a vintage image is revived to strike an emotional cord with the customer. The costumes, the nostalgic quality of black& white photography, the gathering around a table evoking family values and bonding, the smiles and simplicity- all fit into the reminiscences of a sweet past. Figure 4: Advertisement evoking fond memories. (The New York Times, 2008) “TheLadders.com, a jobs Web site, sent e-mail messages last Monday bearing the subject line, recession is coming, get your job insurance now!” (New York Times, 2008). The New York Times article (2008) also reports that “Nissan is pitching the fuel economy of its 2008 Altima sedan, rather than style or performance, with commercials devoted to its ability to go more than 600 miles between fill-ups.” Other examples are “Ads from a new campaign for Club Med family resorts carrying banner headlines declaring that kids stay free; Starbucks testing in Seattle-area stores “short,” or small, coffees priced at $1 a cup and free refills; Sovereign Bank wooing consumers to open checking accounts with up to $100 in gas reward cards.” (New York Times, 2008) Another advertisement cited by Stuart Elliot says, “Uncertain times call for a very certain rate,” which was an advertisement for North Fork Bank, part of Capital One. The bank was offering a seven-month certificate of deposit at 4.25 percent interest rate. (New York Times, 2008). Here, one can see the once and only once admission of truth among all the advertisements that were scrutinized in this study. That is, this advertisement has admitted that uncertain times are ahead. Analysis All these advertisements loudly claim of price cuts but on a second look, it is clear that the price cuts offered are nominal compared to the hype that goes into each offer. The gravity and longevity of recession and the urgent need to make drastic cuts in spending are the reality of this recession which is being pushed under the carpet by these advertisements. All these ads woo the audience as if the recession is yet another opportunity for partying. The notions of health and happiness are deliberately associated with the purchasing power of an individual or family which in turn redefines these concepts in terms of indiscriminate consumption. Thus a continuous cycle of spending and consumption is assured. The second figure uses a client testimonial format while the fourth one is also similar in composition. Both these ads are trying to provide a false sense of security by bringing in the image of a closely knit family. The use of black & white photography is creating an impression that this product has been consumed by generations and thereby making it seem very reliable. In all the above given advertisements, the audience are treated as novices who will just swallow the simpleton arguments given in favor of indiscriminate consumption even in the backdrop of a serious recession. What response this patronizing attitude will evoke is a matter to be analyzed in depth in the coming days and months. But all these ads have together succeeded in creating an ambience where the audience slowly gets used to treating recession as a less serious phenomenon. Thus the ads are serving their purpose to postpone the calamity (a stagnant market) until it reaches the very doorsteps of the consumers. This of course amounts to certain degree of deception and un-democratic manipulation. Performance of the study and use of methods. Limited nature of the case studies has facilitated a close and in depth analysis of the texts. Cultural, social and economic aspects are well-covered in such an analysis. But the inclusion of more advertisements could have brought in a more comprehensive understanding of the scenario. Audience behavior and response studies are very important for this kind of a topic. But that goes further than the scope of a textual analysis. Another difficult situation posed by this topic is that a clear picture of reality is yet to emerge and companies are only going through experimentation in advertisements. It may take time to stabilize and converge into a single strategy. Conclusion The advertisements in the recession period are more survival-oriented and less profit-oriented. This is a short-term strategy. Tall claims are avoided as much as possible. Consumption for the sake of consumption was the moto of the pre-recession era. But now, a reason, whether it be health or happiness or savings, is given for making a purchase. Now the objective is not to draw big amounts out of the wallet of the rich consumer, but to draw even the last penny out of the purse of each member of the mass of less rich consumers. The advertisements of recession period are still trying to paint a rosy picture of the sinking world economy even as economists warn of a prolonged U-curve for recession. The public is never made fully aware of the situation until the full impact is thrust upon them whether it be recession or any other disaster, for that matter. This false notion is being promoted as the major discourse and advertisements play a major role in this. These advertisements will delay the proper understanding among the public of the real nature of recession. But by saying everything is ok a bit too loud, they can also raise suspicion in the minds of the consumers. In the long run, this may also ruin the mutual faith in the buyer-seller interface and once again, comes a moment, when the buyer realizes how unreal the world of advertisements can be. Hence, there is a possibility that the aggressive marketing strategy retaliates. But keeping quiet is equally suicidal for the sellers by giving signals of a collapse to the consumer. The sum total of this situation will be the slow withering away of unwanted products which had gained a place in the market through intensive advertising only. The market will thus loose its extra fat and the audience will be able to make choices based on their real needs skipping the virtual needs created by the advertisements. References Buckingham, D 2003, Media education: Literacy, learning and contemporary culture, Wiley-Blackwell, London. Burton, G 2005, Media and Society: critical perspectives, Mc-Graw Hill, New York. Coe, J 2003, The fundamentals of business to business sales and marketing, Mc- Graw Hill Professional, New York. Elliot, Stuart 2008, ‘ Is it a recession? Marketers seem to think so’, The New York Times, January 28 2008, viewed on 19th May 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/business/media/28adcol.html?_r=1&ex=1359435600&en=6521767cd6b89d3e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Swearingen, J, BNET, January 31st 2008, BNET, http://blogs.bnet.com/intercom/?p=1558 Vietnam Marketing and Management Institute February 10th 2009, Vietnam Marketing and Management Institute, Ho Chi Minh City, viewed on May 19th 2009, http://www.vmi.edu.vn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=50 Read More