The Magic of Advertising: Illusion of Meeting Innermost Desires - Research Paper Example

June 5, The Magic of Advertising: The Illusion of Meeting Innermost Desires Advertisers no longer sell the actual benefits of products and services- they sell brands that promise the attainment of innermost human fantasies and desires. Raymond Williams offers a history of the development of advertising as a magical system. His essay, “Advertising: The Magic System,” captures the irony of how advertising promises something it can never truly offer- the genuine resolution of personal and social problems and anxieties- which makes advertising a magical system of illusions. Advertisers, furthermore, use mediation and intertextuality, among other things, to titillate responses from their target markets. The essay deconstructs advertising, as it investigates the gap between what is promised and what is actually communicated and provided, using several print advertisements. These advertisements appropriate ideas from High Art and culture by intertextuality, specifically, through using cultural symbols and associations where products do not have denotations alone to represent the actual needs that they can satisfy, but more than that, they connote the fulfillment of various human desires, especially for sex and power. Corporate interests want to use these sexual and violent images to engender that their products are more than things to be consumed, but are signifiers of identities and lifestyles. Advertising mediates meaning by acting on people and framing their attitudes and behaviors. Advertisements act on people by using objects or images that have influence on their emotions and/or cognitions. An example is the Budweiser print ad shown below (Figure 1). The ad contains three, evidently, young women, who may even be considered as under-aged, surrounded with Budweiser beer cans and with Budweiser brand and logo plastered on their swimsuit-wearing bodies and the mat they are on. The youth of these models means that the advertisers target the youth, even when they know that many countries ban drinking alcohol for teenagers. The use of pocket books and CDs also underscore the youth’s interests, as well as their middle-class lifestyle. Jean Kilbourne, in “Forget the Rules! Enjoy the Wine,” provides other beer and alcohol ads that attract the younger market through familiar animal icons and through appealing to their sense of rebellion and demand for freedom (164). Kilbourne argues that advertisers sell beer by selling rebellion, including women, to target female drinkers. Figure 1 affirms the sense of rebellion in these young women drinking beer as if it is something they can do every day. In addition, these young women’s swimsuits mediate the meaning of beer as something that attracts the youth and connotes sexiness. The way that these women are posed connotes sexual passivity and readiness with their bottoms extended and with the middle girl exposing her breasts even more. The ad underscores how women can feel freedom through drinking certain products, as if independence comes in bottles. Figure 1: Budweiser Print Advertisement Source: Google Images Aside from targeting youth through the use of young characters and appealing to their sense of rebellion and need for independence, the ad frames notions about sex and sexuality, where the main emphasis is the exploitation of the female body to sell the sexual appeal of the brand. These women in the Budweiser ad represent the desire for sexual appeal. The ad seems to say that Budweiser makes its drinkers think and feel that they are sexually appealing because these sexy women are attracted to Budweiser. In other words, the ad connotes that to drink Budweiser is to be a sexually appealing man or woman. Anne M. Cronin explores how advertisements mediate meanings as they intersect action, intent, and meaning (p.39). She supports the analysis of Colin Campbell who argues that advertising frame consumer goods as signs that result to self-construction (Cronin 39).Consumers make use of these meanings that they find in these products or brands to construct their identities. Advertisers of the Budweiser ad appeal to the need for sexual power of the youth and other more mature target markets. For some beer drinkers, their need for alcohol may also be driven by experiences of deprivation and isolation during childhood, according to Kilbourne’s article, “You Talkin’ to Me? Advertising and Disconnection.” The Budweiser ad seems to promise to banish away deprivation and isolation by providing sexual appeal that can lead to companionship and sex. Advertisement mediates meaning through acting on people’s desires, including sexual needs. Williams describes the magical system of advertising that rides on these underlying human desires, but he argues that advertising is false because products cannot fulfill these desires at all. He stresses that advertising is magical because it promises to sell objects that gratify human desires. Williams asserts that advertising has changed from being merely a process of selling goods into a manifestation of an important part of the culture of a confused society. Before beer ads just sell beer, for instance, but now they sell lifestyles. The Budweiser advertisement sells the lifestyle of freedom through the use of young women enjoying Budweiser. In addition, Williams states that consumers are confusing consumption with the achievement of real human desires. Advertising assumes that it can sell ideals and social goods to consumers, but they are wrong because goods cannot respond to personal and social problems and anxieties. Products cannot truly meet these desires, but instead, they can even make people less content. After drinking Budweiser, for instance, those people who do not feel sexually attractive or satisfied, may become more depressed and insecure. The consumption of products cut off the mediation of meanings when these meanings do not materialize in real life. Apart from mediation, advertisements appropriate ideas from High Art and culture by intertextuality, specifically, through using cultural symbols and associations where products do not have denotations alone to represent the actual needs that they can satisfy, but more than that, they connote the accomplishment of various human desires, especially for sex and power. Intertextuality refers to tie-ins and links among diverse media texts (Matheson 44). It is based on semiotics which states that signs have numerous meanings (Matheson 44). When the audience sees advertisements, they make sense of the symbols and their meanings in these ads through their own life experiences and/or knowledge (Matheson 44). In the Davidoff Cool Water ad, it showcases the actor, Josh Holloway, who is known for his character, James “Sawyer” Ford in the TV series, Lost. What is popular art in terms of the popularity of Lost seems to be appropriated as High Art that increases the persuasiveness of the ad. In “In Your Face…All Over the Place,” Kilbourne describes the use of models and actors in ads because they are already brands themselves (60). Holloway is a brand that exhibits sexualized masculinity. Moreover, the Davidoff Cool Water ad ad projects sexual energy and meanings because of the half-nude body of Holloway (Figure 2). The advertisers even made sure to pull down Holloway’s short somewhat lower, as if teasing the audience who might be attracted to him. Holloway is no different from female models whose bodies are exploited by turning their identities into sexual commodities. Holloway’s half-open mouth also indicates his manhood’s sexual appeal. The drops of water on his body and the background of the ocean combine to create, not just the “power of cool” as the ad says, but the power of sex. The combination of his pose and cultural meanings of the elements in the ad promote the selling of sex in this ad and relating sex to the perfume. Holloway is used as representation of the new man that is oozing with socially-made meanings of masculinity and maleness. Figure 2: Davidoff Cool Water Print Advertisement Source: Google Images Edisol Wayne Dotson, in “Buy Me Advertising,” argues that the rise of feminism has been coupled by the advertising’s making of the “new man” (35). The notion of the “new man,” unfortunately, does not embody gender equality and gender empowerment for men, but the promotion of traditional masculine stereotypes (Dotson 35). Dotson asserts that print advertisements convey a new gendered culture that tells men and women, sometimes directly, sometimes discreetly, how men should be men, specifically, “how men must present themselves, how men must take care of themselves…what men must smell like, and what it is that defines male sexuality” (35). Advertising has created a new, although limited and stereotyped, definitions of maleness and masculinity. In this ad, maleness is in the slimness of the body, thereby rejecting male bodies that are fatter. Moreover, masculinity is focused on sexual desirability through physical features and slimness. The ad basically links also the allure and mystery of Lost to the allure and mystery of Davidoff. The impact is the appeal to men’s sense of adventure and need for distinctiveness. Furthermore, Sawyer, as a character, is rebellious, but sexually attractive. His character is embedded also in the ocean environment of the ad, since Lost is also set in the beach or an island. Advertisers skillfully connect all these symbols and meanings to the overall brand associations of Davidoff Cool Water. In particular, sex is the central theme that underscores the importance of physical characteristics to maleness and masculinity in forming male identities. Apart from scents, food is another arena where advertisers combine sexual desires and physical appetite by using cultural symbols and connotations. Williams asserts that advertising can be seen as a social communication because it teaches social and personal values and has become the art of capitalism. The Burger King ad for the BK Super Seven Incher is a good example of food that is promoted through the commodification of sex which is attained through cultural associations that teaches social and personal values about gender and sex (Figure 3). The use of a wide-eyed woman facing a seven-inch burger, with her mouth ready to consume the burger, is highly sexually connotative with use of “seven-inch” word and burger that comprise features or forms of phallic symbols. Even the ad’s words, “It’ll blow your mind away” is also connected to sexual acts. The ad means to connect the cultural phallic symbol of sexual desire to the desire for the long BK product. Its art is the art of capitalism that sells the promise of sexual gratification. Moreover, the printed words below reinforce the sexual connotation of the advertisement. It states: “Fill your desire for something long, juicy, and flame grilled…Yearn for more after you taste the mind-blowing burger…” The words “desire” and “yearn” added to “long” and “juicy” are sexually connotative of the male organ and the desire of women for particular sexual characteristics in men. The burger is sold as a sexual activity and product combined to appeal to sexuality and sex desires of the target market. The ad uses cultural meanings to both sexualize food and women alike, while sending the cultural connotation that the product is something that is sexually fulfilling, therefore, it must be physically fulfilling of physical appetite too. Figure 3: BK Super Seven Incher Print Advertisement Source: Google Images Scholars are concerned of the framing and selling of food as sex, however, because it engenders stereotyped gender norms and expectations and the promotion of other harmful health practices. Companies, however, capitalize on these stereotypes to immediately connect to their target audiences who are aware of these cultural associations and the stereotypes and meanings they represent. Phallic symbols and sex are bread-and-butter for advertisers who believe that sex sells- always. Kilbourne, in “Please, Please, You’re Driving Me Wild,” argues that turning food into sex turns food into a moral issue that is based on gender norms and roles (115). In Figure 3, the harm is in the promotion of gender norms where women are sexually liberal, while masculinity is measured through the size of their male organs. The sexualization of food is reinforcing the commodification of masculinity and femininity. Aside from the promotion of gender stereotypes, sexualizing food also glamorizes it and hides its negative effects on health. Kilbourne underscores that food ads tend to “normalize and glamorize harmful and often dangerous attitudes toward food and eating” (116). She states that through normalizing the demand for bigger food products (such as the seven-incher BK burger), ads contribute to the problems of obesity and eating disorders in America (Kilbourne 116). The irony is that advertising food sexually creates two extremes- obesity or the guilt of eating food, so others fall on to the trap of eating disorders. Packaging food as a form of sexual desire reveals the identity issues of people that come with body image, weight, and sexuality concerns. Apart from the sexualization of food, other products also use sex and women as sex symbols in relation to signifiers of identity and lifestyles. Cigarette ads are famous for signifying the need for power and to show a lifestyle of rebellion and sexual authority. The ad from Tipalet intersects cultural symbols of gender, sexuality, rebellion, and sexual domination (Figure 4). On the one hand, the woman is seen as rebellious because not all cultures see smoking women as acceptable. The way she smugly smiles underlines her rebelliousness against social norms for the female gender. In “What You’re Looking For,” Kilbourne explores how advertisers use women’s disempowerment issues to sell their products. The Tipalet ad similarly taps to women’s need for power and freedom (Kilbourne 196). On the other hand, the ad is still full of gender stereotyping where men dominates women and remain to be the primary agent and spectator. The ad says: “Give her your Tipalet and watch her smoke.” The man looks from behind indeed, his eyes seemingly filled with sexual desire. The intertextuality in this ad is between the femme fatale who smokes and is powerful and the male protagonist who is more powerful and controls women. The irony shows that women can only think they are in control, but men continue to control them. Furthermore, the way that the woman is posed, with her breasts exposed, and her leaning body, commodifies her as a sexual object. It appears that, as the man buys Tipalet, he is also buying his right to watch a sexy, beautiful woman. Again, advertisers are playing with men’s desire for sexual attractiveness and domination. In addition, the female mode does not look at the man, but on what could be a male audience. She appeals to them, in particular, in the same way that the brand wants to appeal to its male audience. The ad suggests that Tipalet enhances men’s sexual power, especially when they remain the active sexual spectator in it, not women. Advertising uses intertextuality and cultural associations to promote meanings about gender and sex. Figure 4: Tipalet Cigarette Print Advertisement Source: Google Images In another print ad, the ad shows harmful denotations and connotations that combine sexuality with violence. The ad is from Dolce & Gabbana (Figure 5). The entire image denotes gang rape because a woman is held forcefully down in skimpy black clothing by one man, while two others watch, and another one approaches. Though the female model looks submissive, the aggressive look in the male model’s face holding her down suggests the violence of rape. One connotation of the use of such a sexually violent image is that Dolce & Gabbana wants to say that its brand is so sexually appealing that men will fall in line for those who wear it. However, the underlying connotation is the symbol of sexual violence that disempowers women by turning them into passive sexual objects. In “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt,” Kilbourne explores the use of violence in advertising. She mentions several examples the fit the denotation and connotation of the Dolce & Gabbana ad for violence against women. She argues that these ads promote pornography and stereotyped gender roles, where rape and violence are glorified (Kilbourne 272). She states: “Male violence is subtly encouraged by ads that encourage men to be forceful and dominant, and to value sexual intimacy more than emotional intimacy” (Kilbourne 272). The Dolce & Gabbana ad precisely promotes masculine aggression against women and the sexual submissiveness and exploitation of women. It shows that violence against women is acceptable and that women should not complain if they are sexually assaulted. This ad is filled with harmful denotations and connotations that turn masculinity and femininity into sex-centered identities. Figure 5: Dolce & Gabbana Print Advertisement Source: Google Images Advertising mediates meaning through acting on people and framing human attitudes and behaviors, while it also uses intertextuality and cultural associations to impose and reinforce its ability to sell the promise of the fulfillment of human desires. At the center of these print ads, sex and/or violence are recurring themes because they assume that female and male stereotypes are acceptable social norms, where men are dominant and aggressive and women are passive and submissive. Where women are empowered, they are still projected as sexual objects and men continue to be spectators and dominators of women. Williams is right, nevertheless, that advertising is magic because it only sends the illusion of sexual and/or power gratification. In reality, products and brands can never respond to innermost human desires in any satisfying way because once consumed, they are gone, as well as the feelings they intend to create. What is lasting is the illusion of advertising that makes grand promises as it signifies whatever their target markets need and desire the most in life. Works Cited Cronin, Anne M. Advertising and Consumer Citizenship: Gender, Images and Rights. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print. Dotson, Edisol Wayne. “Buy Me Advertising.” Kilbourne, Jean. “Forget the Rules! Enjoy the Wine.” Cant Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. New York: Touchstone, 1999. 155-179. Print. ---. “In Your Face…All Over the Place.” Cant Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. New York: Touchstone, 1999. 57-75. Print. ---. “Please, Please, You’re Driving Me Wild.” Cant Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. New York: Touchstone, 1999. 108-127. Print. ---. “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt.” Cant Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. New York: Touchstone, 1999. 270-291. Print. ---. “You Talkin’ to Me? Advertising and Disconnection.” Cant Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. New York: Touchstone, 1999. 251-269. Print. ---. “What You’re Looking For.” Cant Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. New York: Touchstone, 1999. 180-216. Print. Matheson, Donald. Media Discourses: Analyzing Media Texts. England: Open University Press. Print. Williams, Raymond. “Advertising: The Magic System.” 1980. Web. 1 June 2014. . Read More