Advertising In America

This blog post is a reaction to the first chapter of the book, Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture: Advertising's Impact on American Character and Society by Arthur Asa Berger.

Advertising is a huge business in America. However, Berger mentions in his book that there is no exact science to advertising. It can be hard to prove if an ad campaign will work and when it does, it can be hard to find out why. Despite this, advertising remains a staple of American life. It is impossible to avoid advertising. It is on billboards, T.V., magazines, and on the radio. Everyone is impacted by advertising in some way.

Berger writes that many people act as though they are not impacted by advertising. They think that they are aware of the methods used and can resist their power. The fact remains that to some degree advertising has an effect on everyone. There is a reason that pepsi and coke are more popular than the off brand pops. Advertising makes people aware of a product and creates a familiarity with the brand.

Berger also writes about how commercials are interesting because they act as mini-dramas. In order to entice people to purchase a product, advertisers make a short film that may utilize heroes, sexuality, humor, fun, success, and reward. In my experience, the two most popular methods are humor and sexuality. I remember a super bowl commercial for a burger one year, in which the model eating the burger was naked. They used some sort of play on words to justify her nudity, but they only had her naked because sex sells. On a less exploitative note, humor is also quite popular. If someone is entertained by an ad, it can become viral. People will purposely watch an advertisement. An example of this would be the Old Spice commercials, which have grown to become very popular.