advertising and commercial culture our increasingly sponsored

Advertising

and Commercial Culture

Our increasingly sponsored lives

• David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest• College football bowl games:

Our increasingly sponsored lives

• David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest• College football bowl games:

– Nokia Sugar Bowl– Tostitos Fiesta Bowl– Fed Ex Orange Bowl– Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

Our increasingly sponsored lives

• Sports facilities:

Our increasingly sponsored lives

• Sports facilities:– Coors Field (Denver)– United Center (Chicago)– Fleet Center (Boston)– Bank One Ballpark (Arizona)– McLeod Arena

Our increasingly sponsored lives

Where have you seen ads lately?

TV: 1 hour prime time TV – 1988: 10:17 ads– 1998: 15:40 ads– 2004: 16:27– 2005: 17:00– 2007:

Advertising History

• 3000 B.C. - ancient Babylon, shop owners hung signs

• U.S: early 1800s -- first ad agencies were space brokers. Bought newspaper space and resold it.

• 1875: N.W. Ayer, first modern ad agency, Philadelphia.

Advertising History

• Late 1800s -- department stores and patent medicines as major advertisers.

• Advertising invented “problems” that needed to be solved by products– E.g., Odor Oh No– AXE soap

• Radio: first ad, 1922– Advertise to people in their living

rooms– Targeted kids– Sell soap on soap operas

• Slogans– No More Tears (Johnson & Johnson)– Nobody Doesn’t Like Sara Lee (Sara Lee)– Nothin' says lovin' like somethin' from the oven

(Pillsbury)– Once you pop, you can't stop! (Pringles)

– M'm, M'm, Good! (Campbell's)– Quality is Job 1. (Ford)– Snap! Crackle! Pop! (Kellogg's Rice Krispies)– See the USA in your Chevrolet. (Chevrolet)

Advertising Today

• Influence of visual design:– 1960s-70s -- European design– 1980s --

Advertising Today

• Influence of visual design:– 1960s-70s -- European design– 1980s -- MTV -- changes visual style

for TV ads, makes hit music part of advertising

– 1990s --

Advertising Today

• Influence of visual design:– 1960s-70s -- European design– 1980s -- MTV -- changes visual style

for TV ads, makes hit music part of advertising

– 1990s -- the Internet• Google• Yahoo!• MSN

Advertising Today

Agencies– Mega Agencies --

•Omnicom: $6.7 billion (21.5 %) •WPP Group: $4.54 billion (14.6%)•Interpublic: $3.65 billion (11.7 %)•Publicis: $2.76 billion (8.9%)

• GOOGle: $16.6 billion

Advertising Today

Agencies

– Boutique Agencies -- like Wieden & Kennedy, Digital Kitchen, Peterson Milla Hooks

Advertising Today

• The Structure of Agencies

– Market Research - VALS (SRI Business Consulting)

– Creative Development– Media Selection– Account and Client Management

Persuasive Techniques

• Famous person testimonial• Plain folks• Snob appeal• Bandwagon effect• Hidden fear• Irritation• Unique selling proposition

Persuasive Techniques

• Association Principle -- associate product with a positive cultural image or value

• Disassociation Corrolary• Liberation Marketing - product

takes the language of rebellion, nonconformity

Persuasive Techniques

• Myth Analysis (Claude Levi-Strauss)

– Narrative -- tells us a story– Binary Opposition - conflict– Resolution

Critical Issues in Advertising

1) Children and advertising– Influence $500 billion in spending

each year– Advertising in Schools

• Channel One

Critical Issues in Advertising

2) Health and Advertising– Eating Disorders – Tobacco– Alcohol– Prescription Drugs

• Not advertised until 1997• $4.7 billion in 2005• FDA enforcement of misleading claims on the

decline

Critical Issues in Advertising

Advertising and DemocracyBroadcasters earned from political ads:

1996 -$400 million2000 -$665 million 2004 -$1.6 billion2008: $2.5 billion

Campaign ads are about 10% of total revenue in those years. How does this affect broadcasters’ support for campaign finance reform?