INTRODUCTION

Advertising is the principal source of revenues that support our media system.
This dependence creates an incongruity between the public's preferences and the
criteria employed by the people in charge. As consumers of communication, we
judge it by its value and meaning for us; advertisers judge it by its efficiency in
disseminating what they call "exposure opportunities." A great change is now
under way in the internal economics of mass communications, with con-
sequences for its content and therefore for society. To put this change in
perspective, we must briefly consider both the role of mass communications in
our culture, and the nature of the media system that disseminates the messages.
People exchange and consume goods and services in every society, but ours
seems uniquely dedicated to that purpose. There are cultures in which sheer exis
tence is so precarious that human beings find it hard to transcend the immediate
tasks of obtaining food and shelter to survive. There are cultures whose
members are primarily concerned with the integration of their individual
existences into the pattern of nature and tradition; they are preoccupied with
spirits, deities or ancestors. There are cultures that value time, indolence, the
warmth of personal relationships and the cultivation, for mere pleasure, of skills
that cannot be sold. We are not immune to the appeal of non-material values in
our own society. We practice the forms of religious worship, and find a place in
our lives for affection, friendship, sport and the arts. But the satisfactions we
obtain from these activities are embedded in the tissue of our lives as
consumers. The practices of religion, sport and art acquire overtones of meaning
from the social status of those with
whom we engage in them and from
the objects associated with them.
COMMERCIAL CULTURE
Commercial culture refers specifically to advertising forms of mediated culture:
culture designed to sell a product. By this definition, advertisements are
commercial culture. Commercial culture
also results when obvious advertising and
promotional influences intrude on non-
advertising forms.
Commercial culture is said to perpetuate the
existing social and economic structure by
making its principles the dominant and
unquestioned ideology, suppressing any
indications of its evils and impermanence,
and lulling the masses of the population into
a mindless acceptance of the status quo. It inhibits the ability of creative people
to express themselves by subordinating their talents to the demands of the
market. It favours vulgarity and the commonplace, and gives short shrift to
experiment and innovation. It moves media content toward the lowest common
denominator, suppressing variety in taste and opinion. These are strong
indictments. To tackle them head on requires putting the whole social order in
the defendant's box along with the media system that is its voice. One need not
go that far to acknowledge that the charges are so serious and so recurrent that
they cannot easily be dismissed.

“These new platforms, new innovations, and new services in fact create new
opportunities for advertisers...I think these models are going to be the ones that
will really evolve to be the defining models for advertising over the next 10 to
20 years.”—Eric Schmidt, Google CEO
Development of Commercial Culture explained with Brief Points
Culture Influenced by Ads Advertising comes in many forms, from classified
ads to giant highway billboards. Ads are often seen as intruding on daily life.
Fast-forward through commercials with TiVo Block pop-up ads on Web sites
However, advertising is the glue that holds the mass media industries together.
History Advertising used in antiquity First newspaper ads in America, 1704
Most U.S. magazines had advertising by mid-1800s. Earliest ad agencies were
newspaper space brokers. Bought newspaper space, sold it to merchants N. W.
Ayer established the first modern U.S. ad agency. Established in 1875 Worked
for advertisers, product companies, not newspapers Wrote, produced, and
placed ads
The American apparatus of advertising is something unique in history.it is like
a grotesque, smirking gargoyle set at the very top of America s skyscraping
adventure in acquisition ad infinitum. James Rorty, Our Master s Voice, 1934
Advertising Proves Worthy By the mid-1800s, manufacturers realized
consumers would ask for their products specifically if they were distinctive,
associated with quality. Advertising let manufacturers establish a special
identity for their products, separate from their competitors. Built brand
recognition Packaging Created demand for branded, quality goods 19th century
ads created the impression of significant differences among products when in
fact very few differences actually existed.
Medicine and Department Stores By the end of the 1800s half the ads were
for patent medicines or department stores. Many patent medicines were
dangerous and/or fraudulent. Problem led to advertising self-policing. Federal
Food and Drug Act passed in 1906 in response FDA created Advertising eats
the newshole. Today more than 60 percent of the space in large daily papers is
consumed by ads.
Promoting Social Change and Dictating Values As ads became more
powerful, began to change American life Transition from producer-directed
society to consumer driven society Advertising promoted new technological
advances that made life easier. Still, ads were accused of inciting consumer
need for unnecessary products. Emphasized advertising s power for social good
Ad Council Founded in the 1940s, created important campaigns like Smokey
the Bear ( Only you can prevent forest fires )
Regulation Better Business Bureau Created by business community to keep
tabs on deceptive advertising Audit Bureau of Circulation Tracked advertising s
audience so publishers could not lie about viewer numbers FTC Group created
by government to help monitor advertising abuses American Association of
Advertising Agencies (AAAA) Self-regulation within ad industry

The Power of Mega-Agencies Top four mega-agencies in 2008 Omnicom

WPP Interpublic Publicis Concern that large audiences pose a threat to
independent agencies Boutique agencies Often founded by designers and
graphic artists empowered by visual revolution of the 1960s Left larger agencies
to form their own ventures Peterson Milla Hooks: one of the biggest boutique
agencies in America Famed campaign for Target (bulls-eye)

Market Research Assesses the behaviors and attitudes of consumers toward

particular products Demographics Psychographics Focus groups Values and
Lifestyles (VALS) Auto industry uses heavily See Figure 11.2 on p. 356

Ad Agency Structure Creative development Writers and artists outline rough

sketch of ads. Media selection Media buyers: choose and purchase the types of
media best suited to carry a client s ad and reach the target audience Account
services Account executives: responsible for bringing in new business and
managing the accounts of established clients

Online Advertising Banner ads earliest form of Web advertising Pop-up ads,
pop-under ads, flash multimedia ads, and interstitials popular today Paid search
advertising has become the dominant format of Web advertising. Google, MSN,
and Yahoo, for all claims of impartiality, have quietly morphed into ad
agencies.

Persuasive Techniques in Advertising Famous-person testimonial Athlete

Tiger Woods for Nike, American Express, and more Plain folks Volkswagen (
Drivers wanted ) Snob appeal Fiji water ( The label says Fiji because it s not
bottled in Cleveland ) Bandwagon Appeal of Everyone does it! Hidden fear
Deodorant, mouthwash ads play on social anxiety. Irritation Aspirin ad
featuring hammer pounding in someone s brain

Product Placement Placing ads in movies, TV shows, comic books, video

games Coca-Cola on American Idol Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky
Bobby Should the FCC mandate that the public be warned about product
placement on television?

Subliminal Advertising Term coined in 1950s Hidden or disguised visual

messages in films and television programs Fool people into buying products
Few examples actually exist. Drink Coca-Cola in frames of movies Sexual
activity in liquor ads No more effective than regular ads
Political Speech vs. Commercial Speech Political speech is protected under
the First Amendment. Lobbying (PR) Political campaigns Commercial speech is
far more proscribed by case law. Fee-based communications Intended to cause
money exchange

Key Advertising Concerns Schools Health Eating disorders Tobacco

Pharmaceuticals Alcohol Puffery Ads featuring hyperbole and exaggeration
Advertisers killing news stories .The end of consumer reporting?

Questioning Advertising The Truth, a national youth smoking prevention

campaign, works to deconstruct the images that have long been associated with
cigarette ads. Recognized by 80% of teens in 2007 Ranked in the Top 10 most
memorable teen brands

Advertising, Politics, and Democracy Since the 1950s, politicians have

mimicked advertising techniques in order to get elected. Political advertising:
the use of ad techniques to promote a candidate s image and persuade the public
to adopt a particular viewpoint Although broadcasters use the public s airwaves,
they have long opposed providing free time for political campaigns and issues,
since political advertising is big business for television stations. Commercialism
through packaging both products and politicians has generated cultural feedback
that is often critical of advertising s pervasiveness. Still, the growth of the
industry has not diminished. Public maintains uneasy relationship with
advertising.

Advertising as Myth Three common mythical elements found in many types of

ads: Mini stories featuring characters, settings, and plots Stories involve
conflicts, pitting one set of characters or social values against another. Conflicts
are negotiated or resolved by end of ad, usually by applying or purchasing
product. The product and its users are the heroes.

Association Principle Product associated with some cultural icon or value

Used in most consumer ads Disassociation corollary: Responding to consumer
backlash, major corporations present products as though from smaller,
independent companies, i.e. Saturn.
India’s advertisement Culture
India is the world's second most populous nation. Over a billion people live
within its borders, making it second in size only to China. It is a land where the
old and the new, the traditional and the modern, and the local and the
international coexist—sometimes comfortably, sometimes not. In managing
brands and targeting consumers, advertising must understand and contend with
the social and cultural diversity of India. Thus, if advertising is to reflect
society, the question in India becomes: Which India to reflect?

The contrast between what is manufactured at home (and thus, Indian) and what
is imported (and thus, global) touches the very heart of Indian national identity.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), who led the Indian subcontinent to
independence from Great Britain in 1947, called on Indians to boycott goods
manufactured abroad, especially those made in Great Britain. He spun locally
grown cotton for his own clothes and urged fellow Indians to do the same.
When Britain taxed salt, Gandhi led a peaceful march to the sea and encouraged
his followers to make their own salt. Today, many Indians remain suspicious of
imported goods and the multinational corporations that produce them. Others
view such foreign influences, including the establishment of foreign corporation
branches, as a means of modernizing the country and bringing it into the global
economic community.

After years of controlling and closing the economy to foreign influence, the
Indian government liberalized the economy in 1991. The years since have
witnessed rapid change at virtually every level of the society and culture.
Multinational corporations have moved in, imported goods have become widely
available, and consumption has become rampant. Today it is possible to buy
nearly anything in India—from inexpensive handcrafted bangles to luxury
watches, foreign cars, and designer clothing.

However, only some Indians participate in the economy of mass consumption.

There are many for whom purchasing a bar of soap, a soft drink, or a cup of tea
is a luxury. The rural poor are largely excluded from participating in the
economy, as are vast numbers of working class people in India's many cities.
Age also makes a difference in consumption patterns. Well-educated young
people often earn as much at entry-level jobs as their fathers had after a lifetime
of work, turning traditional patriarchal authority on its head
The History of Advertising in India

Anthropologist William Mazzarella divides advertising in post-independence

India into four key phases. The first of these began after Indian independence
from Great Britain (1947) and lasted until the early 1960s. Indian advertising in
this period still operated as an outpost of the British Empire. The overall style of
advertising was factual presentation coupled with an overall lack of creativity.
The second phase (early 1960s to 1980s) emerged in large part as a reaction to
the first and stressed creativity and an Indian professional identity independent
of Great Britain. A third phase (1980s) turned away from creative and
innovative advertising and toward creating efficient marketing channels that
would have a wide impact throughout the country. The fourth and current phase,
which also came into being in the 1980s, is characterized by a synthesis of
effective marketing mechanisms and a high level of creativity.5 inline graphic
inline graphic

Today Indian advertising has the enormous job of speaking to one of the world's
most diverse populations. English is the only common language throughout all
of India, but it is unknown in many sectors of the population. Television, radio,
and newspapers rely on more than two dozen languages, thus limiting the
communicative reach of many advertisements to certain geographic regions or
some sectors of society. When addressing India's elite, advertising uses English.
When speaking more colloquially to the masses, it uses one of the many local
languages. In northern India, Hindi is widely used in ads but it is not useful in
southern India where it is seldom spoken. Some advertisements combine
English and Hindi in a mixture known locally as Hinglish

Most large multinational advertising agencies have offices in India—almost

certainly in India's financial capital, Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and
often in New Delhi and other cities as well. There are successful homegrown
agencies that tend to focus more on locally produced brands and advertising
aimed at regional populations in languages other than English.