Thursday, February 21, 2008
Richard Rapaport's article in AdAge is one of the most provocative articles I've seen in awhile. It really made me think about advertising's role in culture and once again raises the age-old question: is advertising a cultural influencer, or is it influenced by the culture it's in? The answer isn't black or white: advertising has powerful abilities to influence culture if only because of its pervasiveness, but it also is a product of the culture it comes from. As anyone who has ever been involved in a strategic briefing knows, we who make advertising create it with knowledge of the people who will consume it. We need it to be relevant to them, not us. So in this way, we reflect the cultural values of the time among a specific target group of people. On the positive side, the ads cited as examples are very much in touch with the culture they're meant to work within. And, their use of humor and light-hearted tone pokes fun of the problems of culture we perhaps wish were not there.
Advertising as a mirror of culture is perhaps most clear when looking at ads in other cultures: ads in collectivist cultures like Eastern Europe look and feel dramatically different from ads from the US, where individualism is a more powerful cultural force.
But back to the bigger point: in 100 years, if there are artifacts of our culture left, some of our advertising messages will point to a culture that is mean-spirited, competitive, and even a bit snide. But it will also expose a culture concerned about the future of the earth as evidenced by environmentally aware campaigns, a culture concerned about health, as seen in the Truth ads, and a culture aware that something was dramatically wrong with it - as seen in our political slogans, ads and signage.
Could more ads be more socially responsible, more ambitious in their role in shaping culture? Could we take a stand on shaping the culture by putting out ads that reflect more ideal cultural values? Absolutely. It means taking the harder road and digging to find deeper connection points between advertiser and target audience. Connections based on shared values - human truths, if you will. And not to get too philosophical, but it begs each of us in the industry to think about our larger role within the culture, and within history, and to think about the personal legacy we want to leave behind.
Advertising as a mirror of culture is perhaps most clear when looking at ads in other cultures: ads in collectivist cultures like Eastern Europe look and feel dramatically different from ads from the US, where individualism is a more powerful cultural force.
But back to the bigger point: in 100 years, if there are artifacts of our culture left, some of our advertising messages will point to a culture that is mean-spirited, competitive, and even a bit snide. But it will also expose a culture concerned about the future of the earth as evidenced by environmentally aware campaigns, a culture concerned about health, as seen in the Truth ads, and a culture aware that something was dramatically wrong with it - as seen in our political slogans, ads and signage.
Could more ads be more socially responsible, more ambitious in their role in shaping culture? Could we take a stand on shaping the culture by putting out ads that reflect more ideal cultural values? Absolutely. It means taking the harder road and digging to find deeper connection points between advertiser and target audience. Connections based on shared values - human truths, if you will. And not to get too philosophical, but it begs each of us in the industry to think about our larger role within the culture, and within history, and to think about the personal legacy we want to leave behind.
Labels: advertising and culture, culture
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Interesting post.
From an account planner perspective, I think that big ideas in advertising do change culture (but as David Ogilvy said big ideas are not as common as we might think 'It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night. I doubt if more than one campaign in a hundred contains a big idea').
Yes, people in advertising find out what is going on in the market place and with the way audiences think - and they try and reflect this in their advertising / brands. But at the end of the day, people in advertising want their brands to stand out, to say something different, and to say it in an interesting way.
I don't think, however, that big ideas do - or should - change culture in any profound way. I think advertising is really more about fashion, trends, entertainment and, being useful to a degree, than it is about, say, arts or politics (although advertising can play a role, but not to any real profound degree - I think anyway!).
Eamon
Creative Think Juice blog
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From an account planner perspective, I think that big ideas in advertising do change culture (but as David Ogilvy said big ideas are not as common as we might think 'It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night. I doubt if more than one campaign in a hundred contains a big idea').
Yes, people in advertising find out what is going on in the market place and with the way audiences think - and they try and reflect this in their advertising / brands. But at the end of the day, people in advertising want their brands to stand out, to say something different, and to say it in an interesting way.
I don't think, however, that big ideas do - or should - change culture in any profound way. I think advertising is really more about fashion, trends, entertainment and, being useful to a degree, than it is about, say, arts or politics (although advertising can play a role, but not to any real profound degree - I think anyway!).
Eamon
Creative Think Juice blog
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