You may have been watching the Packers and Steelers last night, but since I don’t care for pro football and typically pick a favorite based on the fashion statement the uniforms make (saw two sets of yellow pants yay!), I watched the ads.
I learned that the old luxury is confining, but Audi will free me because it’s progressive. I learned that pugs are strong and love Doritos (something I already knew after 16 yrs of pug ownership). And my sons learned that all you need to use the force is the right Darth Vader costume.
There’s a very reasonable distaste on the part of some to the entire idea of commercialism. Some parents don’t allow their children to watch TV with ads or play with commercialized toys. A certain level of distrust is associated with these advertisements which promise to solve our problems or make us sexy and smart. And it’s not a stretch to believe ad campaigns may have single-handedly distorted our perception of beauty.
But marketing techniques are also about expression, allowing a manufacturer to showcase an idea (product) which is the result of creativity, endurance and work. Being sold something you want or need can be helpful.
Brands become expression to the consumer as well as they come to represent something bigger than their products, a result that is only influenced but not controlled by marketing efforts. There’s a certain kind of person who drives a Volvo or drinks a Bud Lite. If you’re going to buy a car/drink a beer anyway, is it wrong to want your purchase to express your personality, lifestyle or hopes? No one really believes that drinking a Coke will build the world a home and furnish it with love, but is there anything wrong with aspiring to a higher idealism?
While some messages are destructive, they are met with others attempting to right wrongs and change the world. My favorite in recent years, and the only reason I am devoutly now loyal to a product I had never tried before, is Dove’s campaign for real beauty. Though it admittedly has come under some scrutiny for their own retouching efforts and the idea that a model is not a “real” woman, the message is empowering.
As it turns out, I’m a sucker for a story. Give me a good one that appeals to my intelligence and humors or inspires me, and I’m happy to have you interrupt not only my Super Bowl, but my Top Chef. Do you like being sold to? How much influence does an ad have on your purchases?
That Audi commercial is awesome, Mel! Love it.
I like your take on these adverts: it’s empowering. We can take the storytelling power of marketing, and use it however we want, to express our own narratives through them. I love it when people subvert a brand to eat/drink/use something totally ironically… of course, marketing is jumping on top of that now, and adding yet another layer of narrative mediation. :-s
If you’re smart, you can use it all.
I heard that half of everyone in America watched the Super bowl. 2011 Super Bowl commercials cost around $3 million dollars for a 30 second spot. They paid Justin Beiber $1 million dollars to appear for a few seconds in one ad with Ozzy Osbourne. I heard that one ad claimed it only cost $500 to make – the people discussing this were commenting on how unlikely that really was. It would be interesting if it only took $500 to make it but $3 million to run it.
Then the one guy put the other guy’s finger in his mouth to eat the Cheetos mess off his hands. I have to admit that guy sniffing the Cheetos crumbs off the other guys pants really grossed me out. BUT the fact that it cost them $3 to gross out half of America. . . is really interesting.
What does it really say about us all?
It’s been really interesting for me as a parent to watch my third child (exposed to way more commercial messages than my first child was at that age) tell me what she’s “learned” about products through commercials. She often will point out things she’s seen commercials for and relay the messages back to me. I’m reminded of Ramona trying out for the commercial.
Claire, me, too! Not only commercials, but just TV shows in general. Stuart was just telling me the other day that when he grows up, he’s going to really be able to fix up his house after having watched whatever stupid house renovation/purchasing show his sisters sometimes watch on HGTV. ?? Please. I never would’ve let my girls watch mindless TV like that when they were his age. But I’m working now . . .
I’m actually totally out of the loop on commercials because I don’t watch TV at all. I might watch a Netflix movie 2X a month and then I stream Brothers and Sisters (don’t hate me!) occasionally and Modern Family.
Heather and Claire –
I’m interested to know what you consider commercial messages vs. non commercial messages. In our family, the exposure hasn’t really changed a lot, so the reaction varies not so much by birth order as by personality. My 7 yr old is highly susceptible to what he sees in movies (which I consider commercialized) and TV. Depending on the latest movie he sees, he wants to be a spy, a Top Gun pilot or a jedi when he grows up. Otherwise, he wants to be in the army (something he’s never seen in movies or TV really) or a police man. It’s interesting that if I don’t like the message he receives, I tend to blame it on the commercialization of that message. Yet if he said he wanted to practice his spelling to win the spelling bee after seeing Akeelah and the Bee I wouldn’t be wanting to rid him of commercial messaging :)
Oh, great question and example, Mel. I am guilty of criticizing commercials for “poisoning” my kids’ heads with ideas that I don’t like . . . but perfectly happy if they watch a movie/listen to a song/see a commercial that encourages them to do something that I like. This reminds me of my post here where I wrote about allowing Stuart to be whatever he wants to be . . . but really I don’t want to allow that. It’s cool/edgy to have a little boy who loves pink and dance lessons because he’s going against the grain. I guess I get something out of having a kid who’s comfortable going against the grain.
But I’m totally NOT comfortable with a kid who wants to embrace the grain. If he wanted to be a football player or if my daughter wanted to be a cheerleader (gasp!), that would really push me.
So what does that say about me?
I felt like that was related to your post when I initially wrote it, but now it feels like a tangent. Sorry . . .
Not a tangent at all. It’s exactly the meaning of my post. It’s easier to see in our kids, but harder to see in ourselves. For instance, I don’t curse all the pop culture that’s resulted in enticing me to eat grass fed beef, but I do blame magazines for distorting our perceptions of beauty and aging.
Or what about when my kids ask me to buy stuff at the grocery store that has the pink breast cancer ribbon on it? Part of me likes that they are aware of that issue and that they want (me) to contribute to it, but part of me is annoyed that they’re so taken in by everything they see and think we’ll save the world by throwing a quarter at it.
AMEN
Great example, Heather.
That pink ribbon takes a lot of heat. I’d love to hear the perspective of those who are annoyed with it. What about it bothers you?
I like ribbon wearing for people because it’s a way to show solidarity. I wore a white knot about marriage equality. It seems to me that extending that pink ribbon to a product is a way to show solidarity on behalf of the brand (which is really just a person or group of people). They’re not claiming that their quarter for your carton of yogurt cures cancer, just that they’re contributing. My biggest beef with the pink ribbon is that it’s focused on cancer not health. I wish it were breast health awareness month.
Otherwise, I have no problem with the branding of the pink ribbon. I love pink. I would rather eat pink M&Ms than regular, I would rather have a pink ice cream scooper or pen than black or beige, so I love October where the building lights and water fountains all turn pink. A pink ribbon on a product doesn’t make me buy anything I otherwise wouldn’t, but it may lead me to a particular brand over another. A pink product may make me buy something I otherwise wouldn’t, but then I’m happy because I have something pink.
This is how I’ve always felt about October. But in full disclosure I should add that the company I work for (an online retail site that caters to women, and is all about pink any time of the year) participated this year. There was a contribution to a pink-ish organization plus a percentage of sales on some of the pink products. I would venture to say for most companies the profit made (or lost) on these campaigns isn’t the driving force, particularly when you look at a reduced profit margin on items that would normally sell plus the cost of marketing efforts. For us, there was also a contribution not related to sales. I don’t really believe people buy something to cure cancer. I think they like to buy something from someone who cares about curing cancer. But maybe I’m naive?
Interesting question, Mel. I’m not sure how to put it into words. I suppose if the idea is that I need to buy more things, than it’s commercialized. For example, I don’t keep many Disney Princess things in my house. But I’m not opposed to Princesses, per se, (although that is a whole ‘nuther conversation), just the idea that Disney’s particular version is the One True Cinderella, etc. and that my kid should want Disney Princess panties, scooter, plastic tea set, play make up, etc. The same argument applies to say, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. I much prefer the ‘original’ to the Disney-fied, dumbed down versions. It seems to mass-market. It’s sad, really… those books were originally written for 6-8 year olds….. and now, if you are 6 and like Peter Pan or Winnie the Pooh you are a social pariah. It also kills me that the original book, with beautiful ‘real’ artwork, costs the same as the cartoony silliness version of the same story at the book store. I want to grab all the cheapy movie tie ins and liberate them in the recycling bin!
So I think you are right…. if we ‘agree’ with the values that a piece of media (book, tv show, movie) are putting forth, we think of it is as worthy or worthwhile. If we don’t, it’s commercialized.
I feel sort of torn when books or characters I really like (Curious George, Olivia, etc) get pulled into giant marketing licensing arrangements.
I agree with the dumbed-down version of things, a requirement for mass market appeal. I guess that’s part of what I like about branding because I like those who humor or inspire me and am much more drawn to their products.
As to the characters, I always draw the line at clothing and home decor. The kids could have princess or star wars underwear, toys, etc. for things I didn’t care about and we were buying anyway, but they coudn’t wear it (except for pajamas which are not a fashion statement at our house) or have it as their room theme because I generally find it ugly, not because I think there’s anything wrong with sleeping on a Lightning McQueen bed.
Lost my response to Angie and Andy in cyberspace, here goes again :)
Andy – I wonder if the move from stuffy to progressive luxury is an idea that people now want status but don’t want the formal decorum that used to accompany it? To me a brand tells the story of a product, gives it space and time and voice. I like buying, I like products I like branding. I don’t think being smart about it is taking that story, voice and space and seeing how it works for you. Some brands I’m extremely loyal to, others not so much.
Angie – I definitely think some of these ads could have used a little more money in the production – maybe developing the idea?? It seemed some (the finger licking and pants sniffing) were bent on being remembered, but for me, a negative memory of your ad is worse than no memory.
Sorry you lost your first response, Mel!
So: let me see if I understand you correctly: are you saying that you don’t like the idea of subverting a brand message, because (in some cases) you’re loyal to that history and story?
I think I certainly do that, too. Some brands create such a good narrative, that it’s difficult to beat the message that comes wrapped up with the product already!
Just fyi, Mel, I found your comment in the Akismet spam filter-it’s still there if you want it. If this ever happens again, go look there.