6.4 Advertising in the Global Marketplace

6.4 Advertising in the Global Marketplace

To what extent should globalization shape identity?

Advertising a Lifestyle

Advertising expresses our norms. Many ads show the world we live in, or at least an idealized version of that world. Ads show us the world we want to live in—not necessarily the world that really exists.

Advertising sells products such as pop and hamburgers and jeans and cars. It also sells values and beliefs. Although these values are rarely openly stated, the symbolic or underlying messages are evident to anyone who uses critical viewing skills. Consider a popular ad for Coca-Cola from several years ago for a moment. It begins with the face of a pretty white woman followed by faces of people of many different religions and cultures. Yet the ad is set at Christmas, which is not celebrated by most of the world's people. In a world dominated by the free market, advertising "sells" the idea that consuming products is good for everyone. It sells the idea that some product will solve every possible problem.

Advertising is prevalent in every form of the media. Newspapers, magazines, television stations, and radio networks are almost all funded through the sale of ads. Even movies, which make their profits through admissions and the sale of DVDs, generate extra revenue through product placement, in which corporations pay the film companies to use their products on film. Although advertising in the western world is part of our way of life, commercial advertising through the mass media in other parts of the world is relatively new. In many parts of the world, people do not have enough money to shop for consumer goods. These same people do not have access to a variety of products. As large corporations move into the developing world, they bring with them a whole new set of values, which creates a new focus on obtaining and accumulating luxury goods. 

• What dominates this image?

• Who is the person in this picture? What is she doing?

• What feelings are conveyed by the subject(s)?

• Where and when did this occur?

• How do color, lighting, size, shape, line, texture, angle, and balance contribute to the artist's message?

• What is the artist's attitude, or feelings, about the subject?

• What is the symbolic message of this advertisement?

The heavy influence of advertising, especially advertising of certain brands, can lead to a sense of identity and community. Clothing is one example. Other products also have a brand identity. For example, people who drink Starbucks® coffee may be considered trendy and upwardly mobile with strong social consciences. People who shop at The Body Shop® may do so because it has advertised itself as a company that does not test its products on animals.