This paper will examine fashion advertising as an expression of individuality.
The democratization in fashion led to rise of advertising, so that “fashion became an enterprise involving not only creativity but also advertising spectacles.”(Lipovetsky 57) The use of fashion and haute couture encouraged couturiers to seek methods of advertising. Developed in the nineteenth century, the introduction of haute couture gave birth advertising. Lipovetsky argues that fashion advertising exhibits the same principles as fashion: originality, change, creativity and captivating; advertising integrates individual freedom and randomness. (Lipovetsky 157) Advertising serves more purposes than increasing consumption; it is an effort to connect individuals to the products that
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According to Lipovetsky, “advertising does not aim to reform people and mores; in reality, it takes people as they are, attempting only to stimulate a pre-existing desire to consume.” (164) The influences of advertising do not eliminate expression; it prevents uniformity in preferences by emphasizing the principle of individuality and de-standardization.
Kyungae Park’s article, “Individuality on Fashion Diffusion: Differentiation Versus Independence (1998),” examines the theory of individualism as a motivation for fashion diffusion. Park argues that individuality in fashion diffusion is bi-dimensional: one dimension being a desire for differentiation and a tendency towards independence (K. Park 354). In this article, Park conducts a study to seek the relationship between the concept of individuality and fashion innovativeness and leadership. The study surveyed 480 female college students by asking individuals to rate trends, styles, fashion innovativeness, individuality in fashion, etc. based on ads and social media
Every day, companies present the people with advertisements everywhere they go. Advertisements have become very prevalent in today’s society nowadays focusing in on a negative connotation. Advertisement has become an effective way for producers to display their new products. In present day, they come in forms of billboards, flyers, e-mails, and even text messages. It is widely known that companies create advertisements to persuade people to buy specific products or goods; however, it is not widely known that advertisements can make a negative impact on today’s society. The companies manipulate people’s mind and emotions, swaying people by new promotions and therefore generating a strong desire to fit into the society, that causes them to make inessential expenditures. Advertisements pose a critical impact on the American culture.
For the longest time now, advertising has played a huge role in how we identify ourselves in the United States with the American culture, and how others identify themselves with all the cultures of the rest of the world as well. It guides us in making everyday decisions, such as what items we definitely need to invest our money on, how to dress in-vogue, and what mindset we should have to prosper the most. Although advertising does help make life easier for most, at the same time it has negative affects on the people of society as well. Advertisement discreetly manipulates the beliefs, morals, and values of our culture, and it does so in a way that most of the time we don’t even realize it’s happened. In order to reach our main goal of
In Jib Fowles article, “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals”, he shows us fifteen ways commercials try to appeal to people around our country. The need for sex, need for affiliation, the need to nurture, need to aggress, need to achieve, need to dominate, need for prominence, need for attention, need for autonomy, need to escape, need for aesthetic sensations, need to satisfy curiosity, and physiological needs. These needs are all how companies appeal to our needs to interest us into buying their product. These appeals can be seen in almost every
Kilbourne demonstrates three major main criticisms of advertising. First, advertising objectifies people and objects for the purpose of sales. This critique promotes products as more important than people and exploits human deeds and desires. Kilbourne offers ample evidence to support her first criticism of advertising. For example, Kilbourne examines advertisement such as the Thule car-rack - which humorously places more value on sports equipment been a child's life - is evidence of the trend that advertising is “objectif[ing] people…trivializ[ing and exploiting] our most heartfelt moments and relationships. Every emotion [,person, animal, and natural phenomenon] is used to sell us something” (Kilbourne, 2006, 369). Second - according to Kilbourne - advertising promotes and perpetuates the unnatural passion for products rather than personal relationship. “Advertising corrupts relationships and then offers us products, both as solace and as substitutes for the intimate human connection we all long for and need” (Kilbourne, 2006, 370). Within this concept, advertising also commits ‘cultural rape’ by manipulating sacred symbols for their utilization as emotional leverage in advertising. Third, advertisements damage the personality and structure of culture. For example the Giwch’in tribe’s traditional culture was almost erased by the introduction of advertising through television. “As multinational chains replace local character, we end up in a world in which everyone is Gapped and Starbucked…[Thus] rampant commercialism undermines our physical and psychological health, our environments and our civic life, and creates a toxic society” (Kilbourne, 2006, 371), which robs individuals of cultural and personal diversity. Based on the evidence presented by Kilbourne, I strongly agree with all three of these
Advertising is everywhere, but does it affect us as much as advertisers might like? I find myself pondering if it was the commercials between my favorite TV show and the ads in my favorite magazine that encouraged me to buy Kotex feminine hygiene products. Or was it my own wants governing me to purchase. According to Jib Fowles’ article “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals”, “There is no evidence that advertising can get people to do things contrary to their own self-interests” (567). Although this discovery hasn’t stopped American businesses from spending billions of dollars annually on advertising. With this in mind, Kotex hasn’t needed to change their appeals too much, their products are a necessity for women, but obviously with their good
In addition, advertising feeds from mob mentality, convincing people a product will change their lives by deeming it fashionable or sophisticated. It bypasses logical thinking to take control of how people view themselves and their “need for esteem. People want and need to be respected and we need to feel good about ourselves. And this is where much advertising lives, often because we are selling products that people really do not need. L’Oreal’s ‘Because you’re worth it’ is the perfect example” (Madigan 83). For this reason, expectations of a person are manipulated to fit the wants of the industry to sell products. These people are affected since they feel as if they have no choice in what to wear, how their body should appear to others, and which brands they buy. It all comes down to the need to be apart of something bigger, instead of sticking out from the crowd.
With the new technological advancements of the 1900s, the concept of advertising prospered into a new industry based on the desires of the people. Historically, magazines, newspaper, radio and television have all greatly improved advertising, making it one of the largest forces that works to help or hinder society. “Before 1910, advertisers mostly sought to inform customers about products; after 1910, the main goal was to create a desire to purchase products” (Blackford 3). Thus, business strategy was created that convinced people that they needed a product. This opened up a new world for people to be manipulated into spending their money on what they thought would improve their lives. Advertising improved the
Advertisements play such a power role in the media area. Advertisements don’t just sell products, they are now showing a way of life, they sell values, they sell body image- the ideal body. We are said to be exposed to an esitamted ‘range from around 250 per day on the conservative side, to 3000 and above’ [1] of adverts. They are now showings us what to strive for within our looks and what we wear. Our hair colour and style and it seems apparent that all
The most dominant mass marketing technique known as advertising has become inevitable. Advertisements are everywhere in some form or fashion. Whether it is billboards, posters, fliers, or any other print media, advertisements are there fulfilling their purpose; in other words, they are breaking down the “tuning out” barrier. In the article, “Jesus is a Brand of Jeans” written by speaker, social theorist, and widely published writer, Jean Kilbourne, she expresses that we are all influenced by advertisements. She indicates that majority of the power of advertising originates from the mentality of believing advertisements have no effect on oneself. I agree with Kilbourne on the fact that advertising affects every individual.
While there are some positive things about advertising, the negatives are far more destructive. Due to advertising, girls and women are being objectified, unhealthy eating habits are being promoted, and materialism
Advertisements are everywhere and they can easily be seen if one just takes the time to open their eyes. However, one of the more prominent things that advertising does is influence their audience’s decisions, and these decisions can vary based on where the audience consumes it or even the way in which their community views it as well. The ways in which one experiences advertising can contribute to how they choose to consume and this can affect their consumer habits as well. Not only that, but advertising and popular culture can influence the views on style and gender roles, especially in males. Also, the way that social class can change when immigrating from one country to another can lead the way to new ideas of what one should strive for in society as well. That being said, in relation to the interview that was conducted, advertisements and media are definitely a major influence in how one sees the world, and depending on where you grow up and are raised, your views on society and advertising can change dramatically.
Since advertising must create new demand, it must also continually produce unsatisfied costumers. Those customers are more likely to look for products to fulfill their happiness, even though they do not reach that point. Mander writes that “the goal of all advertising is discontent,…an internal scarcity of contentment.” Advertising plays on our fears, insecurities, and anxieties, always reminding us that our lives could be better only if we buy this or that. The purpose is to make us slaves of commercials, and as slaves, do as they please. This is the reason for its existences,
What is advertising? Advertising is the act or practice of calling public attention to one's product, services, and needs. In American culture, advertising has become a phenomenon to be reckoned with consumer behavior and trend analysis. Brands have to pick the main ideology that pertains to the largest amount of targeted customers. Once the leading ideology is found, companies try to market along what people idolize or admire, in order to create authentic content the public relates to and gravitates towards. In “The Rhetoric of the Image”, Roland Barthes uses an Italian advert called Panzani, as a working example to systematically dissect the image and extract the euphoric values it portrays in common culture. Barthes believes that in a visual advertisement, the signification of the image is intentional, decided upon prior to its creation, and transmitted as clearly as possible by the advertisers. As does Barthes, we are going to apply his theory and template in analyzing two specific images from a modern and global ad campaign called “Reveal” by Calvin Klein. The two ads, one “A New Fragrance For Him” and the other “A New Fragrance For Her”, go hand in hand in a campaign for a new perfume called “Reveal” by Calvin Klein, targeting both men and women. The seductive new fragrance advert features famous British actor Charlie Hunnam and supermodel Doutzen Kroes in a raunchy sexually charged embrace. At first glance, one would simply see a woman embracing a man in a suit with
The concept of marketing is the action or business of bringing or sending a product or commodity to the market. (Oxford English Dictionary) Fashion Marketing differs from the marketing of other goods because of the uniqueness of the merchandise. “According to the Parson’s School of Design, fashion marketing is the process of analyzing, developing, and marketing current fashion trends into sales strategies.” (IJMBT) In fashion marketing, consumers are the creators by virtue of their adoption and rejection of new trends and styles. Furthermore, fashion is integral to the construction and communication of one’s social identity, helping to define the class, ethnicity, class, age, and the gender of the wearer as a reflection of individuality. Fashion marketers must position products based on consumer’s design preference. “Fashion advertisements have their own stylistic modes and spheres of production and consumption, involving the interrelationship of word and image among other things.” (Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion) This paper will use Gilles Lipovetsky’s, The Empire of Fashion, Ruth Iskin’s “The Pan- European Flâneuse in Fin-de-Siècle Posters: Advertising Modern Women in the City”, Yuniya Kawamura’s “Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion”, and an article titled “Contesting the social impact of marketing: A re-characterization of women’s fashion advertising” to examine the research topic of: The power and evolution of marketing and advertising in contemporary
“Advertising is far from impotent or harmless; it is not a mere mirror image. Its power is real, and on the brink of a great increase. Not the power to brainwash overnight, but the power to create subtle and