Explorations in Critical Studies of Advertising (original) (raw)

Toward A Critical Theory of Advertising

2000

Since the emergence of "critical" media studies in the 1970's, a substantial literature has developed that examines and questions the role of mass communications and advertising within the institutional structures of contemporary capitalist societies. In contrast to "administrative" media studies that focus on how to use mass communications within the given political economic order to influence audiences, sell products, and

Goodvertising: A New Perspective In The Philosophy Of Advertising

The role of advertising in contemporary society has been critically assessed by various scholars in the discipline from several philosophical standpoints. Engaging in a theoretical elaboration of advertising from the perspective provided by critical theory, several scholars including Sut Jhally, Robert Goldman and Judith Williamson, have pointed out the ways in which advertising is instrumentalized as a tool of power, hegemony and ideology. Considered as a driving force of consumer culture, advertising has been accused of promoting hegemonic narratives of gender, race and class; that tend to that legitimize social inequalities. On the other hand, scholars such as Jerry Kirkpatrick and Barbara J. Phillips argued against the critiques by pointing out the useful functions of advertising based on individual, social and philosophical grounds. Between the two poles of this discussion, recently advertising expert and critic Thomas Kolster offered a new concept, “goodvertising”. Defined as “creative advertising that cares”, Kolster argues that advertising can be a force for social good despite its negative applications in the sector. He further suggests that brands will eventually put more emphasis on their corporate values for a better world and apply a goodvertising perspective more often in the near future by providing examples from various global brands. Drawing upon Kolster’s analysis by a theoretical discussion, this paper argues that goodvertising suggests a viable alternative to the debates in the philosophy of advertising and constitutes a distinctive position in between advertising’s critique and its defenses.

2. Advertising and Modernity: A Critical Reassessment

2021

This chapter aims to deconstruct the category of modernity by confronting a prevailing abstracted view on screen advertising with the contingencies of its archival history. Taking as a case study the 1960s 'cola wars' and the marketing of cola soft drinks, the chapter shows how this competition between Pepsi and Coke related to stylistic innovations such as montage sequences, and what relevant mid-level finds can be made regarding one specific Pepsi campaign of that era without indulging in overly general arguments about modernism or modernity.

Advertisement Analysis: A Comparative Critical Study

make people and customers buy into their ideas, beliefs, or simply their products. The two advertisements analyzed are beauty products which have been selected from internet magazines. The methodology adopted in this study is qualitative method. The first advertisement is analyzed qualitatively in terms of content; there was no focus on a specific theoretical frame work, while the second advertisement analysis is based on Fairclough’s framework, the critical discourse analysis framework. Keywords: critical discourse, analysis, Fairclough’s, advertisements; content

Advertising and Promotional Culture: Case Histories

Advertising and Promotional Culture: Case Histories, 2018

This key textbook traces the development of advertising from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, providing connections with the past that illuminate present developments and point to future possibilities. Chapters take a variety of theoretical approaches to address four main themes: how advertising imagines the future through the promise of transformation; how tribalism creates a sense of collective identity organised around a product; how advertising builds engagement through participation/presumption; how the blurring of advertising, news, art, education and entertainment characterises the attention economy. P. David Marshall and Joanne Morreale expertly trace these themes back to the origins of consumer culture and demonstrate that, while they have adapted to accord with new technologies, they remain the central foci of advertising today. Ideal for researchers of Media Studies, Communication, Cultural Studies or Advertising at all levels, this is the essential guide to understanding the contemporary milieu and future directions for the advertising industry.

A philosophic defense of advertising

Journal of Advertising, 1986

This paper presents a non-traditional defense of advertising against its so-called social criticisms. It is non-traditional because the defense does not rest on the premise that advertising contributes to the welfare of society, but rather on the premise that it is morally right and good to pursue one's own selfish interests. That is, it is right and good for egoistic producers to use persuasive advertising to appeal to the selfinterest of consumers for their own (the producers') selfish gain. Further, the author argues that the charges against advertising of manipulative deception, persuasive coercion, and tasteless offensiveness result from a hostility toward capitalism and egoism and that these charges rest on the untenable philosophic doctrines of elitism, intrinsicism and determinism.

Advertising Theory: Reconceptualizing the Building Blocks

Marketing Theory, 2004

A large amount of research in advertising utilizes theories from other disciplines and simply uses an advertising message as a stimulus or focal content topic. The actual elements that make advertising unique are often ignored in this work. It is proposed here that advertising theory and research needs to become more focused on what makes advertising a distinct phenomenon and these elements need to be incorporated in our thoughts and research. Four examples of possible elements are suggested here. These are skepticism, repetition, message coordination and clutter. Research in each of these areas is reviewed and illustrations of how they may impact theory development and theory testing in advertising are presented.