Topic > Relationship between advertising and consumer culture

Today the consumer society is characterized by both homogeneity and diversity. As one of the biggest contributors to changes in customer culture, advertising is an essential and inevitable element in our daily life that could be visible everywhere and experience different phases. Early advertisements are generally considered “simple, crude and naïve”, while contemporary advertisements are “persuasive, subtle and intelligent” (McFALL, 2004:3). The first advertising agency simply bought media space and sold it to clients. With the development of advertising, artistic design and unique idea were added to advertising, and then formed the advertising industry. The advertising industry “has adapted its marketing practices to the new situation created by consumer culture”. (McFALL, 2004:110) Advertising not only contributes to the increase of the consumer economy, but also contributes to the development of customer culture. “The contemporary advertising agency emerged as a result of historical circumstances.” (McFALL, 2004:111) Advertising industries have a more significant impact on marketing and customers which could interact with customer's consumption attitude, value and beliefs. However, “culture can function like nature” (Cronin, 2000:145). In recent years the slogan “I buy therefore I am”, created by Barbara Kruger, has become famous. He argues that every purchasing behavior could be seen as a reflection of the customer's aesthetic attitude, consumer taste and purchasing habit (I buy, therefore I am, 2000). This article will analyze the topic of reflection and interaction between advertising and modern consumer culture, including necessity, representation and semiotic meaning. This essay contains three m...... half of the document ...... umption and Identity from the 1900s to 1970s, Aldershot: Ashgate, Page 145McFall, E. (2004). Advertisement: A Cultural Economy, London: Sage, Page 3, Page 110, Page 111Mooij, M.de. (2004). Consumer Behavior and Culture, Sage Publications, page 102, page 119, page 274, page 275Sassatelli, R. (2007). Consumer Culture: History, Theory and Politics, London: Sage, page 30, page 126, page 132, page 133 Schudson, M. (1993). Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion, London: Routledge, Page 210Slater, D. cited in Bell D. and Hollows J. (2005). Ordinary Lifestyles: Popular Media, Consumption and Taste, Maidenhead: Open University Press, page 178Williamson, J. (1978). Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising, London: Boyars, page 60Zyman, S., & Brott, A. (2002). The End of Advertising as We Know It, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, page 9, page 10, page 19