Through the Advertisement Black Hole: Cultural Advances

THROUGH THE ADVERTISEMENT BLACK HOLE: CULTURAL ADVANCES

JAIDEEP SINGH
SINJ2D1403
CMNS 110
DR. TINA SIKKA

Through the Advertisement Black Hole: Cultural Advances

With the population increasing along with advances in technology , its easy to
say that we are entering into a much more high-tech terrene of time . With smartphones
for example, we have the power to hold the entire world in one hand and with just one
swipe of a finger, we are able to voice activate and search for whatever it is that we
desire. Advertisements just along with all that has been mentioned have also changed .
How has advertisement modified our culture in North America over time? Just like
everything else, advertisements also play an important role in society and social norms ,
and that is why this topic has been chosen. In order to understand ourselves and
others, its important to discover the intended effect of the advertisements and its links
to our culture.
Culture is a significant socializing agent. Since individuals grow up in different
cultures, with their varying culture norms and values, differing interpretations of
messages is to be expected. Individuals will respond to and interpret advertising
messages in ways that are consistent with their cultural values. Culture thus has a
significant influence on advertising, and successful advertising must take cultural
differences into consideration (Zhang & Neelankavil, 1996). Designing campaigns to
promote awareness in different cultures therefore requires understanding how to
construct effective persuasive messages in different cultural contexts.

Through the Advertisement Black Hole: Cultural Advances

There is a feeling of importance when it comes to the human mind and the
impact society has on one. In a way, the old saying, Monkey see, monkey do really
does relate to us in this realm of reality. How does advertisement as a communication
technology modify our culture over time? It does seem like if it is studied in depth , this
question could potentially help understand what is important to humans . The use of
hegemony through advertisements and the media does seem to play a role in society
and therefore, cultural change. Every bit of communication output is knowledge for
whomever is consuming it, so when something that is shown to many, there will
obviously be an effect on society itself. With time and mass communication, things are
bound to change and with even more time, that change will feel natural and as if it is in
the best interest and a decision made by one rather than an influence made by a vast
majority of others. It always feels good to be in control, even if it isnt real power. To
have a better understanding, hegemony is the ability of dominant groups in society to
exercise control over weaker groups not by means of force or domination , but by
gaining their consent, so that the unequal distribution of power appears to be both
legitimate and natural, (O'Brien, S. 1985). The general public of North America is more
likely to revise their life on how they live, ethically, and what they interpret as socially
acceptable when persuaded by means that are not perceived as forceful in nature .
Advertisements seem to do just that. Ideas of a perfect world portrayed by creating an

Through the Advertisement Black Hole: Cultural Advances

atmosphere of contentment and happiness are planted in the minds of the public . This
is achieved through the products and services advertised , and the power of suggestion.

It is noted that through the power of suggestion , ones mind is able to shape their
reality whether it be for better or worse . An example of this theory is having a good luck
charm. Regardless of what this object may be, when one has it with them , they feel
secure and much more optimistic, which in turn gives them the feeling that theyre
having a great day; when in truth , it has nothing to do with the charm but the mindset
itself. For instance, the influence of suggestion and our expectations is so far-reaching
that scientists are now looking at how they can influence medical treatment , criminal
investigations, policy decisions and educational processes, (Campbell, P. 2013). With
this power and its awareness, it makes it easier to see how others can use it to its full
potential in the advertising industry. People are likely to give in to aligning their own
lives with the hypothetical ideas of a happy lifestyle . Advertising as a communication
technology may use similar methods as used from times before but as years go by , the
information in those messages have been changed to fit/create the look of modern
lifestyle and choices; commercial culture works almost entirely through the promise , if
not the fulfillment, of pleasure, (O'Brien, S. 1985). The fact that we are able to change
our outlooks just by observing the popular trends or the change in attitude of our current

Through the Advertisement Black Hole: Cultural Advances

society does indeed show that we as a whole desire to live in the perfect world , or at
least what is portrayed as perfect.

By advertisements, the public is open to many ideas and what are considered as
social standards. Social media is a form of social storytelling and that telling visual
stories about people can and does influence attitudes , feelings and behavior toward
others from those social groups, (Shrum, L. J. (Ed.). 2012). Any form of contact works
as a form of communication, and those contact points can explain how we act. For
instance, In a classic North American communication theory, communication in broad
sense includes all the procedures by which one mind may affect another , (De Mooij, M.
2013). We are able to communicate by touch, sound, body language and verbal
language. These in advertisements play a strong role and help us relate to what is
being advertised, which helps create a picture in our mind and in return , engages our
interest that certain product or service. Also, Advertising pervades the American media
and our lives---from the billboards on our highways to the print ads in the publication we
read, the commercials on radio and television, and the designer logos on T-shirts and
other kinds of clothes we wear. Advertising is also used by charities, labour unions, and
organizations of all kinds to get their messages to the public , (Berger, A. A. 2015).
With all these variations of advertisements, it makes sense how society can be
impacted to an extent that changes human behavior and our thought process .

Through the Advertisement Black Hole: Cultural Advances

Advertisements are just about everywhere , and this may never change. It almost
seems as if humans need advertisements to help organize their roles in culture and to
comfortably fit into society and social norms, also incorporating materialism into
necessities. To have a better understanding, the functional goal of national advertising
was the creation of desires and habits. In tune with the need for mass distribution that
accompanied the development of mass production capabilities , advertising was trying to
produce in readers personal needs which would dependently fluctuate with the
expanding marketplace, (Ewen, S. 2008). Thinking of a world free of advertisements is
very hard to imagine, Namely, that technological media are staples or natural
resources, exactly as are coal and cotton and oil. Anybody will concede that society
whose economy is dependent upon one or two major staples like cotton or grain , or
lumbar, or fish, or cattle is going to have some obvious social patterns of organization
as a result (McLuhan, M. 1964). This being said, culture would be much different
without the influence of advertisements.

Though advertisements are wide spread and may play a role in social behavior ,
there is a chance that it has no true relevance to sociology . A factor to consider is that a
message can have multiple meanings depending on the outlook one has; Pictures fit
into schemata people have, and schemata vary buy culture. People can derive different

Through the Advertisement Black Hole: Cultural Advances

meanings from the same message because contextual people will see more in the
message than is intended by the producer of the message . Even for simple visual
images with highly explicit information, the high-context audience may try to construct
metaphorical meaning that is not intended by the sender of the message , (De Mooij,
M. 2013). An ad can potentially be seen as powerful to one and powerless to another .
The way one sees the ad and comprehends what is being shown differs from person to
person and in this sense, that same ad doesnt hold much value or importance on
molding society. How can there be a cultural change if the same message itself is being
understood differently? Another factor is that for the most part , ads are exaggerated
realities showing what life could be if lived a certain way . Usually, the exaggerations
themselves are so hyped that it reaches a point of ridicule . This is known and for the
most part, the general population does understand how reality differs from the world
shown through advertisements. In a sense, even though capitalist advertising
ensnares us in a world of false hopes and shallow consumerism , its hyped-up surface
both fragments and disperses existential disappointment in directions that do not
threaten social harmony , (Barry, A. 1998). People have different emotions,
understandings, and beliefs when it comes to just about anything . For advertisements
to be understood by majority of the public is not as likely as can generally be thought ,
and theoretically, this itself can challenge the idea of ads manipulating culture over
time.

Through the Advertisement Black Hole: Cultural Advances

Culture is always changeable, to certain limits of course. One person alone can
validate any change or get the rest of society to agree with them , but when a vast
majority of people who do have power come together and decide to input ideas and
then relay those ideas to the rest of society as more of an offering rather than force
which in turn can make those people believe that it is their choice and the given idea is
a great idea, even if its not. Communication through advertisement gives the ability to
relay that idea to everyone which will ultimately result in a slight change of culture , a bit
at a time.

Through the Advertisement Black Hole: Cultural Advances

Bibliography
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Advertising Sidedness and Conclusiveness across Cultures: How Chinese and U.S.
College Students Are Influenced by Different Climate-Change Ads
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