Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture

1. Select a brief passage from the reading and post it on your blog. Explain why you thought it was interesting.

"Given this situation, when the media were seen as weak, advertisers could argue that advertising was relatively trivial- a service to inform or entertain the public, but little more than that. Yet at the macro level, when we look at collective behavior, it seems that advertising does have power. It is advertising's role as a cultural and political force that is significant. We may lack tools in the social sciences to show how advertising affects specific individuals or small groups of people in tests, but when we look at advertising as a social and cultural phenomenon, the situation is strikingly different."

I thought this passage was interesting because it makes a strong point about how advertisement plays an important role in society when successful. If the ad isn't catchy, it will not be as successful as other intriguing ads. This passage also highlights the fact how people are strongly influenced by the media even though it can't actually be proven.

2. What do you think were the author's key points?

The author's key point included how the main advertising influences are through television and commercials. He refers to this as teleculture. The psychology behind this is that people in our society are easily manipulated by intriguing ads. For example, during the presidential campaign, both candidates aired commercials to persuade voters and to get their message across in 3 minutes.

3. Why is it important to have a psychological understanding when it comes to advertising?

It is highly important to have a psychological understanding when it comes to advertising in order to manipulate the audience into buying that specific product. When knowing how to induce tht specific demographic, one can be able to use that to their advantage to gain success.