Summary: Chapter 11 – Advertising

Introduction

Chapter 11 outlines the advertising industry’s relation to television and radio.  In starting off more broadly, the definition of advertising is the business of drawing public attention to goods and services.  However, beyond this simple definition, advertising works on many different levels, one of which is to provide us with a glimpse into a utopian world.  A world that is only able to be achieved through one buying into consumerism.  Advertising presents this world, one based on desire.  We desire happiness and these products and services promise this when we purchase the newest and greatest things.  One may at first assume that advertising is a relatively new thing, but it has actually been around since Roman times.  It is really the advertising industry itself which hadn’t developed until the early 1900s.  It is this industry which has funded radio and television broadcasting and is the focus for this presentation.

Advertiser – Broadcaster Relations

            In looking over the history of the advertising industry, one of the first developments was the first “infomercial” in 1922.  Broadcasted over the radio and television, these types of ads remain to this day.  The earliest infomercials were essentially radio and television commercials running over a long period of time – often 5 minutes or longer.  It is important to outline that the main goal in mind was to sell the product, and that there is little to no entertainment value provided to keep the audience tuned in.  Despite infomercials still being run today, companies learned later on that there was a more effective type of advertising which combined entertainment with advertising.  The idea of developing programming that displays the sponsor’s products front and center.  This became a standard for the radio which was adopted by television in the 1940s.

            The standard of advertising did however change in 1959 with the scandals on various game shows.  One example was in 1956, on the show Twenty-One where a specific contestant was rigged into winning the show. 

As due to these events, in 1960, the United States Congress made various amendments to the Communication Act of 1934, which led networks to change the format of advertising.  Instead of a single sponsor running the whole show, TV networks began selling 60 second ads whereby numerous sponsors could buy time.  This format was shortened to 30 seconds by the 1970s.

            The popularity of this multi sponsor format meant that a system needed to be developed to assign cost to certain timeslots.  The A.C. Neilson Company works to measure the specific audiences for certain shows at different times.  This information in addition to the time of day, time of year, the audience, and network reputation are all computed to determine the cost to be charged for certain advertising time.  It is because of this, that advertising agencies have been set up to provide companies with market research, creative development, and account services in developing their advertisements. 

Advertising, Mass Culture and Mass Production

            Further discussed in chapter 11, are the reasons behind why the advertising industry developed into what it is today, that of an ever-growing industry which is continuously upping itself in overall spending.  The reasons are tied to a number of developments in American society with the rise of modern capitalism and mass production.  Mass production meant that products are being made for consumption on a larger scale.  Corporations required mass advertising to spread messages to these larger numbers of people.  These “mass produced” messages began in the 1920s.  The few large corporations which dominated 1920s America wanted to maintain their dominant positions and at the same time increase their market share.  They needed to be able to convince more consumers to buy their products.  They did so by devoting more money to mass advertising.

            At this time, they also discovered that it was far more effective to appeal to the emotions of consumers rather than only conveying the advantages of the product itself. 

In addition to these reasons, the advertising industry’s development worked in favor for the United States as a country itself.  Advertising and consumerism worked to solve the problems of early capitalism which plagued the United States and also worked to go against other ideologies such as communism and socialism.  By promoting consumerism in advertising, the American Dream was being created.  Advertising promoted this dream that regardless of your background or social standing, one should be able to achieve their goals and be successful if one puts in the required effort.  Advertising promoted this ideal that everyone should aspire to that of home ownership, owning appliances and cars, etc.  This promoted a common bond that everyone in the US could look to despite the diversity that immigration presented within the US. 

Modern Times

            In the modern times, the advertising industry is ever-increasing their overall spending.  In 2000, total spending was calculated at 243 billion dollars.  This value increased to 279 billion in 2007.  These numbers describe an industry that continues to dominate what we see, and what we are exposed to.  The newest development is that of product placement in films and shows.  This is where a product or service is included within a show / film and in doing so, the film company or broadcaster is paid by the product company.  This saturation of advertising essentially means that there is practically no where we can turn without seeing advertising. 

Case Study: American Consumer Culture and America’s Image Abroad

            The case study presented in the chapter discusses the Cold war between the United States and the USSR.  More specifically, the propaganda war between the two superpowers with the US promoting the idea that capitalism is better in offering a higher standard of living and a countless array of consumer goods for its people.  It is important to look at this, as we today assume that consumerism is a normal way of life.  It becomes hard to imagine a life without being able to constantly purchase any items we want.  It is important to make aware that this is a relatively new concept that wasn’t really instilled until after World War 2 when people had rising wages and more goods to choose from.  We should be aware that the advertising industry has had enormous affect on bringing about consumerism into new generations.  We should remind ourselves that consumerism isn’t necessarily a normal way of life, but rather only one viewpoint created as a result of living in a capitalist society.