Imposed messages from Television Ads

Abstract

Television advertising is not as consumed as it once was because of the new technology, the DVR or TIVO. Viewers have the opportunity to forward past all of the commercials. How does television advertising and the messages these companies are trying to send out influence the viewer? How does the lack of ad watching affect that companies profits? Messages are being sent by companies but a very important question is being asked and that is, "Are the viewers getting the messages that these companies are sending?" "Content critics commonly take the media to task for defining how things are our ought to be in ways that they believe unduly influence, if not their independent-minded selves then all those credulous others." (Gitlin, p. 138)

The Advertising Influence
Companies want to send messages to consumers about their product. Companies feel the need to influence consumers because at the end of the day, its about money for these companies. For instance if you go in to the grocery store, there is more than one brand of coffee, more than one brand of toilet paper and more than one brand of bread. What might influence a consumer to pick a particular brand? "In the United States, we have 260,000 billboards, 11, 520 newspapers, 11,556 periodicals; 27,000 video outlets for renting video tapes; more than 500 million radios; and more than 100 million computers."(Postman, p. 69) From television to mail, consumers are being bombarded with various messages sent by these companies as to why their product is better.

The Message Being Sent
What messages are these CEO's of these companies wanting to send to the consumers? "By the end of the nineteenth century, advertisers and newspapermen had discovered that a picture was worth not only a thousand words but, in terms of sales, many thousands of dollars. (Postman, p. 68) Why do companies feel like they have to use sex to sell? Does sex sell? Is using a particular shampoo going to make you look and feel like the very model that is the consumer sees endorsing it? "In sum, making judgments about sexist vs sexy depends on the values, preferences and perceptions of the viewer, and these evolve over time." "These sexual images
aren't intended to sell us on sex - they are intended to sell us on shopping.(Lipman, 1991)"

Who Do We See the Most in Ads?
"In the world of advertising, only young and beautiful people have sex. We rarely see eroticised images of older people, imperfect people, people with disabilities." (Lipman, 1991) I have been watching television ads all just so I could blog about this issue and I have seen more women than men, I have seen more women that are young, skinny, beautiful and I have come to the conclusion that being sexy does influence a consumer to buy. As a woman, I wonder if I use some of these weight loss products, will I look as good as they do in the ad? I have yet to see someone trying to sell me a product in television advertising, that has a disability. In my investigation of television advertising, I have seen an ad for bras that are for women that have more curves. Because I am not obese but I am not skinny, that television ad actually made me feel confident that I am not the only curvy woman that requires a particular bra.

Superbowl Television Ads
The Superbowl is one of the only events that I believe consumers gather around the television to watch the advertsing. The Superbowl is the one time of year where companies pay insane amounts of money to influence so many people at one time. The ads that are displayed during the Superbowl are different. Companies purposely make them entertaining, different and funny.
I found the top 10 ads on YOUTUBE from Superbowl 42. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Ce-SJreIA

In conclusion, watching advertising on television influences self esteem. Television in itself is not reality. Whether you are watching a television show or television ads, the consumer has to make up their mind how what they are watching is going to influence them or modify their behavior.

References:

Gitlin, T. (2001). Media unlimited: How the torrent of images and sounds overwhelmsour lives. New York: Metropolitan Books

Lipman, J. (1991) Advertising: sexy or
sexist.'' Recent ads spark debate. Wall
Street Journal, 30 September, p. Bl.Miller, C. (1992)

Postman, N. (1993). Technopoly: the surrender of culture to technology. First Vintage Books Edition: New York