Spin not
only influences our opinions on products, but it also affects our perception of
reality and the quality of life that we strive for. The spin made by the media
paints a picture of a perfect, untouched, desirable world, but they don’t tell
consumers that this world does not exist. By portraying simple daily products
in a glamorous way, consumers are left to believe that they should be consuming these simple daily
products in a glamorous way. With all of this spin in advertising, consumers
are left striving to reach this world of perfection believing that their
current reality and life is not good enough.
Take
self-esteem and body image for example. Due to the constant publicity of female
models and the dazzling reviews they receive on their thin bodies, the
perception of “beauty” in the eyes of young girls has been extremely skewed and
modified from what was once reality. Since tall, skinny, tan models walking
down the runway are now considered beautiful, being short, fat, and pale is
considered ugly. In comparison, Marilyn Monroe was a major sex symbol in the
late 1950’s and was much larger than the current average model. By the media
simply calling something else beautiful, it affects the standards set by the
rest of society as well as our perceptions of perfection.
- Caroline Ferguson
I definitely agree with Caroline. It seems that on a deeper level, these commercials all point towards one ultimate goal: perfection. This constant emphasis on "bigger," "better," "cheaper," etc, makes it apparent that these are the only things that matter to people when they are choosing what to buy. While this makes sense, since people want the best products at the cheapest price, it goes to show just how perfectionist our world is. Any product that gets churned out will eventually be surpassed by a newer and better product.
ReplyDeleteTo the younger generations of people, media and spin presents a world of perfection. These people believe that everything is vibrant and flawless. Moreover, these spin techniques serve to prove that anything can be perceived as believable when evidence is put forward. With the "If it's scary, be wary" technique, when some groups of people/parties/politicians/celebrities are talked about, all an advertiser has to do is pose one story that seems legitimate and the majority of an audience will take it for fact.
This advertising world with the aid of spin create, thusly, a world of perfection and deceit.
I agree with Caroline. I also believe that it is true that spin influences more than what we buy, it influences what we believe and how we act. We've already discussed in class how the spin used in presidential campaigns can cause the masses to completely support one side or completely oppose another side. Spin also can be used to change how we perceive events in history. We see this now regarding drones being used for warfare. The way that the media is portraying the use of drones is dramatically affecting how people feel about this new use for drones. Another good example of this was after 9/11. The media portrayed Osama Bin Laden in a very negative fashion which then cause the public to support our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These are just a few examples but it shows that spin influences much more than consuming commercial products.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Caronline and Luc. It seems that people (consumers) are constantly comparing themselves to what is exemplified by a higher society. That being said, advertisements, Hollywood, and politicians create a desirable ideal image. A common idea amongst the 8 tricks is the deception of reality to create the ideal image. Advertisers use “eye candy” to show us the ideal image, and then use “the average bear” to have us compare ourselves to he ideal image. The consumers are then lead to a state of self-analysis. “Look at my life now, and where would I be if I had this product? Probably much better off because the commercial said x, y, and z.” Success and the American Dream seem to be the common themes behind the origins of advertising and ideal public image.
ReplyDeleteand mel
ReplyDeleteCaroline brings up an interesting point about the media’s influential power on our perceptions of people, places, and objects. As we discussed today in class, something becomes cool when it inflicts a positive social influence. When I say ‘positive’, I mean that it has a respected and admired influence on society rather than an influence ruled by envy or greed. According to Malcolm Gladwell, something that is cool is a trendsetter and therefore socially “contagious”. When Marilyn Monroe became a major sex symbol by the media, she became a huge trendsetter and redefined the new cool. The media took Marilyn and spun a new image of beauty that gave a new meaning and version to what real beauty and sexy is. Being super skinny and unhealthy no longer was ‘in’ as it became oversaturated and uncool. The new spun version of beauty, no longer surrounded around perfection, created a new everlasting image. This outcome is the power of what spin can do; it can create and foster new images that become the new ‘cool’ of societies instantaneously.
ReplyDeleteThe use of spin is an intelligent way of advertising something but also has the potential to have harmful outcomes. The use of spin is good in the sense that one obviously should not advertise the bad aspects of a product, but on the other hand in cases like the one that Caroline described spin can be a negative influence on its audience. Because using spin can have a potentially negative outcome it is important to be carful when using spin to advertise a product. If one chooses to use spin to advertise a product they must then take into consideration the effects that their spin may have. For instance, if clothing companies and makeup companies did not constantly make their models skinny, tall, and tan less girls would think that the only way to be beautiful is by possessing those qualities. The effect that these models in advertisements have on young girls is a serious one and although it has been going on for quite some time now it still has yet to be dealt with. The problem now is that it’s too late to go back. Skinny has become the new beautiful and if clothing and makeup companies suddenly stop using models that are super skinny then the average girl or boy probably will not be attracted to that advertisement. This is why spin must be used cautiously, so that less images are distorted in ways that could make people who were once totally fine feel badly about themselves.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Caroline. I think that the spin and “tricks” are used to influence consumers more than just with products, and also with beliefs and ideals. More than anything, this influencing of beliefs and ideals is best seen in political advertisements. Like Jahmel stated, many of these “tricks” are using to portray certain political events in a particular fashion, such as when patriotism was stirred after the 9/11 attacks, the wars in the Middle East, and when Osama Bin-Laden was killed. But aside from garnering national support, spin is also used by political candidates to sway the voters to a certain direction. Techniques like “average bear” or “baseline bluff” are often used to frame a statistic in a particular light. The two candidates in the last election, for example, have used the same job numbers to convey very different meanings on the economy. It will then split the general public into two camps; those who agree wholeheartedly and are influenced to a certain belief, and those who will fervently disagree and influenced to another believe. In the end, these “tricks” can serve many purposes beyond just in product advertisements.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, I believe that the answer to this questions is fairly consistent across the board given the fact the class has already identified way sin which these tricks are used on advertisement and products. Like Caroline and my peers, I too believe firmly that there is spin on products. More than just the products themselves, the spin, as Caroline asserted, attempts to (and often succeeds in) convince the consumers that their product is the “best” – by this, I mean will create the false world that advertisers create.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I could spend time outlining the each or even a few of the tricks which Jackson and Jamieson define in the text; however, there is an underlying theme associated with each of the tricks. These tricks work such that the product’s undesirable trait(s) or even false claims be muddled in the advertisement. As I said in my response to Win’s post, ads must put the product’s best foot forward. This type of spin can even mean creating the perception that a celebrity, public figure, or respected member of the community is endorsing the product when it is not the case. For example, in a fast-food commercial, there are often models or athletes holding a burger, maybe even about to take a bite. But we never see them actually eat the food. Nor do we ever hear them say, often, “I eat ________.” These tricks lead us to believe, as Caroline said, “false perceptions of the real world.”
As I asserted in my other post, I believe that the next logical question that we must address, as we started to today in class, is what responsibilities do consumers or advertisers have to the respective other? As with the media, should consumers understand that advertisers are creating these false perceptions? Should advertisers be more cautious in creating false perceptions in fear that consumers may lose trust in the ads?
-Akaash
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ReplyDeleteIn a close knit community like St. Paul's it is very easy for things to become cool in a short matter of time. For example, the new application for iphones called Vine has blown up in the last month or two. Everyone is getting the Vine application so they can watch each others videos and make their own. I predict that in a short period of time the Vine application craze will die down and slowly become uncool as companies come up with "better" and "newer" applications that will become even cooler. This is how spin works. Its manipulative and can capture large audiences time and time again.
ReplyDeleteMaggie
As we saw in the documentary, advertisers must find innovative ways to advertise products and “break through clutter” to evoke certain emotions from their consumers because as advertising becomes increasingly present in our world, consumers are less likely to pay attention and fully trust advertisements. With that said, “spin”, or the form in which a product is presented to consumers is an imperative aspect of advertising and can either make or break a product. While I admire the efforts of advertisers and their quest to find new ways to entertain me as a consumer, I believe that spin can be extremely detrimental to consumers. The media essentially sells their products by stressing perfection; everywhere we go we see how to be the daintiest, sexiest woman, most masculine man, best student, the trendiest and coolest (etc.) When these iconic images of ridiculously retouched women and disgustingly “buff” men keep reappearing, consumers are going to want to be encouraged to always strive for unrealistic ideas of beauty, perfection and “coolness” as many of my peers mentioned. If taken to the extreme, this “spin” on a product can change a consumer's way of thinking, decision making and outlook on life. Take the famous anorexic woman as an example; her idea of beauty consumed her life so dramatically that she completely changed her life by making decisions around her eating habits. As a result, she is young and looks completely disfigured, does not have a family and is in constant turmoil. The media's goal is to sell particular lifestyles, they give consumers all the tools to attain this lifestyle and use spin to advertise the most elusive aspect of this lifestyle; it is up to consumers to determine how they will interpret the information provided.
ReplyDeletePerla
I agree with the majority of people who have commented already. Spin does affect what we buy and that ultimately affects how we view it in relation to ourselves and our lives. My point being that the object takes on an aura that is given to it by the advertisers. Old Spice has many great examples. There is a line of deodorants that instead of having things we relate to smell, we relate to feelings. They picture places like Fiji, Denali, or Matterhorn and each have their own catch phrase; palm trees, sunshine, and freedom, or ice, wind and freedom. They are meant to bring about a feeling rather than a smell. These ads are intended to make us feel rather than convince. They are a minor version of what John Hamm did in the clip from class. Hamm tied in words and images (what the product is based around) to create a feeling, and these deodorants use words and scent (also what the product is based around) to do the same. Each smell is unique and throughout the day reminds you of that imagine and those words on the stick. It gives you an aura, or at leasts lets you imagine you have one. This is what the advertisers of today are going for.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Caroline and the rest of the class that spin in advertising causes consumers to adopt unrealistic perceptions of beauty and success. I think that the effects of this media-induced illusion of perfection can be taken one step further. When an audience is constantly subjected to one notion of perfection, a culture of conformity emerges. Widespread American conformity developed in the 1950s with the rise of the advertising business. Consumers bought into the advertised lifestyle and began to reflect the values and styles seen in advertisements in their own lives. Advertising has become ubiquitous and with it, an American brand has developed that eliminates local flair and makes it almost impossible for smaller companies to survive. So, the problem is not only that consumers believe false ideas of beauty, but also that consumers all believe the exact same idea of beauty. In addition to causing the audience to believe in conformity, I think that advertising tricks cause the audience to believe in consumption. Advertisements attempt to eliminate the guilt that is associated with spending and instead generate the idea that money is meant to be spent. The resulting culture of consumerism replaces deeper values and, in a broader sense, is harmful to the environment.
ReplyDelete- Charlotte
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Caroline on this topic. Spin influences more than just the goods we buy. But, I also believe that the spin Caroline is talking about promotes an illusion that leads to society wanting consumer products.
ReplyDeleteToday's spin in advertising does try to paint a perfect world in which everything and everyone is classy, beautiful, masculine, etc. This is where I agree with Caroline most thoroughly. Many beauty ads and clothing ads show beautiful people looking perfect in certain consumer products. This creates a culture in which every person is trying to achieve an unnatainable goal: to look as beautiful, masculine, or rich as the people in the ads.
Although this type of spin does not directly promote certain products. I believe that it is just as effective in promoting these products because it creates a culture in which consumers believe they need these products.
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