While I agree that the
“warning signs” from unSpun are both
necessary and unavoidable filters that advertisements use, I disagree with the
claim that they should not be viewed in a negative light. Tricks like making a
story sound much more scary than it is, using words like “best” or “fastest
ever,” or using vague and general ideas only serve to subtly deceive and
mislead consumers. They “clutter” up the consumer’s brain with all kinds of
false claims and make-believe stories to obscure part of or all of the truth.
This makes the usage of these “warning signs” inherently negative in nature,
but even though it is undesirable, there are times where it is both crucial and
necessary for the advertisers and consumers. Take, for example, commercial
advertisements for cosmetics. As it is pretty well established that most
cosmetic products rarely differ from one another, the “warning signs” needs to
be used by advertisers to distinguish their product from everyone else’s. They
will tell stories and associate their products to certain ideals (like the Old
Spice or Gillette ads from class), and to an extent, this will mislead the
consumers about the true nature of the product. Yet at the same time, consumers
also need these make-believe distinctions between the products as they choose
which to buy. This is why people don’t really buy shampoo for its smells; they
will buy it for whatever seemingly outrageous claims it makes. Cosmetics is
only one of many areas where the usage of “warning signs” is harmful, yet also
necessary in other ways. In all of advertisements, there is a huge grey area
between how some “warning signs” are simply detrimental, and how others are
inevitable to the consumption process. Consumers have to do their best to sort
advertisements out between these two poles. In the end, they should exercise
caution and view the “warning signs” in a negative light, while also keeping in
mind that sometimes the “warning signs” can also be essential to them as
consumers, especially when they seek to buy near-identical products.
Win Eiamsakulrat
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Win’s post about the “warning signs” of media, I agree with the assertions he sets forth. First and foremost, as many of my peers have eluded in class and over the blog, there must be a clear distinction between “warning signs” in media and in advertising. As Win states, spin and deception must be viewed in a negative light once applied to the media. However, advertising is a different beast.
ReplyDeleteAs we talked about in our most previous class, advertising is an effort to “put one’s best foot forward.” Therefore the core essence of advertisement is selectivity of what one is going to “highlight” as the best or most desirable features of a product. For example, an advertiser is not going to promote a cleaning product by saying that, “it smells terrible…but it will get rid of stains.” Advertisers, as Win and the authors of unSpun, assert, must captivate their audience to believe that their product is the best product – the only one that will satisfy the unsatisfied task. The spin on these products can stem so far as to make ridiculous claims or allude to an improbable outcome. In one ad for cigarettes we saw in class, I remarked, “the spin on this ad was that it seems as though the doctor is saying that cigarettes are healthy, when, in reality, the doctor is just saying he like cigarettes and not making an specific health claims.”
Ultimately, spin that is used on advertisements should lead us to the question of whether or not there are certain responsibilities that advertisers have to their consumers and vise-versa. Also, I pose one last question, which of these responsibilities overlaps those that we outlined for the media (how are the media and advertisement related/different?)?
-Akaash
Like Akaash and Win, I disagree with said assertion. Of course, advertisers can reap many benefits by using spin. On one end of the spectrum, spin is merely a way of persuading an audience about a product or idea. Sometimes these various warning signs are benign; it's obvious a restaurant will pat itself on the back by talking about its "affordable" prices and "unbeatable" deals.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it's the other end of the spectrum that leads me to believe spin can and often should be viewed under a negative light. Some spin techniques that the warning signs apprise not only unnecessary, but also simply wrong. With the "A story that's too good to be true" and "dangling comparative" signs, often at times advertisers will utilize lies and information that simply aren't true. Has the advertising world really stooped to this level - the level wherein one must divulge entirely false statements/lampoon another party in order to be successful?
Of course, people aren't entirely vulnerable to spin. Referencing the cigarette commercial Akaash mentioned, not everyone is going to believe that cigarettes are healthy just because the commercial said so. The (obvious) point i'm trying to make is that these products will still sell, even if advertisers cut down on the spin techniques. If McDonald's broadcasted commercials of their legitimate food and not some computer edited fancy gourmet display of their food, people will still go to their restaurant and eat their food. Spin techniques are effective, however, they are not necessary and most certainly should be viewed in a negative light when necessary.
I agree with Win’s first assertion that spin is necessary in advertising and almost unavoidable. To expand on this idea, consider the basis on which advertisers legitimize spin. Spin is used to make your product unique: it gives a product a sentiment of personality/individuality which is necessary because, as mentioned in previous classes and by Jamieson and Jackson, products tend to mirror each other. Contrary to Luc’s assertion, Spin is now necessary to reel in consumers because of the modern day competitive marketing environment. In order to have your product sold, word of the product must be pervasive in our everyday lives. If McDonalds wants to keep its customers it must advertise better than its opposing fast-food franchises. This of course is based on the assumption that if a corporation/country is not expanding (earning more profit) then it is loosing money due to inflation.
ReplyDeleteHowever even though spin is widely acceptable in the advertising community, it can still be widely frowned upon depending on its severity. I do think spin should be seen in a negative light, especially be those who are deceived because spin is deception. Advertising and spin are one in the same, and they don’t usually give you the facts you need to know. If my assertion were to be true, then advertising would be a paradox. Spin and its contradictory negative light are seemingly irrepressible because advertising is always around and deception is right beside it.
I agree with Win but I think that, to a certain extent, we don't have to look at most of the warning signs in a negative light. Based on the videos about advertising that we watched a while back, we see that now there are too many products out there that do the same thing. Advertisers then are left to find ways out of the "clutter" of other products out there. So they use techniques to "break through the clutter". Some of these techniques we label as warning signs. But I think that although the techniques that they use may con buyers into acting a certain way, they still do something good for the consumer. They cause the consumer to feel better just because they think that what they are purchasing is best for their body. If the saying "mind over matter" is true then some of these warnings signs shouldn't be viewed in a negative light.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with Win, I believe that these spins (warning signs) will always be viewed in a negative light despite the fact, as hypocritical as this sounds, that these tricks are necessary for the product to succeed in sales. Luc makes an interesting point when he states that it isn’t uncommon for advertisers to use lies and false information to sell their product. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dasani water claimed one day that their water has been seen to cure cancer in some cases. Maybe someone who drank Dasani water everyday was cured of cancer due to his/her cancer treatment, but there is no evidence or correlation between Dasani having a direct impact on the well being of the cancer patient. A fact like this can be easily spun and turned into a little white lie. Tricks like these are seen everyday in the advertisement world, and there is no stopping it. Most people will roll their eyes and not believe an ad like this one, but some in desperate times may want to take that small chance that their claim is true and drink Dasani water in order to help cure their own cancer.
ReplyDeleteFor example, Cheerios cereal advertises that their product can lower cholesterol and treat heart disease almost like a drug. Cheerios is no longer just a morning cereal to wake you up in the morning, but apparently it is now a drug too. While whole grains have been shown to lower cholesterol, the claim that Cheerios is making is a large leap for just a cereal brand. Unfortunately, an ad like this will be believed by anyone who is in desperate need to lower their cholesterol in order to help treat their heart disease.
Although hurtful, In order to market and sell a product, the ‘warning signs’ tactics are desperately needed. In a day of age when there are at least three products out there that do the same thing, companies are dying to think of ways to make their particular product stand out. Although a necessary scheme, I believe there should be a limit of ‘warning signs’ and lies per advertisement. With too many currently circulating the marketing world, I have lost faith and trust in many companies as I never know who and what to believe. . .
As I stated before in my comment on Omar’s blog last week, advertising is used for business purposes, and you can’t have business without competition. Indeed, it disappointing that we do not live in a perfect world where only the best products are sold, there are no negatives to spin, and the media does not deceive consumers. But this world that we live in is not perfect, and there are negatives with everything around us. Because of this imperfection, spin is not only inevitable, but it is also absolutely necessary when it comes to advertising. In order for us to understand this importance of spin, we need to look past how annoying it is for consumers and try to see it from the point of view of the media.
ReplyDeleteLets say that you are trying to advertise a new skin product of yours (lotion, maybe?). How many other lotions are out there in the world? TONS. And since this isn’t a perfect world, there are apt to be negatives with your lotion; oily, clogs pores, leaves residue, etc. Now try to market this product of yours and include all the negatives. You won’t sell anything! Why should consumers buy your product, with all of its negatives, when they could buy another lotion that costs a little more but doesn’t clog pores? In order to survive in the world of business, you have to spin. You have to do whatever it takes to show consumers why your product is better than all the other ones out there. Word choice, use of images, avoiding the negatives, pushing the positives, and many other simple marketing decisions create spin. It’s unavoidable! But without spin, nothing would be sold because nothing would truly cater to our interests. Good luck trying to gain peoples interests in a product that clogs pores.
In the book, Jackson and Jamieson state that, “The art of advertising, in fact, has been described as the art of promoting a false illusion” (20). Although a perfect world is impossible, consumers still desire perfection. The massive amount competition in marketing means that you have to show consumers why they should buy your product rather than others, and prove why your product is not only perfect, but will help make them perfect. Sure you put a little spin on it, but if you don’t then you aren’t truly advertising. To advertise means to promote, and by promoting something you are encouraging it. The encouragement and hype for a product is indeed spin, and is completely necessary in order to sell it.
I agree completely with Win, yes it is true that the “warning signs” from unSpun necessary and unavoidable in the advertising business, but in my opinion they must also be viewed negatively in order to use them appropriately as well as to not be fooled. These “warning signs” may be tactful ways of attracting clients, however, other than that there is not really much positive about them at all. “Warning signs” are sneaky mechanisms that are used to confuse people into buying a certain product. The advertising company should be commended for their sneaky clever tactics but they should also be punished for deceiving their clients and not giving them the full truth about their product. Sure, at Chucky Cheeses its advertised that Chucky Cheeses is “where a kid can be a kid”, but what is not said is that a kid can only really have fun their if they bring enough money to buy tokens to play all of the games that they want to. Unspun should recognize this negative side of “warning sings”, just because they are an important factor in the advertising of a product doesn’t mean that they are some sort of wonderful holly aspect of advertising.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Win in that the "warning signs" presented to us in unSpun are unavoidable, yet should definitely be viewed negatively. If these manipulations were not viewed in a bad light, what would the majority of our society act like? Most people know that the advertising business exaggerates their product and uses bold words to draw in the consumer and make as much money as they can. Although most consumers are aware of the scheming, the ads do work. People do buy products that are presented to them in an alluring way. Like Win pointed out, the cosmetics industry is a vicious industry. We all know that the products do not differ that much from one another. The real competition is in who can make there product "look" better in advertisements. Whoever can make there product seem like a "new innovation" or something that has never been seen before, will sell that product. Consumers love the newest and most popular things out there, even if they truly are identical to all the other products.
ReplyDeleteMaggie
I agree with my peers that the warning signs in unSpun are definitely unavoidable. In today's increasingly competitive market and world of intelligent consumers, how else will companies convince consumers to buy products? While I do believe products need to be advertised, I do not believe in the trickery used when advertising products because that is ultimately a form of dishonesty. Dishonesty leads to dissatisfied consumers that ultimately become distrustful and refrain from buying products that did not give the results they expected. If advertisers were simply truthful in their advertising techniques, there would be less lies, issues...less clutter. Clutter is what advertisers are trying to break through, but why break through it instead of dispelling it? If advertising was truthful and products were presented as is, consumers would be more loyal to companies and not as skeptical of the media.
ReplyDeletePerla
I think that advertisers should use the spin tactics to their advantage. In a free market economy it is only fair and often the way of life that companies will use any and all means necessary to get ahead. The competition is what keeps prices low and variety plenty. The spins used by these companies and the warning signs in unSpun are not enough to make me say that they are too detrimental to be left alone. I agree with Win and many others to the point where spins and warning signs are acceptable in certain forms of advertising. However, I think it should be taken a step farther and say that these signs are beneficial everywhere. While they mislead to an extent, any outright lie is generally monitored as false advertising is illegal. Any and all necessary information should be on the label or within view on the package. If a company wants to take a product, build a story behind it, and put out a message that many might not agree with it is up to them and their marketing team.
ReplyDeleteUltimately I find myself agreeing with the assertion made by Jackson and Jamieson in chapter 2 of unSpun. These techniques are useful and necessary to continue the prosperity of a free market economy and give us the variety we have grown accustomed to.
Like Win, I think that while spin in advertising is inevitable, it should be viewed in a negative light. However, I do not think that the tricks should be viewed in a negative light because they "clutter up the consumer's brain with all kinds of false claims and make-believe stories." In the case of advertising that is meant to mislead or sway consumers, I do not have that much sympathy for the tricked audience because advertisements do not force consumers into anything. There are warning signs for consumers and, in most cases, common sense or self restraint will keep a consumer from making an unwise purchase. A smart shopper, for example, knows to buy generic soap. Instead, I find that spin in advertising should be viewed in a negative light because of the culture it creates. The omnipresence of advertising creates a culture of consumerism and conformity that is harder for the audience to reject and impossible to avoid. As I discussed in my comment on Caroline's blog post, I think that advertising is grossly responsible for conformity because nearly the exact same images of perfection are viewed by the country every day. It is difficult to retain local culture and originality when confronted by the media's projection of beauty or success. It is equally difficult to resist the idea that all disposable income ought to be spent while being constantly bombarded by the promise of buyable happiness; the audience may overcome the urge to make a purchase, but the culture of consumerism is pervasive nevertheless.
ReplyDelete- Charlotte
I also agree with Win on this topic. In today's advertising industry, where consumers are overly exposed to advertising, in order for an advertisement to have an affect, it needs to stand out to the consumers. Therefore, these tricks are "necessary" in order for advertisements to work.
ReplyDeleteBut, I also agree with Win that these tricks should be viewed in a negative light by the consumers because they are still trying to "trick" consumers into buying products.
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ReplyDelete