Ads and Pop Culture

The two ads I evaluated for this weeks blog were two ads for a airline company. I’m not sure if they were selling tickets, but I think it was just selling the idea of the product. The advertisement from before 1990 had a picture of an airplane flying in front of a globe. Pretty standard airline ad, it showed exactly what the product does and showed that the airline flew around the world. The advertisement from now was of a man and a woman making out in a swimming pool. Looking at the ad you would have absolutely no idea what they are selling. In the bottom corner of the advertisement is a logo of the airline company and it said something along the lines of, “we’ll fly you to a romantic destiniation” or something dumb like that. However, the main focus of the ad were these two good looking people making out.

The first ad is trying to sell exactly what it is. Its trying to make you chose them to fly around the world. The second ad is selling sex. Its an airline company and all it is selling is two people making out which does not relate to an airline company at all unless you are interested in joining the mile-high club. The ads tell us a lot about the culture of the period they were produced in. The ad prior to 1990 was still in the culture where ads sold the product, they didn’t hide behind subliminal messages or fake images, but they sold the exact product. I would say now that our culture sells images and ideas rather than products. It’s the same with Nike, you never see the shoes or the clothing or the product, you always just get sold the idea and image of Nike.

Now a days we are so image driven that consumers care mostly about the image they are buying. People want to buy what is most popular and most appealing. When an airline company sells sex, which to some is more appealing than an airplane ride, they are drawing in consumers who are concerned with image rather than product. Selling sex doesn’t show us that they have comfortable seats, or good service, or cheapest tickets, it just says that if you are sexy you chose this airline which is completely ridiculous.

In the reading it talked about advertising and it said this “Now they say less about the product directly, and are more concerned with sending up or parodying ads by citing other ads, and status.” This is exactly what ads these days are doing. Rarely can you watch advertisements on tv or look at them in magazines and know what they are trying to sell you. We are a culture consumed by our obsession with image and advertisers know this.