February 24: Media, Culture, and Society II: Advertising, promotional cultures, and consumer cultures

Advertising as a Form of Discourse

A system of promotional messaging with the goal of profit. It uses language tied to specific nationalities or groups to communicate.

Advertising in Modern Culture

A method where corporate messaging creates an issue (like bad breath) to force consumers to buy a solution (like Listerine).

Promotional Culture

The idea that you must always be networking and promoting. It shapes how we understand our identities through advertising and consumption.

Word of Mouth Marketing

A promotional message designed for and brought directly to the entire audience.

Audience Commodity (Dallas Smythe)

The theory that media companies don't sell content to you; they sell you (the audience) to advertisers.

Commodity Fetishism

The process of masking the labor and production conditions from the consumer. It involves the creation of "needs" that aren't actually needs.

Branding

The act of creating a specific image or "brand" for yourself or a product to make it stand out.

Subvertising

An act of "culture jamming" where logos, slogans, and images are turned against the corporate message to make you stop and think.

Market Segmentation

Dividing the audience into specific groups based on their lifestyle, demographics, and social values.

Product Placement

Integrating specific brands directly into entertainment (like movies or TV) to promote them.

Native Advertising

The practice of creating advertisements that look and feel like the actual content or news articles around them.

Advertorials

A cross between an advertisement and an editorial. It is often a "stealth story" written to look like news to gain your trust.

Capitalism & the Problem of Realization

Factories need to sell goods to turn their investment into profit. Advertising solves this by creating new markets and expanding consumption.

The Strawberry Shortcake Strategy

Creating characters specifically to sell toys and spinning off products across different media (like using a TV show to build a "world").

Consumer Culture

A way of life centered around consumption and commodified products that shapes our identity.