Advertising, Culture & Postmodernism

It would be impossible to argue that advertising and culture are not intertwined. By looking at advertising over the decades, it provides an accurate reflection of what was going on at that time. It's clear to see the artistic and musical influences as well as the prominence of social classes and the clearly defined roles of the genders. This came particularly clear to me when I read 'Hegarty on Advertising: Turning Intelligence into Magic' by John Hegarty. His passion for creativity and art is evident, but the way he thinks about ideas highlights the importance of culture in advertising and therefore in advertising in history.

"Ideas are the most incredible thing we possess. They can change the future of brands, of countries and of course of history. They engage, entertain and stimulate, encouraging debate, dissent and adoration."

(Hegarty, 2011, p24)

Here's what's on my mind - if advertising is a reliable indication of what life was like in the past, that means those of us who are producing it now are essentially creating little anecdotes of what our lives are like now so people in the future to look back and try to understand us better. The thing is, I don't wake up everyday and analyse the culture I live in, I just live my life. Yes I might whinge about the government with my friends or have a fleeting moment of feminism, but I hadn't really considered the stage of culture we are currently in. It's not modernism, is it postmodernism? I don't think it is. 

This is an extract from my dissertation, explaining the way culture has moved on and affects consumers and therefore the way advertisers should aim to reach and engage with audiences. 

Advertising is born out of culture. Based on the statement ‘advertising [is] a meeting point or mixture of two distinct forms that may be termed ‘culture’ and ‘economy’’ (Malefyt and Moeran, 2003, p77), Bailey (2013) concluded that social culture plays a strong role in advertising and marketing content and direction. This is supported by Leiss et al (2005) who believe that primary determinants for purchase behaviour are based on cultural decisions. From this is can be implied that advertisers must appeal to cultural beliefs or draw from aspects of modern society to engage with consumers.

The fifth stage of Goodyear’s Evolution of Marketing (1999) is postmodern marketing, this means consumers are marketing literate and multifaceted, knowledgeable and cynical. In the 1980s, the idea of postmodernism began to engage professional philosophers. (Bertens, 1995) This is when it moved away from a method of defining the arts and architecture and became a way to describe society. Postmodernism can be described as ‘a… concept whose function is to correlate the emergence of new formal features in culture with the emergence of a new type of social life and a new economic order’. (Jameson, 1991) At this time, individuals were starting to recognise and showcase their individuality rather than follow traditional social norms. However, Kirby (2006) states that ‘the terms by which authority, knowledge, selfhood, reality and time are conceived have been altered’ which leads to the notion that postmodernism is being surpassed.

It has been suggested that society is moving past postmodernism into a new age potentially called the Age of Authenticism. (Partial Objects, 2011) This proposes that specificity, values and authenticity are at odds with postmodernism and therefore will not work in a time when consumers are demanding transparency from brands. Partial Objects (2011) believes that what comes after postmodernism is something ‘more authentic, more sincere, more earnest, less ironic and less sarcastic’ which may underpin the UK population’s deviation from dishonesty in brands and their communications.

Alternatively, Kirby (2006) suggests the era after postmodernism will be pseudomodernism, when people move away from ironic and playful towards ignorance and anxiety. He states that people will no longer believe in postmodern ideas and instead favour critical realism. This theory aligns with the UK public’s cynicism towards advertising whilst also supporting their desire for legitimacy. Furthermore, Kirby (2006) believes pseudomodernism will be a ‘new paradigm of authority and knowledge formed under the pressure of new technologies and contemporary social forces’.

The internet has changed the way information is exchanged and gathered and has resulted in a more sophisticated population with the power to share their views. According to Kirby (2006), the emergence of new technologies in the late 1990s and early 2000s re-structured the nature of the author, the reader and the text and the relationship between them. This draws on Bullmore’s message delivery process which highlights the consumer’s need to participate in messaging rather than simply receive it. The internet has given individuals the sense that they are managing their own involvement with a product. (Kirby, 2006) Postmodernism fixated on the author whereas pseudomodernism would put emphasis on the recipient in that they become a partial or whole author. This means more people contribute to culture and it is not lead by individual concepts but the interpretation of concepts put out into society. Postmodernism is a stage where ‘culture is a spectacle before which the individual sits powerless [whereas] pseudomodernism sees an individual’s action as the necessary condition of the cultural product’. (Kirby, 2006) Advertising can no longer broadcast to consumers, the content and context of the message must be relevant in order for the consumer to create a meaningful connection with the message and the brand. 

• Bailey (2013) Advertising doesn’t sell things; all advertising does is change the way people think of feel (Jeremy Bullmore) evaluate this statement with reference to selected critical theories [online] Available from: http://francesbaileycop.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/advertising-doesnt-sell-things-all-advertising-does-is-change-the-way-people-think-or-feel-jeremy-bullmore-evaluate-this-statement-with-reference-to-selected-critical-theories/ [Accessed 5 April 2013].
• Bertens, H. (1995) The idea of postmodern: a history. London: Routledge.
• Docx, E. (2011) Postmodernism is dead [online] Available from: http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/postmodernism-is-dead-va-exhibition-age-of-authenticism/ [Accessed 11 March 2013].
• Goodyear, M, (1999) The Evolution of Marketing. In Esomar Research Congress. Paris, September. Amsterdam: Esomar.org. 2.
• Hegarty, J. (2011) Hegarty on advertising: turning intelligence into magic. London: Thames & Hudson.
• Jameson, F. (1991) Postmodernism and consumer society [online] Available from: http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/jameson_postmodernism_consumer.htm  [Accessed 4 April 2013].
• Kirby, A. (2006) The death of postmodernism and beyond [online] Available from: http://philosophynow.org/issues/58/The_Death_of_Postmodernism_And_Beyond [Accessed 11 March 2013].
• Leiss, W., Kline, S., Jhally, S. and Botterill, J. (2005) Social communication in advertising: consumption in the mediated marketplace. 3^rd ed. London: Routledge.
• Malefyt, T. D. and Moeran, B. (2003)Advertising cultures. Oxford: Berg Publishers.
• Partial Objects (2011) What comes after postmodernism [online] Available from: http://partialobjects.com/2011/08/what-comes-after-postmodernism/ [Accessed 11 March 2013].