Have you ever wondered how advertising was like in the past? How is it different from advertising now? These questions were well answered by my interviewee, May Marcelo. I decided to interview my older sister because she has an interesting perspective on the world of advertising and has worked in this field as well. She was born on May 19, 1983 in Philippines and immigrated to Canada with the family when she was eleven years old. When she moved to Canada, she experienced a new direction in advertising and the media. She noticed the difference in toys, fashion, culture, and commercials.
I began the interview by asking her how shopping was like back then and how it changed. She said that there was no online shopping and most products would be seen in person. Often times, she would have to order from a catalogue in a school, a mall or a marketplace, and then wait weeks for a product to be delivered. In contrast, when you order something today, it is usually online and sometimes the product can be delivered the next day. Furthermore, May said that times were different because there was less variety and less complication (Interviewee 2017). Indeed, shopping went from catalogue ordering to online shopping on Amazon, where the option of “two-day delivery” exists. The variety we have now is endless, one can buy almost everything online. For instance, Amazon recently collaborated with Whole Foods, which means you can buy your groceries on their website. Presently, people do not need to leave their houses to survive anymore, therefore they have the option of living through online purchases.
To continue with the interview, some of the toys May would order from the catalogues were Barbie’s and Polly Pockets. These were the toys she remembered playing with the most. According to Juliet B. Schor and Douglas B. Holt’s, The Consumer Society Reader, a “commodity sign is formed between a brand name and a meaning system”, as discussed by Robert Goldman and Stephen Papson in “Advertising in the Age of Accelerated Meaning.” Moreover, “we are socialized into recognition of sign values at an early age” (Goldman & Papson 82). At a young age, May learned the brand Barbie and its brand logo became imprinted in her thoughts. From there on, she knew what Barbie was and what it meant to her. In addition, she also enjoyed Game Boys and Super Mario when they came out. Some of the toys she always wanted were dollhouses and Play Station. Similarly, her friends also enjoyed playing with toys such as Troll dolls and Hello Kitty. She went on to say that she would be jealous of her friends whenever they had new products, like clothes or accessories (Interviewee 2017). Clearly, she grew up with basic toys and toys that were more technological such as the Game Boy and Play Station.
Not only did she remember the products her friends had, but she also remembered a certain commercial on television that caught her eye. In the interview, she said, “I remember seeing the commercial for the Fisher-Price kitchen set. At the time, there were still some traditional beliefs being perpetrated by advertisements such as this commercial. They still associated young women with housewife work. They assumed that young girls would be more interested in kitchen sets and beauty sets, than toys such as trains, action figures or any other ‘masculine’ toy. Compared to now, I would say the commercials are more intuitive. I mean, there are still products being gendered out there, but for the most part, advertisements are being made to target everybody” (Interviewee 2017). The ‘housewife’ ideology has been manifested in advertising for ages and continues to be passed down. Advertisers are indoctrinating young women into believing their role is in the kitchen. In The Consumer Society Reader, Betty Friedan describes the ‘housewife commodity’ in her chapter, “The Sexual Sell”. In a report Friedan quoted, it stated “What’s more, the product can even fill the housewife’s need for identity: Suggest that it becomes truly a part of you, reflecting you” (Friedan 37). Undoubtedly, advertisers believe that housewife products equate to a sense of identity. They manipulate female consumers by convincing them that products such as a dishwasher will contribute to who they are and who they should be.
In relation to capitalistic manipulation, advertisers also use sponsors as ways to attract consumers into purchasing their product, regardless of the product being of subpar quality. On the subject of sponsorship, in The Commercialization of Sport, “Money for Nothing and Your Cheques for Free,” Trevor Slack and John Amis state, “Marketing techniques such as sponsorship are functionally necessary to the continuation of advanced capitalist economies because they provide the means by which individuals are persuaded to purchase goods” (Slack & Amis 272). In the interview, May said before there were product reviews on Facebook, YouTube, and Yelp, the only media she consumed was magazines and television. One day, she became heavily influenced by the Proactiv Skincare commercial because of their numerous celebrity sponsors. She said, “The more I saw it, the more I wanted to try it. So, the next time I visited a mall, I decided to buy it. At the time, I was looking for a fast solution to help solve my acne problem, so I caved and bought Proactiv. I saw Jessica Simpson on the ad and I knew I had to try it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as good as they said it was on television. It did not last long. It was a money grabber” (Interviewee 2017). In this situation, Proactiv Skincare strategically used celebrity endorsers and ‘guaranteed promises’ to make the consumer believe their product will help clear their skin fast. As a young teen, I remember seeing these commercials on television as well and I also borrowed this product from my sister in hopes that it would clear my skin too. At the end of the day, we were both deceived. In The Consumer Society Reader, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception,” Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer stated, “The culture industry perpetually cheats its consumers of what it perpetually promises. The promissory note which, with its plots and staging, it draws on pleasure is endlessly prolonged; the promise, which is actually all the spectacle consists of, is illusory…” (Adorno & Horkheimer 11). When it comes to buying particular products such as skincare, a consumer is practically gambling. They will never be certain whether the product will work in their favor, however this is where one sided advertising comes into play. Advertising influences one to think of the positive side of a product, never the negative. As May said in the interview, society portrays a product to be good because of its many celebrity endorsers. For this reason, people are persuaded to buy something, despite knowing whether the product will be good or bad. You are given a false sense of assurance and validation from the endorser. Since the product has been ‘tested’ and ‘reviewed’, you blindly buy the product (Interviewee 2017). This false sense of security makes you feel a type of familiarity with the product, even though the product has only highlighted its positive aspects, and has avoided the negative effects.
In connection to persuasive commercials, I have spoken with May about her work with the J. Walter Thompson Company. She worked as an accountant on the budgeting and forecasting of the Air Canada Airlines campaign in November of 2014. She worked on the cost benefits of the campaign and also learned about the overall advertisement. May contributed towards the creation of the commercial centering Air Canada, titled “Air Canada: Gift of Home for the Holidays”. This commercial was shot in a Canadian bar in London, England. In the commercial, there are two pilots speaking to people about what they missed in Canada and if they are travelling back home. Afterwards, the pilots rang a loud bell and announced to the audience that they were giving away Christmas gifts which turned out to be a free round of drinks and round-trip tickets back to Canada (Interviewee 2017). This Air Canada commercial was both a thoughtful Christmas gift and a brilliant advertisement. In Popular Communication, “Selling the Male Consumer the Playboy Way”, Natalie Coulter stated, “The audience’s leisure time becomes a commodity that is sold to advertisers” (Coulter 145). Although Air Canada gave free travel vouchers to every person in the bar, the people in the bar also gave them gifts too – their leisure time and their word of mouth sponsorship. There is no doubt that the people of this bar shared their stories with their friends and family. In addition, this commercial was also shared on YouTube and gained more than three million views. Air Canada managed to execute a good deed, while simultaneously advertising themselves.
Moving on with the interview, aside from the advertising questions May answered, May also answered questions pertaining to media. Among those questions, I asked her how she thought modern media impacted her life. She replied by saying, “It’s an eye opener, it makes you learn more about things that you would have never known before. For instance, Trip Advisor and Yelp helps you learn about restaurant reviews. It allows you to make smarter decisions about the places you go” (Interviewee 2017). Furthermore, she goes on to say, “At a much global scale, you can learn about different cultures, products and languages because the media brings you closer to the information. Without media, it would be out of reach. You would have to use encyclopedias and other books. Media gives you all the resources and lays it out for you. You just have to make use of it” (Interviewee 2017). This was definitely a well thought answer that accurately explains the beneficial use of our modern media today. My sister went from being a victim to advertising to being one of the controllers of a major advertising campaign in J. Walter Thompson.
From my interviewee, I learned how simple advertising was back then when there were only catalogues and a limited variety to choose from. Currently, our advertising showcases the opposite. We have an infinite number of products, high quality commercials and ingenious advertisers who purposely brainwash their consumers to purchase ‘useful’ products that will allegedly benefit them. Based on my examples on Proactiv Skincare and Air Canada, it is evident that advertising can be both manipulative and profitable to both the consumer and the advertiser. In essence, advertising and the media know how to play the roles of both the angel and devil in our capitalist society, however it is up to the consumers to know the difference between authentic advertising and devious persuasion.