Values and Desires of Advertisers

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The nature in which advertisers "[…] substitute desirable images for concrete needs […]" (Maasik and Solomon, 1) is explored by the authors Diane Barthel, Gloria Steinem, John Calfee, and Patricia Williams. These authors concentrate on the following facets physical appearance, self-esteem, advertising as an "information tool" (Calfee, 181), and social relationships. In examining their perspectives, the reader "[…] can discover the values and desires that advertisers seek to exploit" (Maasik and Solomon, 1).

Diane Barthel begins her essay, A Gentleman and a Consumer, by evaluating society's expectation of how a man's appearance is supposed to be "[…] to be well groomed and neatly tailored. What they were not supposed to do was to be overly concerned with their appearance, much less vain about their beauty" (14). Through advertising the consumer is given a lesson on how to be a man. Men are "to be independent, to savor freedom, live a life of adventure, keep one's cool, and stay one step ahead of the competition" (158). This is in sharp contrast to what it is to be a woman. A woman "is to be dependant" (158). Her appearance is defined by "passivity, complacency, and narcissism" (151). In the same way that women are chosen, because they are beautiful and beauty is desirable, men choose products because they conform to the definition of masculinity. Advertisements connote to men that "[W]ith the right products a man can have it all, with no strings attached […]" (158).

Sex, Lies, and Advertising depicts the relationship between ads and the "complementary copy (that is, articles related to and supportive of advertised products)" (16) that floods women's magazines. These magazines "are usually placed beyond the realm of serious consideration" for journalistic purposes (Steinem, 164). The same ads that run in "news-worthy" publications are not run in women's magazines. The simple reason being, women are considered inferior when it comes to technical terminology. It does not matter that women are the main consumers for their families and make most of the decisions. Nor does it matter that women feel more valued when they see these ads geared towards them. Women are considered unintelligent if the subject veers off of

"food/fashion/beauty" (164). Advertisers suppress women's self-esteem by reflecting not what women want, but what they think women should have (161).

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In How Advertising Informs to Our Benefit, John Calfee states "A great truth about advertising is that it is a tool for communicating information and shaping markets" (181). He further explores the collaboration between advertisers and outside agencies. If advertisers did not use "pervasive phenomenon- the use of advertising to provide essential … information with the benefits extending beyond the interests of the advertisers themselves", consumers would otherwise be in the dark (185). The information that is supplied in ads forces consumers to ask questions. These ads become more effective if the consumer knows that the seller welcomes comparisons. In a sense, the advertisers are saying, "If you can find a better [product], buy it" (187).

Advertising can also affect social relationships. In her essay, The Fiction of Truth in Advertising, Patricia Williams examines how advertising exploits some consumers. To make a profit off of someone else's plight is unethical. It serves only to "[steal] the images of those who had nothing and styled it as a commodity to be sold to those who have much" (1). This concept of advertising has left nothing sacred. There is no where for those who have nothing to go to escape. They must see their problems making money for others. Society does not feel obligated to help those who are less fortunate. It is a case of alienating those who do not conform to the ideas of society. However, advertisers see no problem with making money off of this dilemma. "Freedom becomes contractual and therefore obligated; freedom is framed by obligation; and obligation is paired not with duty but with debt" (1).

Ads, like any semiotic analysis, substitute signs for things (Maasik and Solomon, 1). These signs are equal to the values and desires that the sellers consider necessary. Since "the American dream celebrates democratic equality and encourages [society] to…be better than anyone else" (Maasik and Solomon, 15), the values and desires of the sellers will always represent more; more than we need to be a "real" man or woman, more than we can afford, or more than we can tolerate.

Works Cited

Works Cited

Barthel, Diane. "A Gentleman and a Consumer." Signs of Life in the USA. rd ed. Eds. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston Bedford, 000. 14-15.

Calfee, John E. "How Advertising Informs to Our Benefit." Signs of Life in the USA. rd ed. Eds. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston Bedford, 000. 180-188.

Maasik, Sonia and Jack Solomon. "The Signs of Advertising." Signs of Life in theUSA.rd ed. Boston Bedford, 000. 117-18.

Steinem, Gloria. "Sex, Lies, and Advertising." Signs of Life in the USA. rd ed. Eds. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston Bedford, 000. 160-180.

Williams, Patricia. "The Fiction of Truth in Advertising." Signs of Life in the USA. rd ed. Eds. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston Bedford, 000. 188-14.

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