Clemenger BBDO
Advertising in our modern world is ineffective and no longer relevant. Do you agree or disagree with this statement and why?
Today’s consumer is constantly inundated with advertisements. Their acclimatisation to this saturation of messages has resulted in defence mechanisms which have essentially allowed the modern consumer to block out undesirable attempts to capture their attention. This new era of consumer cautiousness does not mean the end of advertising, rather the dawning of a new era in advertising in which marketers must utilise a variety of tools and media to engage the audience and break through these consumer defences. Years of evolutionary processes have concreted certain internal innate qualities and triggers within the modern man which can be engaged and manipulated through simple marketing appeals. Of these, fear, humour and social appeals are all used extensively in modern media and will be evaluated based on their effects on the consumer and implications for marketers, ultimately coming to the conclusion that as long as mankind still has the capacity to experience these emotions, advertising will never become ineffective nor irrelevant. In its most basic form, advertising is merely a manipulation of mankind’s primal, programmed responses to the world around him. Through rigorous empirical study and application, it is widely accepted that those advertisements which appeal to and manipulate some sort of emotive response are often the most successful (Dancui 2014, Heath & Hyder 2005, Haji et. al. 2012).
The ‘fight or flight’ response which was triggered upon sensing an impending danger in ancestorial times is the very same response the modern man experiences when he finds himself in similar stress-fil...
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Steve Almond’s “Funny is the New Deep” talks of the role that comedy has in our current society, and most certainly, it plays a huge role here. Namely, through what Almond [Aristotle?] calls the “comic impulse”, we as a people can speak of topics that would otherwise make many of uncomfortable. Almond deems the comic impulse as the most surefire way to keep heavy situations from becoming too foreboding. The comic impulse itself stems from our ability and unconscious need to defend and thus contend with the feeling of tragedy. As such, instead of rather forcing out humor, he implies that humor is something that is not consciously forced out from an author, but instead is more of a subconscious entity, coming out on its own. Almond emphasizes
Humor, as a creative effort, has been respected throughout the world, I’m sure, since the beginning of spoken language. There is nothing in the world like conjuring up a joke or some other anecdote that sends a group of people off into a fit of laughter. In fact, throughout time, people have attempted to make humor at least some part of their professional career. Court jesters made the royalty of the castle laugh at his foolish behavior. Playwrights have included humor in their tragic works to provide some comedic relief from all of the terribly sad events. Today is no different. The sheer number of careers available for those interested in making people laugh for a living reflects our society’s great appreciation for novel humor. Comedians, book writers, columnists, actors, television and movie writers, cartoonists, and musicians all attempt to add some laughter to peoples’ lives on a daily basis.
Raskin (1985) introduces his approach as being concerned with ‘verbal humor’, but his analyses are based on all types of humor conveyed in language, that is, our ‘verbally expressed’ humor. The widely-cited general theory of verbal humor (Attardo, 1994), which we have not space to discuss here, is about humor expressed in language, not merely humor dependent on specific language devices. To complicate matters further, Norick (2004) uses non-verbal to describe jokes which cannot be effectively conveyed in written language, since they are dependent on audible material (e.g. tone of voice) or on non-linguistic devices such as gestures; ‘verbal’ jokes would then be those which can be expressed successfully in writing. In this chapter, we will stay with the terms outlined earlier: anything conveyed in language is ‘verbally expressed humor’; ‘verbal humor’ is dependent on language-specific devices, ‘referential humor’ is based solely on meaning.
Humor can take many forms, including practical jokes, teasing, insults and self-deprecation. It is a staple of humanity and plays an extremely important role in our psychology as we move throughout life’s stages. In fact, famed philosopher Immanuel Kant placed laughter alongside sleeping and hope as the most beneficial means of renewing the soul. It is commonly perceived as a beneficiary tool for healing and social interaction for everyone, but few have looked at the roles humor plays in the aging process. Meika Loe set out to examine this relationship in her book, Aging Our Way by utilizing several case studies of the elderly of various backgrounds. Loe has identified key case studies to support this hypothesis in Eddie, who uses humor to
Malpass, L.F., & Fitzpatrick, E.D. (1959). Social facilitation as a factor in reaction to humor. The
Humor is a seemingly simple, enjoyable construct in life shared and valued by many. Traditionally, humor has been viewed as trivial and lacking substance from an academic and scholarly standpoint. However, humor can be objective in analyzing and answering the same questions philosophers ask, ones that question widely accepted everyday concepts and ideals. The Incongruity Theory reveals the affinity between philosophy and comedy and rebukes the argument that humor is “hostile and irresponsible” (Morreall) in academics.
In the 2004 book, Status Anxiety, Alain de Botton argues that the chief aim of humorists is not only to entertain but “to convey with impunity messages that might.be dangerousor impossible to state directly.” Some agree that humorists serve a vital function to society. However, others argue that the opposite is true. A humorist is one who is skillful in the use of humor. This includes cartoonists, stand-up comics, satirical writers, hosts of television programs, and others. Although the work of such humorists may seem crude and is often controversial, it is an effective way to shed light on important subjects in the modern world.
The concept of advertising emerged in American society as the result of progressive industrialization during nineteenth century. Mass advertising eyed on human necessities as the way to create markets and hence promoted new products in the consumer society of America. Companies advertised in magazines and newspapers and attracted large audience. Hiring of famous movie stars and sports personalities by the advertisers persuaded Americans to buy all types of products i.e. food items, utensils, medicines, coffee, electronic gadgets, cosmetic and sports products. The lifestyles of Americans were expressively affected by the emergence of mass advertising campaigns and their products. The traditional way of cleaning home was shifted to electronic equipment’s. Advertising
Psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists study humor because it is a fundamental culture value, but they still can’t determine why certain things make some people laugh and others not. There are “humor quotient” tests that are designed to measure an individual’s sense of humor, but these tests are questionable. These tests aren’t accurate because almost all humor depends on cultural background knowledge and language skills. Not every person in the whole world, or even in one country share the same background knowledge and skills, therefore they cannot have the same type of humor. “The fact remains that individuals vary in their appreciation of humor” (Rappoport 9). Since humor varies from individual to individual, humor lies in the individual. How successful or funny a joke is depends on how the person receives the joke, humor cannot be measured by a statistical
In Alain de Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, he argues that the aim of humorists is not solely entertainment, but also to convey a message that isn’t always okay to state directly. There are many places where his argument can apply. Even with humor, some topics are still too controversial to joke about; However, in most cases, humor can lighten things up and make it easier to discuss topics that otherwise would not be as easy to talk about without heavy arguments. There are many cases that would make his argument true. There are many examples that support his argument, and that help to show the importance of humor in arguing, including cartoons, comics, works of literature, and also when thinking of hosts of television programs.
Comedy and humor do more than entertain. They are intertwined into people’s everyday existence and are used to change the way people feel, think, and act. Therefore, humor allows people to approach sensitive matters, such as social relationships. Society is full of prejudices, which comedy helps combat in addition to stimulating the economy and local culture. Comedy represents a social function through which the comedian and audience can question and hold those in power to account.
Humor throughout the world has a large effect on how culture is classified. Rebecca Krefting cites “communication studies scholar and humor expert Judith Yaross Lee [as saying], “American humor reveals the state of the nation” (26). A very famous actor, Kevin Hart, has been in many stand-up comedy skits and movies throughout his life. For example, Hart has been in Central Intelligence, Get Hard, and stand-up acts, “White man laugh”, “Swearing at my teacher” and many more. All his comedic appearances include silly, wacky, and ridiculous humor. Harts comedy appearances have affected people’s interest in relationships, and the use of language.
Nichol, Mark. "20 Types and Forms of Humor." Daily Writing Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 April 2014.
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Advertising has been defined as the most powerful, persuasive, and manipulative tool that firms have to control consumers all over the world. It is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Its impacts created on the society throughout the years has been amazing, especially in this technology age. Influencing people’s habits, creating false needs, distorting the values and priorities of our society with sexism and feminism, advertising has become a poison snake ready to hunt his prey. However, on the other hand, advertising has had a positive effect as a help of the economy and society.