The Impact Of Demassification In Advertising

In the 1960’s, the general population experienced a massive shift in the way they reacted to advertisements. Society no longer wanted to be addressed as a mass and this resistance brought a sense of individualism and non-conformism. In reaction to this resistance, advertisers moved away from the concept of one large consumer mass and decided that in order to properly appeal to the consumer, they would have to segment the market. Starting in the late 1960’s, advertisers shifted their focus from a personal format to a lifestyle format, by using social context, by focusing on consumption, and by fully utilizing the advent of the television, in order to properly respond to the new cultural desire for identity and distinction.
The biggest change

In the late 1960’s, one of the most effective tactics in order to address society as less of a mass was to focus less on the product itself, but rather the consumption style around the product. This can be seen in any ad, either in print or in video format, that really illustrates a certain lifestyle that the consumer may be living, that would suit the use of the given product. This turned out to appeal to the consumer much more than personalizing the product, as it was more realistic and even more relatable. The companies and ad agencies realized that when a consumer sees an advertisement where someone is using a product in a scene that shows an appealing lifestyle, this triggers a desire to want this product. Consumers started to buy the products based on the lifestyle they’re living, or more often, the lifestyle they’d like to live. It became incredibly successful to shift away from focusing on the product, but rather on the lifestyle that surrounds it. This process was made even easier, with the invention of the television and the ability to represent these lifestyles

One of the most prevalent adverting campaigns currently, is the one put on by Corona. The popular Mexican beer company has countless ads with the beer being featured on a tropical beach, in the sun, with the tagline “Where you’d rather be”. This type of advertisement is clearly trying to associate the beer with a laid back, relaxed lifestyle that consumers seemingly wish they had. The advertisement campaign has been incredibly successful and has distinguished the beer from its similar tasting competitors, simply based on the lifestyle associated with it. One of the main reasons why this approach is so successful is that there are no limitations to the type of consumer that can be persuaded. In a paper written about the lifestyle approach, Mike Featherstone suggests that there is evidence in consumer culture publicity that being self-conscious about one’s lifestyle is not the limited to the younger generation, because “we all have room for self-improvement and self-expression whatever our age or class origins”