Advertising has had a bad rap over the years. It’s been called shallow, materialistic, disingenuous and promoting unrealistic standards.
While these claims aren’t without foundation, I also happen to think they exhibit the same level of exaggeration that people accuse it of. Not only that; its qualities are simply ignored by critics.
The functional benefit of advertising is that it provides information to help people make better purchasing decisions. But it’s the emotional one that really stands out for me: you see, to me, advertising is optimism personified.
But before I elaborate, let’s handle some of the criticisms.
Some people say that advertising encourages materialism and teaches people to worship consumer culture. But does it? I mean, if people choose to embrace materialism and exhibitionism, that’s down to their own shallow impulses, surely. A lot of the responsibility of staying grounded, of not succumbing to crass materialism and a worship of all-that-glitters, has to rest on people’s shoulders. After all, advertising is nothing more than a very effective, really well-polished sales person.
I’ll give you an example: if you wandered into a medieval market, 800 years ago, the swarthy merchant displaying his wares, would probably be adorned in a splendid white robe with ruby-colored lining, he’d have black eye-liner on for dramatic effect, and a colorful parrot would be perched on his shoulder, hinting at a life spent travelling in faraway lands. Not only that, I have little doubt that he’d employ much the same tactics that modern advertising agencies use.
He would smile at you, with gold-and-silver encrusted teeth, spin you a vaguely intriguing back-story about the history of the necklace that you’ve struck a shining to, suggest that your wife might love you a little bit more if you bought it and probably assure you that he’s got three other people interested in it, so don’t spend too much time deciding. That’s what salesmen do.
The difference is that he would only be talking to you, whereas advertising addresses millions, and when you look at it like that, it becomes apparent the issues people have with advertising, they actually have with mass media.
In my view, it’s fine to take exception with how there are too many ads on TV, or how those ads end up shouting at you, until you’re deafened by the collective cacophony of a thousand, competing messages. And maybe it’s important to regulate the volume and frequency of ads. But ads in and of themselves fulfill a necessary and wholly natural function: selling.
Other people maintain that advertising fuels our feelings of inadequacy, our sense of loneliness and alienation in a world that increasingly seems to be moving at the speed of business, not so much the speed of people. But is advertising the cause of this trend, or a by-product of it? After all, advertising only really operates according to the laws of the modern market.
You might as well blame mobile phones for making it impossible to have any time to yourself or email, for paving the way for you to work according to multiple time zones, not just your own.
But all these are reasons not to blame advertising. I could go deeper and say that there are reasons to actually like it. You see, I can’t help but see advertising as the Prozac that allows us to deal with some of the more depressing aspects of modern life, especially the ones that appear on the news. In a lot of ways, advertising is a welcome respite from all the doom and gloom we see and read about, everyday.
Think of advertising as that friend of yours who’s always up for a good time, always ready to laugh. Now, maybe that friend isn’t a particularly deep thinker. Or they might be prone to exaggerating their stories (for comic effect, naturally). You probably couldn’t even rely on them in a bind. But that friend is also a ton of fun to hang out with.
Now contrast that with your other friend, the news: he’s solemn, he’s sober (and sobering), he doesn’t spare you the bad details, he tells it like it is and he’s not interested in distracting you with frivolity. Ok, he may be worthwhile, but what a downer that guy is! Can you imagine spending your entire day with him? I guarantee in a couple of weeks, you’ll be looking for a ledge to jump off of.
This is what I admire about advertising: its relentless and boundless cheerfulness. I actually think advertising helps people get over the loneliness of living alone in a big city, where people are trained to ignore you and often don’t have time to engage you. Walking down a London high street, you’re struck by the way people make a conscious effort not to look at you. Often, they’ll look right through you.
A hundred years ago, if you walked down a country road and ran into someone and pretended you couldn’t see them, the way people do today, you would cause that person untold distress. He or she would become convinced you were either blind, mad or, worse, that they had died and were therefore ghosts, invisible to everyone.
Ads comfort us in a world that doesn’t always have time for us. I’ve been aware of weekends where the only person who has said anything directly to me, was the Oasis fruit juice voice-over telling me to “open, pour, be myself once more . Also, ask anyone about their favorite ad from childhood and I guarantee you get a smile out of them. It’s because they associate them with a happier and more innocent time.
The main thing to remember is that while advertising is a great way to gauge public taste and interest, and to figure how much of it you wish to participate in, it’s important not to confuse it with the real world.
So turn off your TV or your computer, call a friend or a loved one, and head to the nearest park: spring is almost here.
Mohammed Nassar was kidnapped at birth and forced to work in advertising, in Cairo, New York and London. Today, his main concern is that archaeologists will one day stumble upon his desk, debate the value of his profession and judge him. Feel free to email him at [email protected].
