Modern advertising
Modern advertising really began in the middle of the century. World War II had taught Americans plenty about propaganda and new technologies had erupted, offering both increased production and more ways to propagate a media message. They combined to create the modern ad. In addition to stating the facts somewhere in the fine print, advertisers began to lace their ads with ideas designed to appeal to the senses of the reader, as well as the deeper, more emotional self interests of love, sex, anxiety, fear, alarm, ambition, envy, indulgence and especially vanity. And to discover which appeal would work best, advertisers began to develop more and better research techniques -- and act upon the results. Someday, they'd call it "target marketing," but for now, they were content with being able to select the right message to transmit and then aim it at the right receiver in the market. What sounds obvious now was in fact not recognized in the 19th century. Advertising was a print medium at first, and primarily followed the basic rules of decorum and factual reporting of the journalism of the day. Thus, a Sears And Roebuck catalogue from the 19th century offered Underwear For Fat Men with a line drawing a hefty, older fellow with a
Print advertising today is far different. Incredible graphics, manipulative copy and inserts, Aadvertorials@ (ads disguised as articles) and coupons make up the bulk of newspaper and magazine advertising. Of course, the old style of print ads remains as well. There are still classified ads in the back of nearly every magazine, and line drawings grace the ads in many newspapers. Nobody sells an underwear for fat men@ any more though. w breaking has been commodified. Advertising today seemingly encourages people to break the rules, to tell the world to Akiss off@ and to be an individual. Beneath this surface rebellion though, people are trained to buy, to tie their emotions to consumption, and eventually, to discard the old with disappointment and embrace the new, in order to rebel again. The greatest difference between the advertising of the 1890s and the 1990s is that instead of buying underwear, one buys the feeling of being cool. Frank, Thomas. The Conquest of Cool : Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1998. The final form of outdoor advertising is the billboard or display. Displays are three-dimensional, huge mockups of products or events. The first billboards were painted bulletins, permanently covering the side of a building and often identifying the busine
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 917
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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