Acknowledgements We would like to express our gratitude to the following persons
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- Advertising in the modern/post-modern era
The young post-modern consumerIn the article, ” Complacency kills - protecting Levi's cool mindshare.” Kirsty Fuller and Flemming Thygsen point out a few of the values that young people in the west seek today. In the post-modern society, young consumers see multinational companies replacing the state as the new sources of authority. They are much aware of the attempts that are made via marketing to make them behave in certain ways. In response to this, the young consumer has developed an awareness of her or his presumed role as a consumer. This awareness leads, according to the authors to a behaviour that is: self confident, empowered and directed towards the new symbols of power (companies). The background to the article by Fuller and Thygseen article is a work shop at the jeans giant Levi's Straus, explicitly aimed at identifying the sprit of our times in order to use this in product development and advertising. The workshops where held in 1994 and 1996. We will use some of their findings and later compare them with our own findings in the focus groups. ( Fylller, Thygesen 1998). It is important to remember that the above mentioned study was ordered by Levi's and that this might effect the quality of the study. By this we mean that the authors would in some way favour Levi's in their results On the other hand, it is very hard to see the point of them doing that. It seams unlikely that Levi's would like to base their marketing strategies on a non-accurate study. Young consumers today are, according to Fuller and Thygsen, characterised by the following statements. ( Fylller, Thygesen 1998). From manipulation to empowerment1. Consumers had been feeling targeted and exploited by commercialisation. In recent years they have become realistic about the rules of commercial relationship, becoming participants in brand/ consumer relationships. According to this study, the young consumer of today care less about companies trying to dictate rules. They make their own decisions. If this is true the consumers we study will form their own opinions to a great extent. Assumption of control. The youth of today is developing a strong sense of self-worth. They expect other people to adapt to them as much as the other way round. They have moved beyond playing the game to almost dictating the rules of consumption. For example rap kids wearing baggy Dockers, or Tommy Hillfiger preppy clothes. If this is true, young consumers play with multiple options. Consequently the young consumers are free to choose Levi's jeans combined with any other brand or style the like. From rebellion to subversion. Youth will always have a need to rebel in asserting independence in the face of institutions of power. Multinationals and mass media are the new symbols of power. Youths response is to take the strategies and codes of business and subvert them in their own way. Irony is a favourite subversive tool. Sarcasm and satire has always been a weapon towards authorities of different kinds. Political satire, which is directed toward the state ( or the dictator) as a symbol of power, often uses subliminal irony. Irony can also be used to assert independence towards the new symbols of power, such as large companies like Levi's. The search for something primal. This is an increasingly extreme expressions of authenticity indicating a need for something elemental and real, which cannot be softened or compromised. This can be expressed both in acknowledgement of the darker side of the human soul and in enjoyment of purer/ elemental experiences. This is a reaction against things too easily packaged and explained. In the choice between a honest and sincere message, and a perfect message with no drawbacks, the consumer of today would, according to this study, lean toward the first because it seams to come " straight from the heart". This means that the consumer nowadays appreciates those values that have been neglected in the commercialised society. Advertising in the modern/post-modern eraIn this part we will discus and present researchers views on the characteristics of traditional versus post-modern adverting. This is important because the study focuses upon how these two different types of advertising is perceived among young consumers. To be able to draw any conclusions on how the people in our focus groups perceive the ads we must know how to categorise the ads in the first place. The division between the two categories ( traditional / post-modern) will be based upon the theories of how ads interact with the consumer. Since every ad is unique in its composition, it is impossible to give an absolute one way description of a post-modern or traditional ad. The layout, pictures, stories, images all vary from one ad to another, no matter if the particular ad is of a traditional or post-modern character. With the help of the below presented theories and some descriptions of ads and campaigns, of the traditional and the post-modern type, we hope to make the distinction as clear as possible. Our main reference in this part is Ali Yakhlef´s article, ” Mapping the consumer-subject in Advertising”. This article focuses upon advertising and its consumer-subject relation during three eras, namely the pre-modern-, modern-, and finally the post-modern era. We will only explore the main characteristics of modern and post-modern advertising, since the advertising during these eras are of interest to our study. In the text following below the terms, modern-, traditional- and classical advertising is used. To avoid any misinterpretations in this study we have chosen to define all these terms as traditional advertising, since they all refer to the same phenomena. Advertising in each of the above mentioned periods deploys a mode of signification which positions the consumer in a different way ( Yakhlef 1998). Before we go in to the differences between modern and post-modern advertising we will briefly describe the two modes of signification within the modern- and post-modern culture. Download 201.4 Kb. Share with your friends:
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