Acknowledgements We would like to express our gratitude to the following persons
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- Discussion of the ads
DiscussionFollowing our focus group methodology we have chosen to divide the discussion in to parts. The first part being more general while the other focuses on the ads described above. General discussionTo be able to start of the session in a smooth manner and to introduce the subject we opened up with a general discussion on advertising. In this part of the discussion the participants spoke about what ingredients they think make a commercial effective. With effective we mean a commercial that appeals to the participants of the study. This is important to emphasise since this the participant were keen to make statements on how others perceived advertising. Discussion of the adsThis part will present the results from our focus group studies, held in Stockholm, 1998-12-08 and 1998-12-15. On each occasion we had two sessions, one and an half hour each. The questions was headed toward the respondents in a smooth manner. We tried to open a discussion rather than questioning. The importance for us was only to cover all the main areas of interest for our research. To create a casual and open atmosphere, the participants were served ginger breads and non-alcoholic glögg, while sitting down in a home environment. We started all sessions with a discussion of advertising in general. This was done in order to get some immediate opinions about advertising as a phenomena. Also, this was our way to set the framework for the rest of the session. In the article by Fuller and Thygsen presented in the theory part some headings are used to describe the mindset of youth in the nineties; a mindset characterised by the authors as post-modern. Following the recommendations by Lantz, on how to conduct a focus group study and make a qualitative analysis of it, we choose to comment and analyse on the quotes in the text below. When we are doing this we use The Fuller and Thygsen article as a basis for our comments and analysis. We do this because their theory is the one in this paper that is less general and explicitly aimed at the young fashion consumer. This makes it a convenient interface to the real people in our focus groups. We will use the headings from the Fuller Thygsen article to structure this presentation of the focus group discussion on the ads. From manipulation to empowerment. In the general discussion people felt very annoyed by certain TV and radio commercials. I think of Shampoo commercials that really boor you to death, says Anna. Advertising for dipers was also perceived as being very boring and irritating. They steal your time, says Thomas. Although I get annoyed, I sit there and watch like a fool. After a long working day, I simply do not have the energy to switch channel or turn the TV off. Still the participants think that these type of commercials work, despite their annoying character. When I buy this kind of products, I often end up with a brand which commercials I really dislike, says Helena. These are the brands that comes to mind when I am in the store. She is very influenced by the image of the brand: even if it was exactly the same product I would never by a present for my boyfriend at a low class store. Obviously, the commercials work. People buy the product even though they know that the message in the spots are false or exaggerated. They experience a dissonance between their attitudes toward the commercials and the actual purchase. This was a notion expressed by all but one participant, Ulrik, who had a different view and did not purchase heavily advertised products. Among the advertisements presented to the groups some of them generated more feelings of manipulation than others. Levi's and Diesel commercials with beautiful models had an obvious message, everyone thought. It was not hard to see that the advertising agency wanted everyone to look at the good-locking model, and then seek identification. It is like the classic fairytale, except the prince drives a Harley instead of a horse, says Sara about a Levis commercial where a man, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, rides into an office and picks up a businesswomen, who then changes clothes to jeans and escapes the boredom of the up-tight office environment. When consuming these kinds of commercials showing beautiful people, success, and rebellious themes, the impressions from the participants in the study is mixed. Often they like to watch them since it and gives a deliberate feeling. On the other hand the world is not a fairytale, and some of these ads run the risk of being seen as ridiculous. The participants believes that the music and photo are very important ingredients in these kind of commercials. Mostly due to the fact that the theme is very simple. Levi's commercial with a transvestite is seen as playful and funny. The character uses his/ her sex appeal to flirt with a taxi driver, who then gets surprised when he discovers that he is actually flirting with a man. The changing of sex is viewed as unexpected and suppressing. The transvestite is seen as cool, but in a new way. If the guy with the Harley had macho-coolness, this guy has integrity-coolness, says Anna. A TV commercial by Diesel starring a fat, Elvis-chic, Indian man was very appreciated by the participants. It was viewed as funny, different and intelligent. You get o positive feeling toward the brand because Diesel have the courage to be a little playful and not so serious, says Anders. People in our groups perceived the message as it is alright to be a little different, its no longer necessary to be beautiful and successful. The Sunflower campaign by Benetton displays mentally disabled kids as fashion models. Of course, this is highly unusual in the fashion industry, which normally uses good looking people as models. They want to create attention at the cost of people who really are working with these issues, says Sofia. Benetton ´s record of provocative campaigns, using people dying with AIDS, refugees, or dead soldiers in Bosnia, makes one doubt Benettons real motives with the Sunflower campaign. Despite this scepticism toward Benetton, people in the group saw the pictures of the disabled kids as being beautiful, heart-warming and as giving dignity and respect to the kids by using them as fashion models. People knew that they were being manipulated in an sense, but the positive feelings toward the pictures took the overhand and the impression was because of this positive. Like Sara said, All commercials aim at selling. So, you will never escape feeling manipulated. At least, in this case it leads to something good. Assumption of control This finding from the Fuller and Thygsen article we had some difficulties to explore, since the focus groups were discussing the commercials, and not so much their own consumption. Still, a too high amount of seriousness in the advertisements, and lack of humour, in commercials was seen as manipulative. The group members felt targeted by brands that was to keen to tell them how good they were. Not all people in the groups agree on the importance of image contra their own judgement ( assumption of control) Helena says that the brand is really important to her choice. She would never buy clothes from a store that had an image as low-class, even if choosing from two identical shirts. On the other hand, Per, says he does not buy clothes based upon image, because he has read tests in consumer magazines were Diesel for instance, who he believes has a cool image, fail in the aspect of denim quality. The participants tend to mix to a great extent designer clothes with more cheap wear. But our impression is that this is not done as an explicit statement, but rather is a consequence of ups and downs in peoples budget constraints. Helena, Per and Ulrik are the only ones that formulate a "shopping strategy" where Helena favour High-image clothes as being better quality, better looking etc, and Per and Ulrik does not favour these brands and see this as the " smart or non-manipulated-purchase". From rebellion to subversion The appreciation of humour in the advertising is one of the strongest findings of the focus groups. Advertising that has a to serious message, about good- looks or success, often are perceived as tiresome and often not trustworthy. Humour disarms the commercials. The ads play with their own brand or image. This make them more fun to watch and a little different so that they are easier to remember. The Diesel commercial with India-Elvis is one that many remember. They think that Diesel is cool because they dare to use this not-goodlocking guy in a commercial. He is cool because he does his own thing, says Jenny. This gives Diesel credibility. It seams that humour and self-irony can be used by the advertiser to avoid that the consumer uses this weapon toward an image as they perceive as not trustworthy or manipulative. Mostly, according to the participants, the big companies has a serious image, and the courage to break with this style is awarded with greater appreciation and less scepticism from the consumers. It is good if it is not so obvious what is going to happen in the film. Like in the early Levi commercials the story is pretty obvious, Sara says, it is more challenging to the mind if you get surprised rather than bored. Humour and self irony seems to be an effective way to reduce scepticism among the audience. Also, there is no obvious need for identification to make a commercial effective. Our focus group members do not identify with nor want to be like the transvestite or the India-Elvis. But they still get a positive impression of the brand. If there is any identification involved, it is identification with the message or mood in the film rather than the more traditional and easy to see identification with the actors in the commercials. The search for something primal Apart from opinions on Benettons record as a provocative advertiser the impression of the Sunflower ads we showed to the focus groups was very positive. The ads showed the disabled kids as part of the big picture, rather than just as a group that need special attention and cost money. The participants felt the warmth in their harts when they saw these kids just as fashion models. The perceived message was that everyone has a unique value, no matter how they are equipped for life at birth. The participants saw it as positive that the disabled children were the front figures in a natural way. They otherwise are often placed in the shadow. This advertising was perceived as a brave attempt, due to the fact that Benetton did not focus upon the theme of beauty and success, but on something else - the true value of each and every individual. Benetton shows that mental or physical health does not change a persons ability to be beautiful, beauty comes from within. Download 201.4 Kb. Share with your friends:
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