1950 s Advertising 1960 s and Creative Revolution

1950 s. Advertising; 1960 s and Creative Revolution MIT 3214 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 1

Interwar Advertising 1. 2. Social Change: urbanization/immigration Social Adaptation 1. 2. 3. 4. 3/17/2018 emotional/personal insecurities Listerine/’halitosis’ apostles of modernity/zerrespiegel conformity/emerging ‘mass society’ MIT 3214 2

Mass Society Critique 1. Middletown 1. 2. 3. Robert/Helen Lynd (1929) Malaise of mass/commercial culture Stuart Chase, Sinclair Lewis, J. Kerouac Bohemia 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 3

Mass Society Critique (post-WII) 1. David Riesman 1. 2. The Lonely Crowd (1950) Inner-directed/outer-directed William H. Whyte 1. 2. 3. 4. The Organization Man (1956) Malaise of bureaucracy/ collectivism loss of individualism ‘group-mindedness’ 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 4

Mass Culture Critique/Culture Industry n Frankfurt School n n T. Adorno/G. Marcuse Culture Industries serve Corporate Capitalism Network radio/TV; ‘top 40’ pop music; tabloids, Hollywood Ideological reproduction 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 5

1950 s Advertising 1. 2. Television Research/Social Science 1. 3. Simple Message; Repetition 1. 4. quantify ad effectiveness Slogans, jingles Doctor/Scientist testimonial 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 6

Rosser Reeves 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Methodist upbringing Ted Bates Agency Low esteem of public Repetition: single selling message Large media buys Political advertising, 1952 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 7

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) n n n Colgate: “Cleans Your Breath While it Cleans Your Teeth” M&Ms (“Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand” ) simple ad + repetition over ad variation 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 8

Anacin 1. 2. 3. 4. Radio/TV $18 m to $54 m in 18 months (mid-1950 s) Repetition/Incantation “Power of Threes” 1. 5. fast, FAST Relief http: //ca. youtube. com /watch? v=oeas 5 jtffp. M 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 9

1950 s Ads n William Whyte & Bad advertising: n n “groupthink” mass Audience “group harmony” of ad agencies Thomas Frank 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 10

Mad Men n Transitional/Liminal Era (1960 -63) Historical Foresight Surface Pleasures 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 11

Don Draper/Mad Men n Depth/Identity Authenticity/ Artifice Kodak/Carousel n http: //www. youtub e. com/watch? v=su RDUFps. Hus&featur e=related 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 12

Mad Men n Draper as Metaphor for Advertising? 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 13

Did Mainstream Co-opt Counter-Culture of 1960 s? Conventional View: 1. Business culture: 1. 2. Counter-culture: 1. 2. 3. monolithic, hierarchical, homogenous Dionysian, vibrant, spontaneous Subversive Counter culture becomes mass movement 1. 3/17/2018 business co-opts; harness for own ends MIT 3214 14

T. Frank n Capitalism’s own insurgency n n n Pre-date Counterculture Common goals with counter culture Advertising’s “Creative Revolution” 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 15

Managerial Revolt Douglas Mc. Gregor n Human Side of Enterprise n Theory “X”/“Y” Firms n Theory X n n n Hierarchy, organization, strict supervision Stifle creativity, innovation Less competitive 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 16

Mc. Gregor… n Theory Y Firm: n n n Flatter organization; non-hierarchical Promote creativity; spontaneity More profitable 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 17

Late 1950 s/early 1960 s Business Culture n n n Not all “flat gray, ” conservative, “square” Not juxtaposed to Counter Culture Business & “antiestablishment” 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 18

Creative Revolution 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Creative over Research/Account Execs No ‘rule-book’ ad writing “boutique” agencies Theory Y workplace Early 1960 s to mid 1970 s 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 19

C. R. Themes 1. 2. Humour/Irony Rebel Talk; 1. 2. 3. Individualism; anti-consumerism to sell goods Youth Talk 1. 2. 3/17/2018 Youth as attitude, break w/ conformity new and exciting MIT 3214 20

Bill Bernbach 1. 2. 3. Grey Advertising 1945 -49 Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1949 Jewish clients 1. 3/17/2018 Anti-Semitism MIT 3214 21

Bernbach/Volkswagen Beetle 1. 2. 3. 4. Ignite Creative Revolution 1938 -Germany – ”People’s Car” modest post-war sales Jewish Agency/Nazi Car 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 22

VW Ads n n “Lemon” “Think Small” 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 23

VW Ads n n “How Much Longer Can We Hand You This Line” “Is Volkswagen contemplating a change? ” 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 24

VW n n simple photographs, minimal layout, large, clever headlines Hip Consumerism: Savvy to car-buying manipulation n register disgust/skepticism =buy a Beetle 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 25

Hip Consumerism ads n n speak flippantly of product mock consumer culture/critique mass society Escape, rebellion, nonconformity counterculture imagery 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 26

Hip Consumerism 1. 2. Fuel consumerism with discontent of consumerism Reification 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 27

Hip Consumerism 1. Dynamism of Capitalism 1. 2. 3. 3/17/2018 Adaptive neutralize genuine opposition Pre-emptive Irony MIT 3214 28

Cultural Logic of Hip Consumerism 1. 2. 3. Cultural elites/ Positional goods Rebelling and status competition Negative-sum game 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 29

Cultural logic. . n Stolichnaya Vodka n Other Examples? 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 30

What to do? n n n Avoid positional goods grounded in comparisons? Don’t express individuality via consumption? “Uniforms” to foster genuine individualism? 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 31

Exam Review: n n n Section One (3 X 5 points = 15 points) n “Identify/discuss significance of three of following for study of advertising. ” Likely 3 of 5 Section Two (5 X 1 points = 5 points) n Multiple Choice (a, b, c, d) Section Three = 5 points n Discuss significance of 1 of 2 ads shown 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 32

Exam n n n Includes material from readings 20% of final grade Closed Book 75 minutes Written in Classroom A-L in NCB 117; M-Z in NCB 114 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 33

Exam Review Sample Answer “Reification” n Reading: Leiss, Kline, Jhally, 29 -30 n Marxist critique of advertising C social environment where needs (emotional, personal, familial, material) met by purchase of consumer goods in market 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 34

Review…Reification C C Ideology: A. cultural function not sell specific products but inculcate belief that only consumption provides contentment, happiness, self-fulfillment, etc. consumer goods and advertisements stand in way of people and their true needs. goods never achieve resolution of profound personal and social needs; create more unfulfilled wants. relate to “hip consumerism, ” how ‘dissent’ registered through purchases, not social/political action 3/17/2018 MIT 3214 35