In the essay The Language of Advertising by the author and marketing consultant Charles A. O'Neill, the brainwashing guru and writer suggests that most, if not all advertising is just mirroring the society that creates and consumes it. I for one find this to be a fairly ridiculous and insulting hypothesis.
While I do agree that society may be the general guide for advertisers, the idea that they are just innocent bystanders shining back the ugly reflection of the status quo is flat out preposterous. I personally believe that advertisers a manufacturing just as many, if not more, fears and insecurities as they may be "mirroring" back at us.
Needless to say, I didn't enjoy the tone of this essay at all. I felt that the piece was almost an "advertisement for advertisers" written to paint these modern day propagandists in the most positive light that they could manage to sway in their direction. Even if there is a good amount of truth to it, the fact that the author had the gumption to write that "the public at large is not particularly intelligent" really leaves a bad taste in your mouth and clues you in to the type of pompous ass that is in charge of pushing these products on the masses.
Great, opinionated response to the writer's claim. I'm with you, the advertising industry has become a monster of sorts. Maybe we gave it some fuel, but it has taken off and turned into a hydra, multiplying beyond its original purpose.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the tone here is a more positive one. It could be re-titled, "In Defense of Advertising." It's good, though, to get the other side of the argument, if for no other reason than to be able to solidify your own perspective.
And I love that image. "Do Not Want." Ha!!
Hi Jesse,
ReplyDeleteAs the author of the essay in question, I enjoyed your comments very much. I personally welcome dissenting opinions, and yours is well considered. I adopted the tone you detected quite deliberately. I think consumers should be much more critical of what they see, hear and read in the media generally-- and certainly, that extends to advertising, too.
I wish you success in your studies. Keep thinking critically!
Best,
Charles O'Neill
Waltham, Massachusetts
Wow, didn't expect this to make it all the way back to you, Charles, I guess the internet is a smaller place than it may seem. While I didn't personally agree with your tone in this particular essay, I did enjoy reading it. I definitely went to extremes in my response to give my class blog as strong an argument as I could. It's good to see that you took this criticism in stride, your essay surely wasn't as evil as I work it up to be in this response...I just wanted a good grade in my English class ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, I had almost forgotten this blog existed.
Sincerely,
JB.