Essay 2

Society: Is the media the cause of society’s desirable image? (Part 2)

After identifying some aspects of consumerism and what the effects are on todays society, I started to look at more examples of how consumerism is reinforced through the use of media and advertisements. When reading about the studies into the effects of consumerism and how it is communicated, we can see that mainstream media is primarily demonstrating this never-ending cycle to society in a way that is unavoidable. After researching several sources that looked at the issues caused by consumerism, including body image, I went on to research the type of imagery that is reinforcing an ‘ideal image’ in todays society.

I also looked at several different campaign advertisements that try to counter the type of material that is promoted by establishments in order to gain consumers. By doing this, a comparison could be made between what is considered ‘bad’ consumerism and what is ‘good’ consumerism. One example of this would be the ‘Dove Real Beauty Campaign’, which deliberately uses body image as a way of promoting the brand. However, the thing that makes this campaign different from others is that it has used an image of several, everyday women of different builds. In this way, the advert is able to show how the typical ‘desirable body image’ we are used to seeing in mainstream media is false and misleading, hence the title ‘Real Beauty’.

When comparing an image such as this to other campaign advertisements such as Victoria’s Secret, we can immediately see that there is a clear difference in the approach companies take in order to promote their products. An advert such as Victoria’s Secret will take an approach which promotes women with thin bodies and model facial features, whereas the Dove Real Beauty Campaign uses real women of average body sizes. With these different approaches to advertising, consumers will also vary. For example, someone buying Victoria’s Secret products is likely to be drawn into the purchase due to the ‘desirable body image’ displayed in their advertisements. In the same way, women who may have confidence issues because of this expectation will be likely to purchase products from Dove because they see the target audience for the campaign is women of all shapes and sizes. Therefore reassuring women that they do not need to look how society expects them to be.

As we know that Dove’s campaign actually works in a way that gives women confidence in their appearance, we know that other companies could take the same approach also. This in turn, could in fact help to bring about change in mainstream media. For example, if Victoria’s Secret were to promote their products using different sized models, it may encourage more women of different sizes to feel more comfortable buying from the brand. This therefore, could also create more of an acceptance of body image, meaning women wouldn’t have to change their appearance to be considered desirable. Instead the change in the products sold by the brand could help the consumer to feel more secure in the body they already have.

One example of a bad advertisement campaign, would be Protein World’s ‘Are you beach body ready?’ campaign. This advertisement was highly criticized in the approach the company had taken in order to sell their products. As the image shows a model of slender build next to the caption ‘are you beach body ready? It is clear that the intention of the company was to promote slim bodies on women, and by purchasing their products people could achieve this physique. However, many women spoke out about the campaign and even created alternative versions of the advertisement, similar to the Dove campaign, that featured different sized women. Therefore, we know that this approach to advertising may be become outdated as there are some changes in society’s attitude towards how women are perceived in the media. Furthermore, taking this approach to promoting a brand has proven unsuccessful and could mean less consumers for the company.

Although many advertisements choose to take the opposite approach to Protein World, and use models of heavier builds, there is also the argument that they are promoting a different kind of unhealthiness. Some people may say that using plus-size models for advertising body image is also a problem. This is because it may give people the impression that being overweight is healthy. This could potentially become an issue for younger people in particular, because during the early stages of our lives we start to shape the person we want to become. However, if that desired image is to be unhealthy as promoted in advertising, then it could have a serious effect on people in years to come.

The last image I looked at was a piece by Barbara Kruger called, ‘I shop therefore I am’. This image became well known around the world for its signature colour scheme and core ideas. As this particular design was created in 1987, we know that the piece still reflects society’s views on consumerism. Ironically, during the time of the design, it was printed onto shopping bags as a way of expressing how society feels it has to pursue a means to an end by purchasing material objects. Furthermore, this design could be re-used or updated in a way that shows the difference between consumerism in 1987 and consumerism today, as there are many different approaches for consumerism to attract its audience, including the rise of online shopping.

Overall, consumerism over time in society has shown a significant increase in ways to communicate to an audience, ways to keep customers coming back for more and ways to help people pursue a means to an end. However through the research in to the topic, it has been shown that the means to an end people desire when consuming cannot always be met. For example, the body images shown to be socially desirable in the media are more often than not false representations of real life. Furthermore, the problem created by this would be backlash from everyday people in society who believe we should be ourselves, rather than trying to become the desirable image reinforced by the media. In conclusion to this, I believe that consumerism will continue to find new ways of attracting consumers and will grow over time as it has done for many years.

Bibliography

·       Icons: Barbara Kruger, ‘I shop therefore I am’ by Juliana Engburg https://www.accaonline.org.au/event/icons-barbara-kruger-i-shop-therefore-i-am (ACCA, 1/9/2014}

·       Evolution of the dove “Real Beauty” campaign (7/11/2016) http://emilyprogramfoundation.org/media-monday/evolution-of-the-dove-real-beauty-campaign/

·       Protein world's 'beach body ready' ads do not objectify women, says watchdog. (Mark Sweney, 11/11/2016, The Guardian)  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/01/protein-world-beach-body-ready-ads-asa

·       Model behind 'sexist' tube posters hits back – as Katie Hopkins wades into row (Laura Connor, 29/4/2015) http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/are-you-beach-body-ready-5591088

·       Plus-sized models 'are FUELLING obesity' claims experts (Lizzie Parry, 10/12/2015, Daily Mail) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3353528/Plus-sized-models-FUELLING-obesity-Ads-featuring-larger-models-promote-idea-overweight-warn-experts.html