A formula indicates a procedure to be followed or a recipe to be
used; and the culture industry follows these formulas in the images and the
advertisements we see every day. These images and advertisements sell the goods
consumed to the masses. The way we consume and what we consume as a body of
people defines the culture we live in. Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer
describe what they call they culture industry in the Enlightenment as Mass Deception. These critical theorists go in detail to describe the aspects of the industries that produce the products promoted in our culture.
The idea of culture being mass produced and sold by a formula
can be seen in all aspects of the culture industry. These culture industries
include all of the images and messages found on television, in movies, on
billboards, and radio and print ads that we believe to be important. Adorno and
Horkneimer say that they are all similar, “How formalized the procedure is can
be seen when the mechanically differentiated products prove to be all alike in
the end” (p2), suggesting that no matter what the slight difference in the
product the end they are essentially all the same. They suggest that the
television, radio, and print industries give consumers a small variety of what
they want them to have and use the same formula of advertisement to promote it.
“…the specific content of the entertainment itself is derived from them and only
appears to change. The details are interchangeable.”(p3).
To apply the idea of using a formula to sell the same products
in slightly different forms I thought of comparing three different types of
advertisements. I decided to compare automobiles and campaign ads to show that
no matter what the product is, the same formula applies. So the first comparison
I made was between three new hybrid and plug in electric cars: the Ford C-Max,
the Chevy Volt, and the Nissan Leaf. Two cars are partially gas powered and
electric powered, and one is completely electrically powered; so I wanted to see
how they were advertised and then look at the details of the vehicles. I did a
YouTube search for the commercial for each vehicle and found celebrity
endorsements, cost efficiency, as well as emphasizing how much better for the
environment the vehicles were. I found the similarity in each commercial was the
repetition of a particular theme which convinced me that there was a
formula/tactic used in the advertising of this product. Then I looked up the
specifics of each vehicle and found that while they vary in price many of the
features were similar, such as the wheels, breaks, child seat anchors, and
measurements only vary by a few inches here or there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=ZNpV5-t7qRg&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=shphJMnxoIk&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI4AEk3xc4Y
http://www.edmunds.com/car-comparisons/?veh1=200421534|wagon&veh2=200424007|hatchback&veh3=101397754|hatchback&show=0|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8&comparatorId=4395269
The second comparison was with campaign ads since the election
is so close. The formula here is obvious and is often referred to as propaganda
because the aim is to tear down the other candidate, promote their own agenda,
and usually end it with “My name is… and I approve this message”. So I found
campaign ads for and against Illinois Governor Candidate, Bill Brady. The
advertisement put out by his affiliates promote a “Better Illinois”, by
balancing the budget and creating job growth. The images suggest that he is a
community man and deep in thought about solving Illinois’ problems. Then there
was a commercial for Bill Brady that slanders Pat Quinn and the leadership he
has provided during his time as Governor saying that Illinois has gone from “Bad
to Worse”. Next there are the commercials that were put out by the current
Governor Pat Quinn against Bill Brady using the same slander formula. Finally
the ads for Pat Quinn show him too as a community man, says he is trying to
create jobs, and tax relief for working families. Each industry use formulas to
draw the targeted audience in and sell them on the slight differences. The
formula here is clear, you can change the details but the overall outcome is the
same.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM6bLQKgp-c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIKL_fKJZOw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJSTY3_tufY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5EV1i0-n5U&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Theodor Adorno and Max Horkeneimer outlined these same ideas in their article:
“Advertising and the culture industry merge technically as well as economically. In both cases the same thing can be seen in innumerable places, and mechanical repetition of the same culture product has come to be the same as that of the propaganda slogan. In both cases the insistent demand for effectiveness makes technology into psycho-technology, into
a procedure for manipulating men. In both cases the standards are the striking yet familiar, the easy yet catchy, the skillful yet simple; the object is to overpower the customer, who is conceives as absent-minded or resistant” (p23).
used; and the culture industry follows these formulas in the images and the
advertisements we see every day. These images and advertisements sell the goods
consumed to the masses. The way we consume and what we consume as a body of
people defines the culture we live in. Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer
describe what they call they culture industry in the Enlightenment as Mass Deception. These critical theorists go in detail to describe the aspects of the industries that produce the products promoted in our culture.
The idea of culture being mass produced and sold by a formula
can be seen in all aspects of the culture industry. These culture industries
include all of the images and messages found on television, in movies, on
billboards, and radio and print ads that we believe to be important. Adorno and
Horkneimer say that they are all similar, “How formalized the procedure is can
be seen when the mechanically differentiated products prove to be all alike in
the end” (p2), suggesting that no matter what the slight difference in the
product the end they are essentially all the same. They suggest that the
television, radio, and print industries give consumers a small variety of what
they want them to have and use the same formula of advertisement to promote it.
“…the specific content of the entertainment itself is derived from them and only
appears to change. The details are interchangeable.”(p3).
To apply the idea of using a formula to sell the same products
in slightly different forms I thought of comparing three different types of
advertisements. I decided to compare automobiles and campaign ads to show that
no matter what the product is, the same formula applies. So the first comparison
I made was between three new hybrid and plug in electric cars: the Ford C-Max,
the Chevy Volt, and the Nissan Leaf. Two cars are partially gas powered and
electric powered, and one is completely electrically powered; so I wanted to see
how they were advertised and then look at the details of the vehicles. I did a
YouTube search for the commercial for each vehicle and found celebrity
endorsements, cost efficiency, as well as emphasizing how much better for the
environment the vehicles were. I found the similarity in each commercial was the
repetition of a particular theme which convinced me that there was a
formula/tactic used in the advertising of this product. Then I looked up the
specifics of each vehicle and found that while they vary in price many of the
features were similar, such as the wheels, breaks, child seat anchors, and
measurements only vary by a few inches here or there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=ZNpV5-t7qRg&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=shphJMnxoIk&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI4AEk3xc4Y
http://www.edmunds.com/car-comparisons/?veh1=200421534|wagon&veh2=200424007|hatchback&veh3=101397754|hatchback&show=0|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8&comparatorId=4395269
The second comparison was with campaign ads since the election
is so close. The formula here is obvious and is often referred to as propaganda
because the aim is to tear down the other candidate, promote their own agenda,
and usually end it with “My name is… and I approve this message”. So I found
campaign ads for and against Illinois Governor Candidate, Bill Brady. The
advertisement put out by his affiliates promote a “Better Illinois”, by
balancing the budget and creating job growth. The images suggest that he is a
community man and deep in thought about solving Illinois’ problems. Then there
was a commercial for Bill Brady that slanders Pat Quinn and the leadership he
has provided during his time as Governor saying that Illinois has gone from “Bad
to Worse”. Next there are the commercials that were put out by the current
Governor Pat Quinn against Bill Brady using the same slander formula. Finally
the ads for Pat Quinn show him too as a community man, says he is trying to
create jobs, and tax relief for working families. Each industry use formulas to
draw the targeted audience in and sell them on the slight differences. The
formula here is clear, you can change the details but the overall outcome is the
same.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM6bLQKgp-c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIKL_fKJZOw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJSTY3_tufY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5EV1i0-n5U&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Theodor Adorno and Max Horkeneimer outlined these same ideas in their article:
“Advertising and the culture industry merge technically as well as economically. In both cases the same thing can be seen in innumerable places, and mechanical repetition of the same culture product has come to be the same as that of the propaganda slogan. In both cases the insistent demand for effectiveness makes technology into psycho-technology, into
a procedure for manipulating men. In both cases the standards are the striking yet familiar, the easy yet catchy, the skillful yet simple; the object is to overpower the customer, who is conceives as absent-minded or resistant” (p23).