OUGD501 Consumerism Task

Using the text Berger, J. (1972) 'Ways of Seeing', write one critical analysis of an advert which, in your opinion, reflects the logic of consumerism, or the social conditions of consumerism.

In modern society, advertising is more competitive than ever and it has become the 'norm' that advertisements are forced to promise things to their consumers as a counterpart of purchasing their product, whether it is openly said or, in more cases, simply insinuated via a visual language. John Berger explores the manner in which we are manipulated by advertising in 'Ways of Seeing'.

The example above is a perfect representation of the fact that manipulative advertising has barely changed in the past few decades, as the Estee Lauder For Men print ad shown above, perfectly exhibits much of what Berger explores, 12 years earlier. The advertisement implies that this fragrance will make a man somewhat irresistible to women, that you will be in a profession that requires you to wear a tailored suit, and the tagline 'Because if you feel good about your scent, so will she' insinuates that women's attraction to you should be your priority, and exhibits that "to be desired is perhaps the closest anyone in this word can feel to being immortal".

The unspoken claim that this ad makes is that possession of the fragrance will make you superior to those who don't. Advertising like this relies heavily on the fact that people by nature are envious of those living more glamorous lifestyles. The desire to be glamorous is the desire to imply to others around you that you live in a way that you may not deserve, as "glamour cannot exist without personal social envy being a common and widespread emotion". Similarly, the public find some sort of comfort in knowing that they are of a higher social class, since "being envied is a solitary form of reassurance".

Essentially, this ad comes down to a basic human instinct, to decipher what you see over what you are told. "Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognises before it can speak" so in this instance, the viewer can see the woman draped over the man and immediately assumes this is the result of this product, over realising that it is just an overpriced fragrance.