Category: Advertising

The article by Fowles (1982) targeted 15 specific appeals to the basic human psychology that advertisers have developed to make their products marketable. Fowles (1982) singled out the following appeals making consumers buy things they do not need or can substitute with analogs.

1. Sexual motive: a rare but noticeable appeal to peoples wish to have sex, look sexy and arouse desire in others.
2. Kinship: positioning of a product as an entry ticket to a specific social group.
3. Nurturing: images of kittens and infants arouse consumers unconscious, warm parental feelings.
4. Guidance/authority: images of older people can remind consumers of their parents or authoritative figures.
5. Aggression: many people hide emotions and need an outlet for them.
6. Achievement: vanity is embedded in most modern peoples psyches, so associating achievement with some products makes them likable.
7. Domination: social hierarchy pushes people into boundaries that they want to break, and some products promise to do that.
8. Recognition: some products are marketed as a shortcut to higher social standing.
9. Attention-grabbing: appeal to people wishing to be noticed, e.g., cosmetics for women.
10. Autonomy: products can be marketed as helping people to stand out from the crowd.
11. Escape appeals to peoples wish to stay alone and enjoy an exquisite hassle-free experience.
12. Safety: appeals to peoples basic wish to live in safe spaces and avoid dangers.
13. Esthetics: use of art or exclusive items to please consumers aesthetic tastes.
14. Curiosity: use of statistics and visuals to create an illusion of evidence-packed benefits.
15. Basic psychological needs: peoples daily needs for eating, drinking, and having a rest.

The implications of these appeals are that people have little free will in decision-making about most of their purchases, as common sense is blurred with marketing appeals. Thus, marketers play the role of puppet masters by manipulating psychology instead of promoting actual, tangible product benefits. I have also become a victim of such tricks many times, buying things that create an illusion of status or belonging or promise peace of mind and safety. Unfortunately, most of these purchases, even if they were not spontaneous, did not deliver on their promise, proving the point of Fowles (1982) about the psychological basis of advertising.

References

Fowles, J. (1982). Advertisings fifteen basic appeals. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 39(3), 273-290.

Introduction

Most successful businesses have created tactical and unique initiatives to build solid relationships with their client base. These advertisements are aimed at luring customers to the companys current and future offerings. There is an old-fashioned telephone in the background of a globe map of Europe in the vintageadbrowser.com visual advertisement with the title You can telephone all over the World and offers for cheap international phone calls. Whether overtly stated or not, advertising and marketing strategies rely on carefully crafted messages for their target audiences.

Ethos Rhetoric

Under its design, the graphic has a rhetorical message embedded to help it achieve its goals. An examination of advertisements and telephone use before and during this period is necessary to fully understand how emotional appeal, icons, and ethos are used in this visual. For a time, the business community and other influential individuals worldwide challenged whether the telephone was a necessary innovation for connecting so many humans. At the time, the phone was a puzzle. Judges used to issue prohibitions to prevent telephone companies from erecting poles to protect homeowners from the unsightly web of hanging power lines, which they perceived as a dangerous endeavor.

With the aim of enticing the people to sign up for phone service, the use of ethos rhetoric wouldve been particularly helpful. The Bell Company pledged to connect more residences and cities with a phone line program to help alleviate the problem. Calling itself Bell after famed inventor Alexander Graham Bell is a deliberate appropriation of ethos by the telephone company. Bell has used ethics to pertain to the consumers ethos to win the viewers or followers confidence and trust. An excellent example of this is the use of well-known and recognizable characters or brand names.

The affirmation of a product by prominent media personalities provides the audience with a sense of assurance (Stucki et al. 380): Actor Johnathan Hill, for example, is portrayed as a trustworthy and ethical icon in the ethos. The advertisement in the Vintage uses the name of famous Alexander Graham Bell and the success of the Bell Company in the United States to reach its European customers. Bell Telephone Company is equated with Alexander Bells name because he invented the telephone. Because of this, many homes and workplaces around the world have been connected to telephone services by the Bell brand or company.

The mobile cover shows that the advertisement relies on user trust and loyalty to transmit communication signals. Customers tend to believe in a brand if they know that it stands behind a worthwhile cause, such as enforcing fundamental rights such as confidentiality. Bells reliability in terms of speed, accessibility, and privacy is reinforced by the ads context that included the phone photo. Customer privacy is an important right, and the Bell Company recognizes this fact. Worries of privation data being intercepted by unwanted persons or entities were absent in the origins of the telephone. With its promise to provide secure and private connections to countries outside of the United States, Bell implies that its services will also be quick and easy to use. It took just four years to connect every city in the country to become a reality. The most underprivileged people had access to the services at the final moment. Nearly a century after the introduction of the telephone, it was discovered that Americans homes had more telephones than bathtubs. Even though the Bell made a deliberate effort to win over its customers and potential new customers, it appears to have succeeded.

Emotional Appeal Rhetoric

Bells phone advert uses emotional appeal rhetoric. It promises that the Bells mobile providers will provide the most satisfactory experience for the viewer. Emotional appeal is the art of establishing an emotional reaction in the target audience to the displayed commodities. If people sign up for the services, theyll get something in return: an emotional steep. This means that the commercial will appeal to the audiences sympathy, hope, vigor, and desire for the product. Ads that specifically aim to evoke feelings of nostalgia in their viewers are known as emotional triggers. Attracting customers to sign up for a new call tariff by promising them desirable experiences and satisfaction is a successful use of Emotional rhetorical appeal (Sundar, et al. 100).

Aside from the lower tariff rates, the audience will also appreciate their connections speed, convenience, and privacy. One of the concerns about telephone services was that they would intrude on peoples privacy. However, many families objected to telephone service in other cases because they argued that only a few wealthy people were within reach of the phones poles and wires, which overrun their personal space and visual appeal. The objective of the emotional appeal rhetoric is achieved by reassuring the viewers that they will appreciate the services without worrying about anything else. It is comparable to how Coca-Cola uses emotional appeal in their advertisements to show how happy people are after drinking the product, which they do by smiling back at the viewers.

Logic Rhetoric

Press and advertising agencies use logic to entice their audiences to sign up for their services and goods. The company cut the initial calling rate from $75 to $12 to attract doubters and skeptics in the viewing public. This was a swift and appropriate reply from Bell. The audience will appreciate the reduction in calling rates for calls because they will save money, spending more time with family and business associates. Logic is the process of arriving at a conclusion based on evidence such as facts, figures, metrics, and graphs. For example, using an arithmetical figure to show the price decline was intelligent enough to persuade clients to sign up for telephone services. For the viewer, this numerical figure provides evidence that would assist them in deciding. Most would be persuaded to purchase the products without a second thought if the price difference was as significant as $53. Additionally, using logical rhetoric gives the audience confidence that the product or brand theyre considering is the best deal around.

Conclusion

There are advantages and disadvantages to using rhetoric. The viewers may be promoted with virtues and become more careful. Since brand ambassadors command trust and dignity, their inclusion in a product may help the audience to imitate their actions. However, this may not happen if the advertiser has a bad reputation.. For example, users may become engrossed and madly indulgent due to the meager calling rates, which may cause them to invest more time on the phone than saving (Lipovac, Krsto, et al. 140).

In summary, advertising rhetoric has a significant impact on the target audience. Motivation buying and financial misuse of funds can result from promoting specific products. Both emotional appeal and logical rhetoric fall into this category. Influence behavior and decisions by appealing to emotions, rationalization, and drawing confidence. Advertisement firms should also watch out for the opposite effect of their intended message. Audiences must also carefully examine the message to avoid advertisements with the opposite effect, such as those promoting indulgence.

Works Cited

Lipovac, Krsto, et al. Mobile phone use while driving-literary review. Transportation research part F: traffic psychology and behaviour 47 (2017): 132-142.

Stucki, Iris, and Fritz Sager. Aristotelian framing: logos, ethos, pathos and the use of evidence in policy frames. Policy sciences 51.3 (2018): 373-385.

Sundar, S. Shyam, Jinyoung Kim, and Andrew Gambino. Using theory of interactive media effects (TIME) to analyze digital advertising. Digital advertising. Routledge, 2017. 86-109.

Our small advertising firm was started in 2019 and has had the chance to work with several clients who have rated our services positively. The firm started with ten employees but with time the number has increased to twenty-five and we are aspiring to have more staff members as the company grows. Our firm specializes in organizing and implementing marketing plans according to our clients requests and specifications. Delivering high-quality services has been the number one priority for the advertising firm. With the experience gained over the years, the advertising firm is in its best form to handle the marketing campaign for the regional restaurants to ensure that its customers are aware of the new changes. The advertising firm is ready to work with the regional restaurant to achieve the best results.

Advertising Script and Slogan

Over the years, Family Table restaurant has been widely known for its burgers and fries but the restaurant seeks to ensure that its customers have other delicacies to enjoy. Customers to the restaurant will have a wide range of food products to choose from according to their taste. The restaurant seeks to introduce beef, chicken, BBQ pork, vegetables, and breakfast items for its customers. Family Table will ensure that the foods are of good quality by sourcing them from its farms in Illinois and Indiana. The slogan that the restaurant will use when promoting the new venture is Family Table has never been this good.

Media Plan

Television is one of the media that will be used by the advertising firm to ensure that Family Table customers know about the changes made to the usual menu. Using television when making an advertisement enhances the likelihood of reaching a large audience since many people have television sets that they watch from time to time. However, the advertising firm has to be careful when choosing the channel to advertise in due to the number of viewers. The channel of choice has to have a large number of viewers who are also likely to be interested in the foods to be offered by Family Table. Advertising on television is also likely to influence purchasing decisions within the target audience since people are more likely to trust information from the television than from any other media type. This is because television allows the use of visuals and audio in an advertisement which enables the demonstration of products being marketed and an explanation of their benefits. 

Another media that will be used in promoting the new foods being added to the menu by Family Table restaurant is radio. Radio advertisements are more effective since they are audio-based therefore one does not have to worry about bad camera work which might end up creating a negative perception about products under promotion. Radio also offers a cost-effective method of advertising when compared to other media such as television. The costs incurred in the production of radio advertisements are relatively low since there is no need to hire people to create them. Radio advertisements are also likely to reach a huge audience since many people listen to radio hence a great possibility of influencing buying decisions.

Social media will also be another great channel that the advertising firm will rely on when marketing the new changes that Family Table has made to its menu. Social media platforms are effective for marketing campaigns since they have a high number of active users hence helping to reach a wide customer audience. Social media also requires low entry costs when compared to other media used for advertising. In this case, the various platforms can be useful when one is working under a tight budget but still wants to achieve success. Another benefit that comes with using various social media platforms for advertisements is that they support a wide range of formats. In this case, the advertising company has the creative freedom and chance to use endless tactics when designing the marketing content.

Media Budget

Since Family Table has a $100000 budget to facilitate the marketing campaign the money has to be subdivided to cover the costs of production and adverting on the different media. At first, the advertising firm will focus on producing content to be used in advertising on television. The firm seeks to rely on its production team to come up with the television advertisement therefore the cost is projected to be about $3000. Paying for an advertisement on television will depend on the number of viewers and the length of the advert. A thirty-second commercial on television is projected to cost about $5 per one thousand viewers. If each advertisement has about one hundred thousand viewers the advertising firm will pay about five hundred dollars each time the commercial appears on television. The estimated cost for producing and running the advertisement on television for six months is about $50000.

The cost of producing the commercial for radio is estimated to be about $1500 while also including elements such as music and editing. The cost of running the advertisement on the radio will be $500 per week. In this case, the total cost of producing and running the commercial on radio for six months is estimated to be $25000. The cost of advertising on various social media platforms is about $10 per one thousand impressions. The costs of advertising on social media will vary according to the number of platforms used but are expected to be around $25000 for the six months.

Introduction

It is impossible to imagine the life of a modern person without advertisements. Banners, billboards, videos, slogans, and leaflets have become integral to human life. Manufacturers and various companies use many tricks to capture the attention of a potential buyer or client. Advertising as a phenomenon appeared long before the founding of the United States and the discovery of America. Even in ancient Egypt, sellers used papyri to interact with customers. Nevertheless, the consumer boom of the USA of the XX century contributed to the development and widespread distribution of advertisements.

The close connection between advertising and production ensured the continuous development of the advertising industry. The desire to sell goods stimulated not only quantitative but also qualitative changes. By the 21st century, humanity has managed to bring the skill of creating a PR campaign to incredible quality and attractiveness. Undoubtedly, the USA, one of the first to experience all aspects of the modern market economy, was one of the oases of the formation of the PR industry. Thus, advertising has become an integral part of American society due to the rapid pace of technological development.

The Penetration of Advertising into the Life of Society

The industrialization of the USA at the beginning of the twentieth century inevitably led to an increase in industrial production, and, consequently, a communication channel between the seller and the consumer was required to ensure a continuous flow of goods. This meant that more and more people were attracted to the creation and distribution of advertising. In 1910-1920, advertisers adapted for themselves Freuds doctrine that human instincts can be directed and used  sublimated, but in the field of the desire to buy and consume something (Quick). This idea is often associated with the name of Freuds nephew, Edward Bernays. This scientist is the founder of the modern advertising and public relations concept.

Since 1920, advertisements have been actively broadcast on the radio; thus, the practice of sponsorship has spread. Usually, a program had one or two sponsors whose products were regularly mentioned on the air (Meyers 246). Televisions appeared in the homes of 60% of Americans, and with them, television advertising entered everyday life (Quick). It is worth noting the fact that DuMont Television Network became the first company to sell airtime. The owners of this company implemented the mechanism of an advertising break. This phenomenon was the first stage in the development and more explicit integration of advertising into the daily life of American society.

It is worth mentioning one crucial fact that the primary weapon of advertising in the 50s was the study of consumer motivation. Research of psychology, subconsciousness, and complexes of the target audience allowed professionals to find and use more advanced methods to influence consumers (Meyers 247). Women were the main target audience of TV ads since they were the ones who made the shopping list and ran the household. The image of a woman created by PR specialists in the 50s of the twentieth century is noteworthy: a well-groomed housewife who manages to take care of her family and appearance, dressed in the latest fashion (Quick). At that time, women already occupied a considerable part of the labor market; nevertheless, the stereotype of a woman as a keeper of the hearth still prevailed in society. A new turn in the history of the development of television advertising in the United States was the popularization of cable television. With the advent of music channels such as MTV, music videos began to be used for advertising purposes.

With the invention of the Internet, advertising has firmly established itself in the life of every user of the World Wide Web. Since the 1990s, a boom in creating com domains has begun (Quick). Currently, online advertising has two levels: banners, text blocks, video ads, mini-sites, and interstitials  types of advertising on various external sites; usually, they have a link to the advertisers site, which is already the second stage of online advertising (Lee and Chang-Hoan 338). Currently, many companies resort to interactive game advertising, which is also an achievement of USA PR agencies. Thus, it becomes evident that with the advent of new technology, it indeed begins to be used by advertising specialists. That is why there is a certain feeling that advertising is ubiquitous and comprehensive. New gadgets, devices, various applications, and websites are becoming essential to peoples lives (Lee and Chang-Hoan 334). Thus, advertising penetrates everywhere, using multiple ways to capture the attention of potential customers.

Currently, advertising is not only a way to sell your product but also to announce it to the world. Modern advertising campaigns form the overall brand image. Famous directors are attracted to create them, jingles from videos become symbols, and some videos look more like exciting short story films (Quick). Thus, advertising satisfies urgent practical needs and can also serve as a source of aesthetic pleasure. That is, advertising strives to become a negative aspect of peoples lives and occupy a niche of art. Consequently, experts strive to identify the importance and necessity of advertising as an integral part of art in the modern world. Thus, even if people have learned to ignore and not notice it, now advertising is striving to acquire a new image that will be more acceptable.

Conclusion

The effectiveness of advertising is that it actively uses everyday meanings generated by belonging to a socio-cultural community. In their activities, creative advertising agencies try to consider the national and cultural peculiarities of the everyday world. Sociologists interest in advertising is focused on the peculiarities of its inherent persuasion effect and on the problem of how it contributes to social change and reflects it. Advertising today is an established fact of everyday life; it is woven into the fabric of the usual, confirmed order of things. On the other hand, advertising undermines the foundations of a habitual way of life. The public is concerned about what needs, interests, and values change and develop in people due to advertising influence.

It is worth mentioning that the content of advertising changes as its consumers. However, that is not all; the reflection of the ongoing changes in advertising consumption leads to a change in the principles of advertising creation. For most of the twentieth century, advertising tried to convince of the products usefulness, effectiveness, or reliability. Now it seeks to connect the services and goods offered with peoples ideas about lifestyle. Advertising producers increasingly believe that consumers are more interested in the product as an element of a particular lifestyle than its immediate usefulness. Thus, it becomes a part of American society, constantly changing and transforming, penetrating various aspects of life.

Works Cited

Lee, Heejun, and Chang-Hoan Cho. Digital Advertising: Present and Future Prospects. International Journal of Advertising, vol. 39, no. 3, 2019, pp. 33241, doi:10.1080/02650487.2019.1642015.

Meyers, Cynthia B. Media History and Advertising Archives. American Journalism, vol. 37, no. 2, 2020, pp. 244255, doi:10.1080/08821127.2020.1750888.

Quick, Tyson. The Evolution of Advertising and How Personalization Improved Over Time. Instapage, 2021.

Introduction

Facebook refers to a social network that allows people to share information online. One becomes a user after they sign up and add a personal profile, which shows an individuals gender, photo, and contacts. One can choose to belong to a group of persons, such as colleagues in an organization and collegemates. Anyone above 13 years is eligible to join the social platform. It has also been used to advertise goods and services. Also, job vacancies are advertised on the website. It is an important site that can collect information about who individuals are, where they live and their occupations. It has options about whether one should like a post and whether specific people or the public should access data. This paper focuses on discussing Facebook as an essential tool for advertising and its effectiveness in large companies.

Reference Groups View

Reference groups view the use of the social media network to pass information to the target people or market. Ads are only seen by the targeted people who later communicate their messages to other persons who may be interested. Therefore, they play a vital role in advertising. They are valuable ways of advertising because only the intended audiences access the information. The location of an item, its features, and price, among other details that are related to advertisements, are clearly given.

Customers Data Usage

Facebooks act of using customers data to obtain revenue is an excellent business strategy. Many citizens who evade payment of taxes could be tracked using the social network. It could be used to reveal their whereabouts, making it easy for revenue collecting authorities to locate them. It is also important because the revenue obtained is used to pay workers who are involved in carrying out various tasks.

Pros from the perspective of Facebook and customer

The use of users data to realize higher revenues is advantageous. It helps to ensure that citizens do not hide from performing their social and economic responsibilities. It uses the information to further advertise itself. Those who view data acquire knowledge about the use of Facebook and could encourage their friends to sign up, which would increase the number of users. From a users perspective, there are job opportunities available on the social media network. One can also find information about his or her friends whereabouts easily on the platform. It creates a sense of responsibility among users because they understand that it is their duty to pay taxes to their governments.

Cons from Facebook and customer perspective

Facebook finds it hard to integrate its data with other networks. There can be errors in the information that is posted online. A customer is not guaranteed his or her security. There is no privacy of customers personal information. There are many people who can access information on Facebook for criminal activities.

Facebook Advertising as a Whole

Facebook advertising is one of the cheapest and fastest ways of making commodities known in the target market. It gives data about a companys employees, tracks their behavior, as well as use advertisements to inform and promote events and products in a firm. Large companies use Facebook to promote their goods. The companies include Chevrolet Motors Company, McDonalds, Verizon Communications, AT & T Company, and Toyota Motors Corporation.

Large business establishments have benefited through Facebook marketing in various ways. It is an effective way because many people would find the information about a product in an organization. It has extensive coverage, enabling businesses to stay in touch with their customers. This has led to the development of trust among companies and consumers. Errors are minimal when the online platform is used for advertising, promoting efficiency in firms.

It saves organizations time. Companies can sell their products online without many movements that would result in increased expenses. It reminds customers about offers that are in organizations, making them informed of the existing products in the market. As a result, the number of customers increases, which in turn contributes to the rise in profits. Companies can be linked with other firms on Facebook, enabling them to share ideas.

Facebook stores data that are crucial to an organization. It is critical to note that employees data about their past experiences can be accessed. This helps companies to refrain from recruiting inexperienced employees. It is also the easiest way of promoting a companys products because less labor is required. This saves money and other resources in business establishments.

Course of Action for Small Businesses

It would be advisable for small businesses to advertise on Facebook. It is the cheapest way to market their products. It also saves time and money that can be used to support other business activities. Products from small businesses can reach their target customers faster through the utilization of ads on Facebook.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Facebook is one of the leading social media platforms that help people and companies to share information. It plays a critical role in organizations marketing strategies. It is crucial to advertise the products of firms as well as recruiting employees. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by the fact that it is faster, easier to use, and saves time in businesses.

The crucial role of mass media in spreading public beliefs about gender, relationships and family roles is widely recognized. Mass media shape collective patterns of behavior and greatly influence the ways, in which men and women show their feelings, make decisions, and act in daily environments. Mass media, and television, in particular, reflect and emphasize the existing gender ideologies.

Not surprisingly, television is often claimed to be a strong supporter and promoter of patriarchy. Soap operas and advertising as the two most popular genres of television reinforce the history of female oppression. However, contemporary researchers tend to forget that, like women, men experience the negative influences of television on their social roles. It would be fair to say that the spirit of patriarchy imposed on society through soap operas and advertising limits both men and women in their gender and social choices, making their daily lives difficult and, at times, unbearable.

Television has huge impacts on societys perceptions of gender. Gender relationships are extremely vulnerable to the effects of mass media. According to Helen Ingham, television is widely known to represent and reinforce the mainstream ideology of contemporary western culture: patriarchy. Although televised family images have changed dramatically in the past fifty years, the ideology behind most of them remains unchanged. Like many years ago, women are presented as being in a subordinate position to men, while men are shown to enjoy unbelievable power and superiority over women.

Soap operas and advertising are the two most popular television genres, and they often serve as a source of knowledge about how gender is represented in mass media. Ingham writes that television tends to depict women as being confined to home and family life. Statistically, less than 50 percent of women in soap operas are shown to be working, compared with 75 percent of televised men. Women are seven times more likely than men to appear in personal hygiene advertising. Meanwhile, any woman who decides to leave her family and look for happiness beyond household chores is likely to be punished.

In soap operas, women suppress their emotions and engage in gossiping, since they are not allowed to express their feelings openly. In the words of Mary Ellen Brown and Linda Barwick, many soap operas are based on the philosophy of silence, when working-class housewives are limited in their opportunities to pursue and share their knowledge with other women. When women in soap operas engage in gossiping, they once again confirm their subordinate position in the gendered world. Women enjoy gossip in part because talk, as opposed to silence, is an empowering activity. However, women are not the only ones to suffer from the tragic consequences of patriarchy that is constantly imposed on them through advertising and soap operas.

Surprisingly or not, men and women suffer equally due to the lack of objectivity on television. While women are confined to domestic spaces and are not allowed to search for their happiness beyond household chores, men are bound to assume responsibility and power in family relationships, even when they do not feel happy about it. Male discrimination is another side of sexism that is so actively promoted by television. Due to sex-role stereotyping, most men are depicted as being less emotional than women. At the same time, the image of masculinity is often associated with aggression and dominance, which are not always characteristic of men in real-life settings.

Men who cross the boundaries of acceptable gender behaviors or make decisions that contradict accepted gender roles are likely to face rejection and even isolation. Whenever men are depicted in domestic situations, they look either too weak, incompetent, or too manipulative compared with women. Unlike women, men cannot engage in gossiping; they cannot show intimacy in their style or enjoy the power of secrecy since they must act as breadwinners and ensure that their families have everything needed to cope with difficulties.

Like women, men cannot openly acknowledge their attraction to soap operas, because the dominant culture does not approve such attitudes. At the same time, they cannot state that their beliefs about and perceptions of life differ from the dominant images presented on television. Not surprisingly, the spirit of patriarchy that dominates soap operas and television advertisements limits women and men in their social role choices, making their lives difficult.

In conclusion, patriarchy remains the dominant force behind the development of various television products. Despite the considerable changes in female and male social roles in the past decades, television keeps imposing strict boundaries on womens and mens gender roles. While women are depicted as being confined to home spaces, men are expected to be strong, powerful, dominant, and even aggressive. Unfortunately, society often forgets that, like women, men suffer from the lack of gender objectivity on television. Through soap operas and advertising, television limits men in their self-expression opportunities. As a result, it is possible to say that television distorts mens and womens gender role choices, making their lives extremely complicated.

Introduction

The growth of advertising has lately been influenced by companys competition for business and the urge to broaden their market scope. Most companies today are aggressively advertising their products. The use of propaganda and weasel words is very common in advertising. Propaganda influences the attitude of the target audience. Propaganda portrays only the positive side of the product being advertised. The opinion of the target audience becomes fully changed. Since it is only the positive side of reality that is highlighted by the use of propaganda in advertising, the target audience only gets to know very little of the product being advertised. Some words and phrases used in advertisements may seem real and appear to be true and clear though in an actual sense they are vague and not true. Such words and phrases are called weasel words. The objective of this study is to try to identify the use of propaganda and weasel words in the advertisement, LOreal Ever Crème, which is about hair products

Description of the advertisement

LOreal Paris, the producers of hair products such as shampoos, conditioners, and creams have designed an advertisement for their products and run it in one of the most popular magazines, The Peoples Magazine. In the advertisement, a full-color image of a popular model, Eva Longoria, is displayed. The heading on the advertisement is, Introducing Ever Crème Sulfate-free moisture system. 10X HEALTHIER HAIR, is another eye-catching content of the advertisement. Other works featured are, NO SULFATES, NO HEAVY WAXES, JUST ALL-OUT NOURISHMENT. The model is quoted as saying, DRY HAIR? WHAT DRY HAIR? . There is a picture of LOreal Paris consulting stylist, Johnny Lavoy with some words beside his picture that say, Dry hair? Give it a luxurious &.The color of the background of the advertisement is quite attractive. Three containers of LOreals products are displayed in the advertisement in which two of them are executive tubes and the other is a nice, round container. The tubes are cream in color with metallic writings while the bottle top of the tube is plainly metallic. The bottom remarks in the advertisement are, Because you are worth it.

Target and purpose of the advertisement

The advertisement targets women. The pictures of the popular models, Eva Longoria and Johnny Lavoy, and their comments in the advertisement are a form of propaganda called, Bandwagon. This form of propaganda involves high ranking people in society in advertisements to create an impression that they use the advertised products. The aim is to appeal to the audience.

The phrase, Because you are worth it at the bottom of the advertisement constitutes weasel words that may not have the same meaning to the audience and to the advertiser. The weasel words do not convey the reality of the body cream. The quoted words from the model are another form of propaganda known as, Testimonials. The model seems to be telling the audience that she too uses the product but in the real sense, she might not be using the product. The words, 10X healthier hair also constitute weasel words. It is most likely that there is no scientific proof that the lotion will make the hair ten times healthier. Probably, nobody would confirm that the hair becomes soft after using the product. Other words that denote propaganda in the advertisement are, No sulfates, no heavy waxes, just all-out nourishment for they only depict the positive side of the product.

The shape of the containers that carry the body creams is also a form of propaganda. The shape seems to imply that the cream is something precious. The color of the bottle top could be signifying that the product is valuable and treasured. This type of propaganda is called Card stacking.

Introduction

There is a well known marketing cliché that even if you have invented the best mouse trap in the world, people will not beat a path to your house to buy it. In other words, the product has to be marketed well for it to be successful. This paper discusses some relevant points with regard to principles of marketing.

The context used is the automobile magazine scenario in Canada with specific reference to an advertisement that has appeared in one popular auto magazine in the country. The magazine that is reviewed here is the Motor Trend and the advertisement is for the Acura TL model, which belongs to the Acura brand manufactured by the Honda Motor Corporation.

Target market

It is important for any organization engaged in marketing to define its target market and the target customer of its products.. It is to be noted that the word customer relationship is stressed here. In order to build a relationship, the first step is to identify the target market and the target customer.

A target market can be defined as The group of potential customers selected for marketing. A market segment. Combines with positioning and marketing mix to yield marketing strategy. (Lantos).

Selected magazine

Motor Trend, as the name suggests, is a publication related to the automobile industry. Motor Trend, part of SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA, was founded in 1949 and has a circulation of 1.1 million and a total readership of 7.1 million. Internationally recognized as one of the leading brands in automotive publishing. (Motor Trend Names Top 50 Industry Players to 2008 Power List: About Motor Trend).

The magazine itself provides comprehensive coverage on almost all aspects of the motor industry.. A few examples of the type of articles that are published is given here.

There are news items about new and used automobiles, technical specifications of selected models, product of the year, new about auto shows and about the automobile industry in general, adventure trips, future trends in products and the industry as whole and even a section on classic and vintage automobiles. So this magazine is useful to any person interested in any of the topics given above.

It can be seen that the magazine has a well defined target market and audience. It does not move away from its core competency which is the automobile industry. The fact that the magazine has been in existence for nearly fifty years with a large international circulation and readership is proof enough for the publications successful market strategy.

Selected advertisement

The advertisement selected for the paper is from Honda Motor Corporations Acura brand. The particular model is the Acura TL and the relevant advertisement is attached to the paper at the end. The Acura TL range has in fact five variants, even though the advertisement is for only one. It does not also specify which variant is shown in the picture. The advertising copy only attempts to define its features as a representative for the full Acura TL range.

The following are the full range of variants namely the TL5AT, TL NAVI Package 5AT, TL Type-S 6MT and the TL Type-S 5AT. The prices range from 42,700 dollars to 47,800 dollars, starting from the first variant given above. (2008 Acura TL: 4 Available Versions for Acura).

Two engine capacities are available namely the 3-2 liter ones available for the first two variants and 3.5 liter ones available for the last two variants. But from what trade publications have to say, the model is a nearly a high end or premium end one with all accessories and facilities required in a car of that class. (All new 2009 TL Redefines Performance With Most Powerful Engine in Acura History and Super Handling All Wheel Drive: All-New 2009 TL Redefines Performance with the Most Powerful Engine in Acura History and Super Handling All-Wheel Drive).

The article states that the 2009 version has the 3.5 liter engine as standard for all models. The advertisement copy written on the selected advertisement communicates the following points to its readers. The focus is on aggression, and the easy and stylish way to handle aggression.

The actual ad copy is The civilized way to handle aggression is to embrace it. The copy also specifies that the model shown has 286 horsepower communicating the high power of the engine. The advertisement also stresses on the high technology used in the car and gives voice activated navigation and real time traffic monitoring as examples.

The final lines again focus on aggression and goes like this  Aggression has been defined. Barely. So the points that communicated strongly are aggression, technology, style and the civilized way of handling of the car. There is also stylish photograph of the automobile taken from a low angle and showing the full front and its left side at an angle.

The color of the model is black or some other dark color and the setting appears to be on a prairie. The time is either early morning or late evening and the background sky is filled with clouds. The words Civilized way to handle aggression appears in bold right above the body of the car. Aggression and refinement are the points that are tried to be communicated most strongly here.

Clearly, the target is youth and the younger section of the society. The potential customer himself/herself would be among the elite, a highly paid executive or a young businessperson. The hint is that the customer himself will be a highly sophisticated person or one who is aspiring to be sophisticated. Even tough the advertisement copy only contains three lines apart from the bold heading; it clearly defines the intended target audience.

The advertisement also does not indicate that the Acura is a part of Honda Motors. This indicates that the brand is well established and that the target audience knows that it is a part of the famous automobile manufacturer. On the whole, the advertisement is pleasing, with somber colors, uncluttered lettering and with clear communication of the target audience. The emblem of the Acura is given on the bottom right hand corner of the page.

The words Acura and Advanced appear below the emblem. This is one more focus on the level of technology and refinement of the automobile. The large dimensions of the car (not given in the advertisement) would be more appealing to the male customer rather than for the fair sex.

Price is not shown in the advertisement which is an indication that the potential customer is one who is not attracted by price, but rather on looks, performance, style and refinement. In other words, the customer will be one who has the money to spend on luxury.

Marketing theory (Relevant concepts)

Advertising and buyer behavior: Buyer behavior is usually a planned process. The theory of consumer buying behavior should be considered when creating an advertising copy also. The steps followed in the whole process involves the following steps namely, need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and evaluation of purchase. (Lamb, Hair, and McDaniel, p.152).

Need recognition in this case would be the desire to own a luxury brand made by one of the most famous manufacturer in the world. The advertisement can create a need in the minds of many people, but only a few will go on to the next step or purchase evaluation (due to price).

Information search includes gathering information from relevant sources like the web sites, reviews in magazines like Motor Trend, brochures, visiting a car dealer, taking a test drive etc. In this stage the Motor Trend magazine plays a bigger role than the advertisement.

The advertisement plays a small part here in the sense that the reader can see that the model is powerful, refined and replete with high technology (enough to satisfy some persons). Motor Trend can also help in evaluation of alternatives because reviews of other models and makes will be available from different or even the same issue. Once purchase is made, evaluation of the product will take place.

Here both the advertisement and the magazine is not relevant. Of course the buyer can read the review again and see if all that has been reviewed is actually present in the model. If the product is an inexpensive one and also if the customer is not satisfied with it, he might opt for a repetition of the whole process (with a different product). In the case of Acura there is little chance of dissatisfaction.

Even if it happens the customer may not dispose such an expensive car and look to purchase another make. So with regard to buyer behavior the advertisement can play a role in need recognition and a small role in information search.

Motor Trend magazine can play a bigger role in need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives and even in purchase decision. The fact is that the customer may look for other sources in all of the above factors (in addition to the magazine).

Remote association matching (RAM)

Creativity alone does not ensure the success of the advertisement. According to RAM, a print ad is perceived to be creative (ie. clever, imaginative and amusing) when a seemingly unusual, unrelated or remote picture, termed conveyor, can be linked to an attribute or benefit of the advertised product using the headline or copy. (Ange, p.2).

In other words the picture given in the advertisement should contain a seemingly unrelated picture so that it can pique a viewers curiosity. In the Acura ad context, the ad picture is quite straightforward though the main headline copy is quite catchy. Another concept is the use of confusion to attract a reader to the advertisement.

This concept was written in the work titled The Hypnotic Power of Confusion by Joe Vitale, author and well known copywriter. He adds that purposeful inclusion of confusing phrases can in fact increase the readers curiosity to know more about the product. (Vitale). In a sense, the copy headline mentioned above in the Acura ad is quite confusing in a stand alone context. It can motivate the readers to know more about the product.

Branding

With the availability of a number of similar products in the market a need to have uniqueness were felt by manufactures over the ages. In some cases even a single company may have many similar products (example Honda). With availability of some many Honda models, customers will need something extra to remember a particular model (or a range of models).

This was the reason why Honda released its luxury segment model under the brand name of Acura. The fact that Honda is trying to project this brand as unique is seen from the fact that the given advertisement does not feature the name Honda anywhere.

APQC and the AMA define the primary purpose of branding as to establish a meaningful, differentiated presence that will increase the ability to attract and retain loyal customers and improve marketplace ability. (Bock). This again is an affirmation that Honda is trying to project Acura as a separate brand that differentiates it from the rest of the models in the Honda Stable.

Conclusion

Marketing strategy is a wide field and includes many concepts like marketing environment, marketing information, customer relationships, pricing, communication, public relations, completive advantage etc. These concepts in a sense are not directly related with the field of product advertising.

Hence these were not discussed in this paper. It can be seen that both Motor Trend and the Acura advertisement are successful in their own fields. Both have been able to establish a well defined target market. They also have been able to communicate effectively to the target market.

It can be concluded that the Acura advertisement is an extremely appropriate medium it place an advertisement for the model of a car.

Even though other media like newspapers and TV will have a larger audience, there will be the presence of other product ads as a distraction. The reader of the magazine like Motor Trend will be one who is interested in at least one aspect of automobiles. The chance of an advertisement being noticed is very high in such a case.

Works Cited

All new 2009 TL Redefines Performance With Most Powerful Engine in Acura History and Super Handling All Wheel Drive: All-New 2009 TL Redefines Performance with the Most Powerful Engine in Acura History and Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. Auto Unleashed. 2008.

Ange, Lawrence. Towards a Structural Theory of Creativity in Print Advertising The Remote Associate: The Ram Model. 2008.

Bock, Wally. Best Practices in Branding. Digital Age Story Teller Resources. 2003.

Lamb, Charles, W., Hair, Joseph, F., and McDaniel, Carl, D. Consumer decision making process. Introduction to Marketing. 2006.

Lantos, Geoffrey. Glossary in Terms in New Products Management: Target Market. Business Administration Department. 2007.

Motor Trend Names Top 50 Industry Players to 2008 Power List: About Motor Trend. Reuters: Business and Finance. 2008.

Olsen, Henrick. Supporting Customers Decision Making Process: The Consumer Decision Making Process. The Interaction Designers Coffee Break: Weeklyn Postings and Quarterly Articles About Interaction Design. 2003.

Vitale, Joe. The Hypnotic Power of Confusion. Web Source. 2008.

2008 Acura TL: 4 Available Versions for Acura. Yahoo Canada: Autos. 2008.

Introduction

Marketing, advertising, branding, and marketing directors play a significant role in a business. These departments influence a businesss image to the public, accessibility of its products, brand image, customer loyalty, sales volumes, and the products strength against competition.

Depending on the size of a business and its budget, these roles can be assigned to different people or be managed by one person or department. Some businesses will prefer to handle their own marketing needs and outsource the rest, while some will have all the departments as part of the company.

Roles and contributions

Marketing manager

Depending on the size of a business, there can be different organizational approaches to advertising and marketing. Advertising and marketing duties can be assigned to one person or a departmental group. These structures are also dependent on a companys marketing budget.

Whether alone or part of a team, the key responsibilities of a marketing manager include researching and developing effective marketing strategies for a business. A marketing manager is responsible for instilling marketing led ethos throughout the business (Belch & Michael, 2000).

In Media, the marketing manager is responsible for researching and reporting to the business on external challenges and opportunities. He is supposed to understand current and potential customers needs and expectations and advice on how they can be met. He is also supposed to be able to develop the companys marketing strategy and help implement it.

Other responsibilities include measuring the business strategy success, managing marketing budgets, ensuring timely delivery of products to the end consumer, approving products images, developing marketing guidelines, and making decisions based on customer needs. Sometimes, the marketing manager may also be required to play some of the roles of a sales manager.

Marketing managers contribute largely to a business by directing the marketing plan, which the company is heavily dependent on for its success. They put a business in a well-informed position regarding competition and opportunities. This, in turn, affects the business profitability and ability to establish long term success.

Advertising director

Advertising directors work very closely with marketing directors. The roles of an advertising director vary with the size of a company, the budget, and the industry in which the company falls under. Generally, an advertising director is responsible for creating, designing, and developing a brand name and an image for the goods or services the business is trading (Belch & Michael, 2000).

In Media, anyone in this position is supposed to have exhaustive information about the industry in which the business is in, competitors strategies, and the needs of the market at that particular time. He/she is then responsible for creating and directing advertising campaigns that can penetrate the market and offer what is expected of them by customers.

It is the responsibility of the advertising director to raise brand awareness and recognition in the market. The department is also responsible for developing brand strengthening strategies. Other responsibilities include implementing creative brand building strategies and developing artistic campaigns and advertisements for a brand.

As an advertisement director, I play a major role in ensuring a businesss success. Research and information about advertising help the business increase sales by spending less. A good products image is bound to last long in the market, reducing the need to redesign brand images and as a result, minimize costs.

Through constant monitoring and campaigns, it is easier to identify areas that are not working in the companys marketing strategy. It is then easier for the business to make necessary changes in a timely manner and operate within or close to the set budget limits.

Public relations director

According to Bingham (2008), public relations is fundamentally the art and science of establishing relationships between an organization and its key audience. For a long time, businesses paid very little attention to this department, which has now among the most important departments in any organization. It plays an important role in helping businesses create a healthy relationship with their customers and other stakeholders.

The overall role of a public relations director is to supervise and asses public attitudes and maintain mutual relations and understanding between an organization and its public (Bingham, 2008). The objective of a public relations department is to put in place healthy and efficient ways of two-way communication between the business and its outside environment.

The most important role of a public relations director in Vmedia company is to inform the public about the companys products, policies, and any other information that attracts the publics interest. Another important role of the public relations director is to reach government representatives and legislators, to ensure that the business is compliant with all the legal requirements, and resolve any issues that may arise.

The public relations director is also entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the business image and legacy are well crafted and maintained. For non-profit organizations, the director is responsible for boosting support of its activities and increasing patronage through awareness.

In Media, the public relations director contributes largely to the business by ensuring a timely transmission of information to and from the business. The business relies on its public image heavily to build customer client, a responsibility entrusted with the director. A public image is also one of the biggest determinants of the business success.

Working together as a team

The three positions explained above play a significant role in the Media. In the process of implementing our roles, they may overlap in our quest to reach the companys goals and objectives. The marketing manager is very dependent on the advertising director to create results-oriented advertisements and brand images.

The public relations director is dependent on the marketing and advertisement directors to set a good foundation for him to sell a positive image of the company. These different departments have different strategies, objectives, goals, executions, and material types, all intended at supporting the business to ensure success.

As an Advertising director, my objective is to ensure that the companys products are differentiated from others in the market. The marketing departments objective is to ensure that products reach the market in a timely manner, customers are maintained, and new ones recruited.

The public relations directors objective is to ensure the positive image and legacy of the business are maintained, and all relevant information is communicated to and from the company. Branding and design are mostly outsourced in Vmedia company, but it is the responsibility of the advertisement director to ensure everything is done as per the companys specifications.

Conclusion

In Media, marketing, advertisement, and public relations directors are relevant for developing the products strengths. Even though each of the directors has well-defined roles, the nature of their responsibilities requires that they work with each other to achieve the type of products positioning required by the business.

The advertisement director has to identify features in the companys products and design a program that will attract the markets attention. The marketing director is then responsible for ensuring that the products are available in the market, and the designed program is implemented.

The public relations officer ensures that the positive image and attitude created by a strong brand are maintained, and all stakeholders are updated on the business affairs. All these measures form supportive pillars necessary for the companys success in the market.

Reference list

Belch, G.E. & Michael, A.B. (2000). Introduction to advertising and promotion management. Burr Rudge: Irwin.

Bingham, F.G. (2008). Business marketing management. Lincolnwood, USA: NTC Business Books.

Introduction

Nowadays, physical attractiveness is one of the most significant criteria for assessing people. It has a robust influence on the process of socialization and significantly affects self-esteem and believing in individual specialness. In general, understanding physical beauty is a complex psychosocial phenomenon, which has its roots in the increased access to information and intensive advertising and marketing. In other words, it is mass media and advertisements that have a key impact on how people evaluate beauty and themselves.

The rationale for choosing the relationship between physical beauty and advertising as the subject for further research is to prove that it is marketing that has a bearing on the image of physical attractiveness. The topic is interesting because mass media imposes significant pressure on millions of people around the world, who may not realize how deep this influence is and that it is deforming worldview on the subconscious level.

Following the hidden messages promoted in various advertising campaigns, people strive for losing their individuality and uniqueness in pursuit of becoming similar to those, whom they saw in mass media because they believe that the hyped image of physical beauty is the universal key to personal happiness and occupational success.

That said, the paper will focus on finding the answer to the following research question: What is the relationship between physical beauty and advertisement, and what is its influence on us as consumers? It aims at determining whether there is an interconnection between marketing and self-esteem and how physical attractiveness has become a product turning people into consumers and erasing their individuality. The paper will include two primary contexts of the subject under investigation  psychological and economic. The first one will study the effect of advertising beauty on self-perception while the second one will examine how a human body became a kind of investment project fostering the development of beauty industries.

Finding a comprehensive answer to the research question requires deploying various research methods. The conclusions of this paper will be based on such methods as case studies, qualitative analysis, identity/gender discourse analysis, and visual ethnography. A case study is a valuable research method because it helps investigate a chosen phenomenon in a real-life context (Roworth-Stokes 2006). Simply speaking, this tool will be appropriate for estimating the influence of advertising on the image of beauty and its effect on self-esteem and self-perception by studying the experience of real people, who have been interviewed and expressed their position regarding the issue.

Another research method, which will be used in this paper, is qualitative analysis. Its primary strength is that it helps detect the qualities of the subject under investigation. For the given research, this tool will be applied to analyzing the messages promoted by mass media thus increasing the latitude of the thesis. It can be utilized for tracing the changes in the perception of physical beauty and the formation of the belief that physical attractiveness is the key to happiness through dissecting the primary qualities of beauty (Wells 2014). One more research method is identity/gender discourse analysis.

This tool is often deployed for drawing the lines between non-visible factors and subjects under investigation (Sunderland 2006). In light of the proposed research, it will be used for determining the relation between advertising and the perception of physical beauty by analyzing the hidden messages pointing to male and female physical attractiveness. Finally, the last method that will be utilized is visual ethnography. It will become the tool for estimating the perception of physical beauty through studying visual advertisements in mass media and aggregating the image of perfect beauty by the recent media standards (Mattern, n.d.). Altogether, these research methods will be effective in finding a complete response to the research question.

This thesis proposal will set the scene for further research. It will pay specific attention to the current state of research of the subject under investigation to detect possible gaps in the chosen topic and designate methodology for the study. The paper will focus on such themes as determining the concept of physical attractiveness and how it changed over time, estimating the trends in portraying physical beauty in mass media, evaluating the gender and age-related image of beauty promoted in advertising campaigns, the evolution of physical attractiveness as a product, and the interconnection between appearances and advertisement campaigns in light of psychological and economic contexts.

Literature/Subject Review

Understanding physical attractiveness is a complex psychosocial phenomenon, which has changed over time under the influence of various external factors. One of the most significant affecting factors is mass media, especially the advertisement sector, because it shapes the perception of beauty. In most cases, the process is subconscious and cannot be controlled. The primary area of concern of this paper is establishing the interconnection between the perception of physical beauty and advertising. This topic has become a subject of numerous studies, but most of them highlight that advertising has a powerful influence on the apprehension of beauty lowering peoples self-esteem and increasing their spending on changing their bodies surgically to match the image pushed by media.

The literature review will be based on several closely related themes. The idea behind writing it is to descend from the general trends in the concept of physical beauty to dissecting those imposed by advertising campaigns because it is believed that there is a direct relationship between understanding attractiveness and images promoted by mass media. Moreover, the review will provide some specific themes such as the specific features of age and gender-related image of beauty and studying the process of turning it into a commercial product. However, it will be done solely to determine the gaps in the current state of mind and identifying the issues for future investigation.

The concept of physical beauty is complex and multidimensional. However, in most cases, it implies that an individual is physically attractive and others view him or her as an example of the desired looks. Simply speaking, beauty is the condition of being pleasant to ones eye (Brand & Korsmeyer 2013). Beauty is rather a range of features than a complete image. These characteristics have changed over time.

For example, nowadays, body size, muscularity, facial looks, skin color, and belonging to a particular social class are the determinants of beauty (Berrie 2008). In other words, the thinner and the whiter an individual is, the more beautiful he or she is seen (Yin & Pryor 2012; Berrie 2008; Figueroa 2013; Wells 2014). As of the class, it is believed that economic position implies the predisposition to beauty in light of having enough resources to provide a human body with expensive cosmetic care and change it surgically if necessary (Figueroa 2013). That said, beauty as a concept is constantly changing because it is based on subjective factors and promoting them.

The primary trend in literature on beauty is acknowledging the fact that nowadays, the perception of beauty is affected by mass media. The features mentioned above are imposed by advertising. In addition to it, there are various categories of beauty represented in media such as cute, sex-kitten, trendy, sensual/exotic, classic beauty/feminine, and girl-next-door (Yin & Pryor 2012; Lindstrom 2009; Mesaris 1997).

These types of beauty related to the portrayal of women in media. Similar classification emphasizes the fact that these are women, who feel the most significant impact of advertising on their self-esteem and often become the subjects of social stratification when they do not match them. When speaking of men, in most cases, their beauty is measured by muscularity while other factors such as body size, hair, etc. are ignored (Berrie 2008).

Moreover, there is a trend towards establishing the anti-aging culture in modern society. The primary emphasis is always made on remaining young and fresh as long as possible. It gave impetus to the emergence of a wide range of anti-aging cosmetics and procedures (Benbow-Buitenhuis 2014; Yin & Pryor 2012).

All in all, mass media affects not only the perception of beauty pushing the image of a young, curvy woman or athletically built man as the master sample of beauty but also psychological and economic welfare because people tend to feel depressed when they do not match the promoted image and increase spending on changing their bodies by using cosmetics or falling upon plastic surgeries. That said, mass media turned a human body into a commercial product fostering the development of the beauty industry. Physical attractiveness has become a kind of investment project because people believe that if they look just like the characters shown in advertising campaigns, they will become happy always missing the fact that happiness in media is always scenic.

That said, the studies on the perception of beauty come to a similar conclusion emphasizing that physical attractiveness is a set of features promoted by mass media, which change over time. There is a significant gap between beauty standards for men and women because, in most, cases women become subjects to more requirements appeal. In addition to it, when people do not match the pushed image, they feel depressed and unhappy because this fact worsens their self-image. Low self-esteem can entail significant losses in life because people think that they are not worthy of well-paid occupations or the happiness of building a family.

In addition to it, advertising campaigns contribute to diminishing uniqueness because everyone strives for becoming similar to the same sample. Even though recent studies cover both psychological and economic aspects of beauty pointing also to social its implications, here is a significant gap in determining the feature of masculine beauty because most investigations focus on the portrayal of women in media and how the established image affects the perception of image beauty and theoretical approach towards understanding beauty. That is why these aspects could become the subject of further research.

Conclusion

This research proposal aimed at setting the scene for further research. Because the central objective is to determine what is the connection between advertising and physical beauty, it was determined that case studies, qualitative analysis, identity/gender discourse analysis, and visual ethnography are the most appropriate methods for answering the question. Conducting the literature review helped find out that there is a strong link between the perception of beauty and mass media and that beauty is a multidimensional psychosocial phenomenon.

However, the level of studying the theoretical aspect of determining the concept of physical attractiveness and the characteristics of masculine beauty is low forming a significant gap in the investigation of the chosen subject. So, these issues together with the emotional and economic contexts of the problem (other than depression and investing in making the body look attractive) should be taken into consideration when carrying out future research.

Annotated Bibliography

Benbow-Buitenhuis, 2014, A feminine double-blind? Towards understanding the commercialization of beauty through examining anti-aging culture, Social Alternatives, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 43-49.

The article centres on the statement that the modern society is driven by the desire to remain young as long as possible. It is motivated by intensive advertising of young women highlighting that age is another feature of beauty.

Berrie, B 2008, The power of looks: social stratification of physical appearances, Ashgate, Hampshire, England.

The author of the book proves that beauty is the criterion for social stratification affecting all important decisions in life from employment to marriage.

Brand, P Z & Korsmeyer, C 2013, Beauty Unlimited, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana.

The authors study the evolution of the concept of beauty and the changing nature of the standards of beauty pointing to the fact that physical beauty is attractive not only to ones eyes but also ears.

Figueroa, M G M 2013, Displaced looks: the lived experience of beauty and racism, Feminist Theory, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 137-152.

The author claims that there are several dimensions of beauty such as race, body size, class, etc. The primary idea is that the image of beauty imposed by media negatively affects the lives of those, who do not match it because it makes them feel unaccepted by the society.

Lindstrom, M 2009, Buyology: how everything we believe about why we buy is wrong, Random House, New York, New York.

The author explores the primary myths regarding the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. As of beauty, it is pointed out that it is not always the most efficient advertising method because people do not like to see the gap between the way they look and what they see in mass media.

Mattern, S C n.d., Media research methods: ethnography. Web.

The author claims that ethnography is a problematic research method. However, it is perfect for analysing media contents. In this case, it is known as visual ethnography, which can be deployed for aggregating the images of subjects under investigation.

Mesaris, P 1997, Visual persuasion: the role of images in advertising, SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks California.

This book focuses on determining the relation between advertising and the image of beauty. It makes the emphasis on the fact that images in media affect the perception of attractiveness on the subconscious level. Stimulating particular emotions, advertising motivates the belief that beauty is the key to becoming happy and successful.

Roworth-Stokes, S 2006, Research design in design research: a practical framework to develop theory from case studies. Web.

The author speaks about the strengths and weaknesses of case studies with the aim of proving that they are effective supplementary research methods.

Sunderland, J 2006, Language and gender: an advanced resource book, Routledge, Abington, Oxon.

This book provides insight on numerous discourse analyses. It is a valuable source for understanding the specificities of this research method and applying it correctly to achieve the purposes of the study.

Wells, W D 2014, Measuring advertising effectiveness, Psychology Press, New York, New York.

The author centres his investigation on determining which tools are effective in advertising. Specific attention is paid to beauty stressing that mass media overestimates the role of being thin as the key determinant for estimating beauty.

Yin, B & Pryor, S 2012, Beauty in the age of marketing, Review of Business & Finance Case Studies, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 119-132.

The article is a valuable theoretical background for understanding the concept of beauty because the authors speak about the influence of various factors such as tattoos, cosmetics, body shape, etc. on the perception of attractiveness.