a.c.s assignment 1

7/30/2019 A.C.S Assignment 1

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DEFINITIONS OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

1). A contemporary society is defined as a setting characterized by

technological innovation and increasing human interconnection and globalization.

It brings about changes such as increased life expectancy, literacy and gender

equality, bringing a natural equilibrium.

2). Contemporary society, according to social and political scientists, ischaracterized by at least three fundamental directions:

1increasing human interconnection through a network of relationships that is

progressively covering the whole planet;

2the pace and depth of the evolution of human ways of life determined by

technological innovation represent an absolute novelty in human history;

3the scale of anthropological and ecological transformation due to the interaction

between evolutionary factors (social, cultural, economic, and technological) has no

historical precedent.

SSIGNMENT 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_factorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_factor


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RELATION OF ADVERTISING IN CONTEMPORARY

SOCIETY

Nature of AdvertisingAdvertising", as we usually understand it in contemporary society, is a process of

persuading a mass audience through the mass media to buy commercial products.

It is distinguished from direct selling-the hawker of merchandise in a public

market, on the other hand, and from "public service announcements" such as the

times of church services, health warnings sponsored by non-profit organizations,

etc., on the other.

Such local advertising as announcements of food prices in supermarketsor of sales in department stores is ethically less problematic than the expensive,

wide ranging advertising campaigns of national or multinational corporations. The

main criticisms leveled against advertising deal with ethics in the narrow sense of

conscious distortion and manipulation, or in the broader sense of what forms of

advertising are doing to human discourse in general. By its nature, advertising

changes and directs human behavior and culture, although its only intention is to

sell. The critics, even those who do not doubt the general morality of that effect,

call into question the ethics of many of the means employed and theappropriateness of particular campaigns.

Large-scale commercial advertising is characteristically Western.

Moreover, even if it is carried on by local advertising agencies in Tokyo,

Singapore or Nairobi, its pattern is overwhelmingly American in origin.

Furthermore, the driving engines of much contemporary advertising are those large

American corporations that perceive advertising as an indispensable element in

their companies' profitability. Their dependence on advertising has set a precedent

which others feel they must follow in order to remain competitive. The kind of

advertising being discussed therefore can be appropriately called "American", even

if it is used to sell the products of Sony, Toyota, Hyundai, Nestle, Shell,Volkswagen, or Volvo.

Both the manufacturer and the advertising agency share in advertising.

The manufacturer devises the marketing strategy, and the agency develops ways to

carry it out. The ultimate responsibility for advertising, however, lies with the

manufacturer, who purchases it. An agency only devises a format which the


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manufacturer can accept or reject. If dissatisfied with one agency's approach, the

manufacturer can go another until satisfied, or can devise its own campaign. Since

the manufacturer's role is so great, ethics in advertising is essentially tied to ethics

in marketing.

GenderThe origin of the use of pictures of women as sex symbols in advertising is lost in

the early history of the industry. The motives are obvious, but they represent an

assumption on the part of the advertiser that the majority of potential buyers of that

particular product are men. Changes have occurred in the use of gender references

in advertising in recent years which are owed more to the advertiser's perception of

their audience than to any considerations of morality, decency or good taste, or

even to the influence of the feminist movement. Most advertisers now realize that

women have at least as much buying power as men, and consequently take pains toavoid offending them. This does not mean that there is less sex in contemporaryadvertising, just that it is used more subtly.

Gender stereotypes and myths are interwoven in beer commercials and their

contexts. Drawing on research on the relationship between alcohol advertising and

drunken driving, we can discuss the ways in which the myth of masculinity is

expressed in beer commercials. The advertising works both as a mirror and as a

reinforcement for the myth. Beer commercials are only one form in which the

myth appears, since it is found in ordinary non-mediated communication as well as

in all sorts of mass media contents. The ads both reflect and reinforce the culture'sconception of "the man's man". Also, myths take different forms each time they are

related; so beer ads "reshape the myth of masculinity, and in this sense, take part in

its continuity construction".

Myths in any culture tell the boys and men of that society what it means to be a

man, what kinds of things men do, how boys become men, what environments are

to be preferred by men, how men relate to each other and to women, etc. Each of

these concerns is defined in beer commercials. Challenge, risk, mastery over

nature, technology, others, self, dominate the image of masculine activityportrayed by the commercials. Beer is a reward for challenges met and overcome.

Beer-drinking itself is never portrayed as a challenge, even though it poses many

challenges. Alcohol affects judgment, slows reaction time and threatens self-

control. Therefore, beer-drinking is a challenge in itself, but it would be self-destructive for the beer industry to advertise it as such.


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In the world of beer commercials, masculinity revolves around the theme of

challenge, an association that is particularly alarming, given the social problems

which stem from alcohol abuse. For the most part, beer commercials present

traditional, stereotypical images of men, and uphold the prevailing myths of

masculinity and femininity. Thus, in promoting beer, advertisers also promote and

perpetuate these images and myths. Furthermore, the commercials are highly

accessible and attractive to children and offer answers to their questions about

gender and adulthood. They have real impact on social learning and attitudeformation.

The myth of masculinity has a number of redeeming features, but the beer

commercials present only one dimension of masculinity, which is clearlyantagonistic, possibly laughable, but without doubt sobering.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.crvp.org/book/Series05/V-4/chapter_vi.htm
http://www.crvp.org/book/Series05/V-4/chapter_vi.htmhttp://www.crvp.org/book/Series05/V-4/chapter_vi.htmhttp://www.crvp.org/book/Series05/V-4/chapter_vi.htm

a.c.s assignment 1

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