The Century of Self
As I mentioned in my previous post, I found the whole idea of psychoanalysis very interesting. Making people believe that they need something when they really don’t is exatly what I am interested in with the field I am in of advertising. The idea of making it seem like women need cigarettes for “power” reminded me of something else in advertising today. It made me think of the “Tag Body Spray” ads. In these commercials and ads, the guy who uses Tag will immediately have women hanging all over him and following him. It places the idea in the minds of men that if they wear this body spray they will get women. Basically they need to buy this product if they want to be thought of as attractive.
I also found the idea of using celebrities as people who use brands to make them as popular a very good idea. The way they used celebrities back then is the same way they use them now. Celebrities are always used in advertisements to try to make people think that they can be like the particular celebrity who is using the product. For instance, I can’t think of the product “Proactive” without thinking of Jessica Simpson or Venessa Williams, two celebrities who are on the commercials for this product. Using these celebrities in the ads makes people believe that if they use Proactive, they will have skin like these women. It is an interesting concept that was mentioned in the movies, and clearly it must be effective if it is still used today.
