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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_factor7/30/2019 A.C.S Assignment 1
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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.htmTop Related