Advertisement influences the thinking in the society by
influencing the views of the consumer towards a predetermined end. In the
process of getting consumers to acknowledge their brands, organisations engage
in strategic message design where the following are considered: the nature of
consumers targeted, the thinking of how the organisation perceives itself,
understanding of the cultural predisposition of the consumer, and the
understanding of the organisation about such a cultural disposition. This is
the interplay between economic power and social power in shaping a culture...
Economic power can shape cultural perceptions where
organisations with commercial interests assume a certain point of view about a
society and its values. Through creative and consistent advertising, the
organisation often manages to convince its target audience to see things from
their perspective. The views projected could include views about consumption,
marriage, sexuality, intelligence, beauty, and many others. For example, the
dominant Western culture of materialism is credited to economic influence of
organisations over culture. Through consistent advertising, commercial
enterprises were able to make members of the society feel like they ought to
keep consuming in order to be fulfilled. The advertisements had the effect of
linking achievement and satisfaction to consumption. This has become a definite
feature of the Western culture.
The other element of culture that has been embraced by
advertisers entail advancement of stereotypes about women. Advertisers have
consistently portrayed women as being sex symbols in the society. In fact, this
is evident in more than 90% of advertisements in which women have been
portrayed as sex symbols. It is only in 2% of the adverts that women have been
portrayed as professionals and intelligent with more than 50% being seen to
portray women in a negative light. These advertisements have the effect of
propagating a cultural stereotype that has been embraced in any societies
around the world. But Unilever sees advertisement as an important tool for
changing cultural perspectives.
Unilever has taken up the challenge of using advertisement
as a tool for overcoming stereotypes and is keen to go against the common trend
in marketing. According to the company, women may still play their traditional
roles in a social setting. But this should be portrayed in a manner that
portrays respect for them and not a way that belittles them. For instance,
women could be portrayed as cooking in line with the traditional roles
associated with them. However, this can be contextualised to portray the
critical role they play in the society and not as cooks being lesser human
beings.
By choosing to take up this challenge, Unilever hopes to
attract customers among persons whose values are consistent with principles of
respect for women and acknowledgement of women as worthy members of the
society. More significantly, Unilever hopes to be seen as a fan and advocate of
the women. This could make them more popular to this segment of consumers. They
are either decision makers in purchasing decisions or important influencers;
hence getting on their good side could have immense benefits to the organisation.
No comments:
Post a Comment