Even as I recently walked the halls of a shoe show at the Las Vegas Convention, I became more and more interested. In the midst of all of the noise of Las Vegas, both visual and audible, there was something different that surrounded me. The people looked the same, the food tasted the same, and the lights were still bright, yet an emphasis in advertising, even within the shoe show, was different than it was ten years ago. I walked by booth after booth that was filled with both promises of “green” products and promises of pro-social giving on profits. Shoes were being made out of organic products and soles were now composed of recycled tires. This is where the difference manifested itself.
In the advertising.
In a business that has historically advertised long legs that happened to be wearing shoes, advertising was now focused on positive stewardship of the earth. The message is no different elsewhere in America. All one has to do is turn on the television or open a magazine and the message is clear.
American advertisers are exploiting positive causes to maximize profits.
The following reflections through this website will explore the implications of this phenomenon within the post-modern and post-Christian culture in which we dwell.
Ads are the state of art. (A) The average American consumes approximately three thousand advertisements per day, (B) many of which we are unaware that we are absorbing. Four hundred billion dollars (C) is spent annually to develop the best ways to proclaim that certain products are exactly what we “need” to have. Naturally, in order to powerfully project messages, visuals and creativity are needed, drawing what some call our cultures finest art into the business of advertising. It is a mysterious marriage between the need for advertising to influence and the desire of artists to be influential. (D) Artists understand that there is no medium of popular culture that is more influential. Subsequently, photographers, visual artists, and the like, tend to participate with advertising agencies by providing advertisers with the images that they need to influence. Thus, some of the finest artists in America today work in advertising and therefore continue to blur the lines of high art and pop art. This is just one of many visible signs that we are indeed living within a post-modern culture. William Dyrness in Visual Faith writes,
“The world of high art is in the process of being co-opted by popular culture.” (E)
Dyrness fully recognizes in his book that the lines of high art and pop art are being continuously blurred. A perfect example of art and creativity converging together to form a post-modern advertisement is seen in Apple’s recent series comparing itself to PC. This simple advertisement is changing people on many levels and continues to be significant in the Apple Empire. (For instance The Youtube posted below has been viewed 450,000 times. This means that over 450,000 people have intentionally sought to fill their mind with this advertisement/art from Apple.)
Advertising and the art that accompanies advertising has significantly developed since its birth. While adage.com has produced a lovely timeline regarding the history of advertising (http://adage.com/century/timeline/index.html ), the business actually began with the simplicity of a sign. (F) Simple advertising became more and more prevalent within newspapers as the newspaper business began to grow. By the early 20th century, information advertising (especially within newspapers and magazines) became popular. Often an image would accompany many words spanning over a large space explaining why this product met “your” need. This is an old cigarette advertisement. Please note the image and the paragraphs of words, almost resembling an essay, that fills the space. (You can click on any image at any time to enlarge your view.) The business again shifted by the middle of the 20th century as information was left behind for a promise. No longer did consumers want to read about the facts of a product (I would argue because of the growing interest in the television), but they now wanted to experience the promise of a better life that the product brought to their lives. This beer commercial is a perfect example of this promise of a “high life” that a Miller will bestow upon anyone whom drinks upon it. In fact, this beer isn’t even worth drinking out of a mug, for it is the champagne of beers and should be consumed in more of a fanciful glass!
Now moving into the late 20th century, this commercial for Amoco gasoline promises that their gasoline will get you the extra mile with their new 93 high octane fuel. The fuel has no mile robbing ingredients. The promise is then connected with a service aspect as the whole company will even go the extra mile for you. From signs, to small newspaper advertisements, to the passing of large amounts of information, to a promise, advertising has significantly shifted in the 20th century. I would argue that the promise still remains, but the promise now looks different in the 21st century.
The truth is that there is a cycle within the ethos of advertising. The first part of the cycle is recognizing the latest trends within the culture. For instance, the information advertising of the early 20th century was affected by the coming of the age of information. The culture has shifted numerous times since then, and we now find ourselves within a culture that highly values the role of celebrity. While standing in line at the grocery store, one can expect to be surrounded by images and stories of celebrities on magazines such as People, US, and OK. One cannot watch the news without learning of the most recent happenings in the dramatic lives of the celebrities that we choose to elevate. Pictures of celebrities fill our magazines and the most recent stories of celebrities fill our televisions. While many stories of celebrities are frustratingly embedded in tragedy and crime, many other celebrities have taken on the job of pursuing positive causes. Angelina Jolie and Bono are often reported upon for their work in Africa. Sara McLachlan and John Mayer have recently made strong statements with the songs that they have written and the music videos that accompany their songs. (John Mayer with Waitin on the World to Change and Sara McLachlan with The World’s on Fire are posted below.)
Our former vice president, Al Gore, has recently been the strongest voice for awareness regarding global warming. He was given the highest popular culture honor for his film An Inconvenient Truth and won the Academy Award for best documentary feature.
While many of our chosen celebrities are causing havoc within the world, many other celebrities are working hard and putting many resources toward restoration from the havoc that exists. For better or worse, the bottom line is that celebrities set the trends in our culture today and advertisers are well aware of the trends that they are setting. I sat down with Henry Artime, owner of the Artime Group in Pasadena, California to ask him a network of questions regarding advertising. Representing the first stage of the cycle, Artime stated that his job is to recognize the shifts in culture, and then to exploit the shifts in order to efficiently advertise for businesses so that they may competitively sell products. (G) Barry Taylor, in a Matrix of Meanings, recognizes the first stage of the cycle of advertising. He then brings the cycle full circle by emphasizing the exploitation of not only the current trends, but also exploiting the next step in the trends of culture. Barry Taylor, in a Matrix of Meanings, recognizes the first stage of the cycle of advertising. He then brings the cycle full circle by emphasizing the exploitation of not only the current trends, but also exploiting the next step in the trends of culture. (H) Taylor writes,
“Questions of influence, “who is shaping whom?” cannot be easily answered. The uneasy, mutual journey between advertising and culture can hardly be separated. At times advertising can appear to, and perhaps does, tell us what to think or what to do…”
As readers will see below, the green trend and the pro-social trend has been brought about by celebrities. Advertisers are exploiting these trends. Moving now into the future of trends in America, which advertisers will follow AND try to set, I believe that our culture will be moving deeper into what it truly means to be better stewards of the earth and of people.
The emphasis on green and pro-social advertising has just begun.
A manifestation of this reality is the experience of companies such as GE (One of the Better World Shopper’s top ten worst companies regarding human rights, environment, community involvement and social justice.) exploiting green causes within their advertising. In this commercial they are advertising their “ecomagination” in harvesting clean water out of the ocean.
This trend has just begun and I now hope to embellish upon its coming through numerous examples of its manifestation within the philosophies of advertising.
In our interview, Henry Artime stated that good advertisers work very hard at producing work that engages
“the most relevant path of least resistance.” (I)
We have spent earlier time developing the relevance of pro-green and pro-social movements within our culture. Least resistance is also an important factor in producing productive advertising. There are many examples of advertising that has produced much resistance. All one needs to do is seek out banned commercials on Youtube to discover the number of commercials that were offensive and thus created much resistance. One of the most recent instances of this is with a collection of Volkswagen commercials that were banned because of their disturbing nature. This commercial portrays two men having a normal conversation when an unexpected and rather violent accident happens.
This commercial is a perfect example of high resistance. For these recent trends in pro-green and pro-social advertising, there is good news.
There will be little to no resistance from the culture when these positive aspects of life are emphasized within advertising.
No one will complain when companies are portraying an image of helping others or helping the earth. (Unless companies are being hypocritical, such as the commercial from GE as seen above.) Thus, exploiting the current trend of positive causes is a most relevant strategy that will not receive a significant amount of resistance from the popular culture, creating a perfect recipe for increased revenue through advertising.
Contrasting the previous Amoco commercial as seen above, I have posted two of BP’s newest commercials. Comparatively speaking, one can experience the shift in advertising in the past thirty years through viewing these commercials. BP has manipulated this relevant path of least resistance and is portraying an image of positive stewardship within their advertising. In the first commercial, similar to the Amoco commercial, BP is communicating the cleanliness of their fuel, but not for the purpose of getting the extra mile as Amoco previously conveyed. Rather the commercial is communicating clean fuel, which correlates with the clean wind energy in the background in the final shot of the commercial. While the shift may seem minor, it effectively articulates movements in the direction in which I am articulating.
This second commercial is much different but stay with the same overlaying theme of positive steps for using fuel on our planet. The commercial speaks of producing bio fuels that will produce less emissions into our atmosphere. This commercial is a clear step in the direction in which this blog is attempting to communicate.
Similar to GE, it initially seems contradictory to me that BP would use such strategies in their advertising. Yet BP’s final statement in the previous commercial, “It’s a start”, separates them from GE. It is almost as if BP is saying that they know that they have not done well in the past for our planet, but that they are now starting to move in more of an environmentally informed direction.
Gap has also chosen this relevant path of least resistance in it’s advertising strategies. For a long time Gap has stressed the power of celebrity by placing well known celebrities in its commercials. In this commercial Madonna and Missy Elliot both appear. This commercial does not communicate much more than the “cool” groove of Gap jeans worn by “cool” people in Hollywood. Gap is relying on the power of celebrity to sell their product.
Staying with the same power of celebrity, Chris Rock and Jennifer Garner appear in some of Gap’s latest commercials. However these images are different. Rather than highly relying solely upon the celebrity, Gap is also communicating their desire to support Aids in Africa. By dressing these celebrities in their apparel, they are also communicating that these celebrities wear these clothes and support this cause. Gap has taken their previous commercials and message to a higher, deeper, and more relevant level. Like many more companies, Gap is also choosing this relevant path of low resistance.
Youtube has opened a new world to advertising. Not only are people intentionally seeking to view advertising through the power of the web, they are also doing their own advertising for these causes with which they identify with. It seems to me that people want to be a part of this story of helping the world through all of the resources that the United States contains. This broadcast is a perfect example of a person intentionally advertising for Gap through their Red Campaign. She speaks of how her story intertwines with Gap’s story in Africa and then encourages others to join in this cause.
The comments that follow her broadcast on the Youtube website are even more astonishing than her willingness to advertise for Gap. 171 people have commented on her broadcast with a wide range of opinions being shared. Some that stood out to me are as follows.
“Absolutely right ackquarius; tell it like it is! Spricket, you did a good thing promoting a good cause. Keep it up.”
“I love you chica, and I know you mean well by this, but I don't agree with this-- I just don't think it's a genuine cause. Corporations like GAP that get involved with charities do it mostly for the publicity and profits: it gives them a good, "charitable" reputation. If you want to help AIDS sufferers, donate to non-profit organizations, not companies who pocket half the profit.”
“So the shirt prevent AIDS? I want one for a neighbor! This is a miracle!”
“The Gap has good products, but I recently found out they have sweatshops. So if you do promote to help fight AIDS, then you should promote to prevent sweatshops from opening.”
From these comments I think that we can start to get a feel for some of the tensions that exist in potentially hypocritical green and pro-social advertising.
GE, Gap, and many more will push the edges of their advertising schemes to convince people that they are either green or pro-social. International Herald Tribune reported at http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/17/business/bxgreen.php in January of 2006 that Ecologists are unmoved by recent trends in advertising. They were especially bothered by sketchy advertisements from Ford and BP. However, there is good news for people with similar concerns as the ecologists of www.iht.com. As companies work at pushing to edges of their products and their ethical decisions, the FTC has stepped up with Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims. (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.htm) Quoting from section 260.2,
“These guides apply to environmental claims included in labeling, advertising, materials and all other forms of marketing, whether asserted directly or by implication, through words, symbols, emblems, logos, depictions, product brand names, or through any other means, including marketing through digital or electronic means, such as the Internet or electronic mail. The guides apply to any claim about the environmental attributes of a product, package or service in connection with the sale, offering for sale, or marketing of such product, package or service for personal, family or household use, or for commercial, institutional or industrial use.”
In other words, the FTC worked extremely hard to cover all of their bases in assuring that the edges of the truth of companies in advertising don’t turn into lies. There are also many grassroots movements that are ensuring the truth in advertising. The most popular of these movements is adbusters.org. The company posts a slew of clever spoof advertising that puts perspective on what companies are working to sell. The following are spoof advertisements regarding cigarettes. The organization also uses many methods in raising awareness and practicing fair trade capitalism. A hot series of products that they are working to sell are the blackspot sunswoosher shoes. Again, this is a “reverse” product campaign against the corporate monster, Nike. They call their sneakers the world’s most ethical shoes. The company boasts, “it's made in a safe, comfortable union factory with environmentally sound, all-vegetarian materials, including 100% organic hemp uppers. But for the boot we’ve been able to take things even farther with soles made from reclaimed used tires.” On both a government level, through the FTC, and on a grassroots level, through companies like Adbusters, people are working hard to ensure an ethical balance in how people use pro-green and pro-social advertising.
Because this Blog is the product of a final project for the class Theology and Pop Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, I wanted to move towards the end of this conversation by interweaving green and pro-social causes with a theological reflection of what this all means in a post-Christian culture. With the present and coming deconstruction of the Evangelical Republican Right, and with Time magazine reporting on how the Democrats got religion, this pro-green and pro-social conversation is no longer a “Democrat” thing. (Hopefully, it never was.) Also, with report after contradicting report regarding global warming, people have become increasingly frustrated. Some say global warming is the result of humanity and some say that it is not. In the end, we should not care which party “has God” or which side of the global warming debate we fall. We should care about the earth because we are called by God to care about the earth, and we should care about the oppressed because we are called by God to care about the oppressed.
To put it simply, being green and pro-social is a God thing.
So what might God have to do with advertising in post-Christian America today? Sam Van Eman elaborates on this subject in his book On Earth as it is in Advertising?. The thread that runs through Van Eman’s book is his use of the word “Simgospel”. He defines the word before the pages of his book even begin.
“All messages that simulate the biblical narrative through advertising and popular media for the purpose of selling products and ideas.”
He then continues on page 20, (J)
“The Simgospel is goodness, borrowed.”
The book is filled with his idea that anything stealing the gospel message is Simgospel and therefore not beneficial for the world. If we were to tie Van Eman’s thoughts with Natural Theology’s greatest debate between Barth and Brunner, it would be safe to say that Van Eman would align well with Barth’s view on Natural Theology. Barth does not believe that God “generally” reveals God’s self to the world, but only does so “specifically”. Van Eman is calling for specific revelation of the gospel, which is a good thing, but may not capture all of the beautiful ways that God is moving. Maybe general revelation is becoming increasingly important, especially within the context of a post-Christian culture in America today. What if God had something to do with the current shifts in advertising? What if God, as Brunner would articulate, is mysteriously and “generally” revealing God’s heart with America through these evident shifts in marketing strategies? What if God is moving through the lives of Angelina Jolie and Bono? What if God is moving through Adbusters? What if God is setting the trend and making relevant his heart for the earth and for the oppressed? What if God isn’t a God that hates culture, but rather meets current cultures where they are at and step by step drives the sin out of culture? What if advertising today is a step in a positive direction?
In a post-Christian world where the church is no longer the institution that drives all major decisions, we are in need of God’s mysterious hand to move in mysterious ways. While the goal of maximizing profit has not changed, and probably will not change in America, a growing way to maximize profit is to encourage green and pro-social advertising.
This is not a completely bad thing.
This is not a completely good thing.
This is a positive shift that is “generally” moving our culture in a direction more into the heart of God.
That is a GOOD thing.
Choices are a part of today’s world. (K) This is something that we should not take for granted, as the majority of people in history did not have the choices that we get to make on a daily basis. The most recent generations have lived in a globalized world that is more aware of its national neighbors than any other generation in history.
The world is full of potential. (L)
Potential that I believe God wants to realize.
Advertising is the most powerful medium of popular culture and I believe that this current shift in advertising will help to realize potential. I also believe that this is only the beginning and we will soon be moving more in the direction of people choosing products based on the good of the earth, rather than the good of the individual. It is in such directions that light overcomes the darkness.
This is just one of many visible signs that we are indeed living within a post-modern culture. William Dyrness in Visual Faith writes, 
