Advertising increased manifold in an economy driven by consumer culture. In his book People of Plenty: Economic Abundance and the American Character (1954) David Potter expressed his unhappiness in generalising the notions of ‘national character’ that combines various indistinctive elements. He expresses this clearly when he says that “We [are] told in the same breath that Americans are optimistic (a trait of temperament), that they attach great value to productive activity (a trait of character), that they are fond of jazz music (a cultural trait), and that they are remarkably prone to join organized groups (a behavioural trait which may provide overt evidence of some underlying trait of character)” (12). David Potter finds that critics
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He also establishes a relationship between abundance and identity in the light of bearing in mind growth of national advertising and he also called the postwar advertising the new “institution of social control” (77), which for Lizabeth Cohen was instrumental in strengthening the “postwar ideal of the purchaser as citizen who simultaneously fulfilled personal desire and civic obligation in consuming” (119). David potter remains the first critic to recognise the power of advertising that surpassed the government, school, and church after postwar as a major social force particularly through its new powerful outlet of TV. Potter’s focus on advertising as a medium of social control is not as bleak as Adorno and Horkheimer’s theory of production-line culture industry. Potter is of the opinion that in such a cultural context people were ill-equipped to challenge the power of advertising to shape choices and values. Martin Halliwell argues that the culture in the 1950s was used as a sceptical tool to challenge authority, but with the lure of advertising it was difficult for many to resist the pleasures of consumption (15). Hitchcock who came under the spell of this advertisement industry reaped maximum benefit out of it and his cameo appearances can be seen as …show more content…
He painted a rather grim picture where “the postwar vision of prosperous world, in which genuine human needs were to be met by a strong, efficient and growing economy, was shattered” (Hodgson 1). He alleged that the hidden persuaders, the big corporations instead of serving human needs were manipulating the very wants and desires of people using everything from subliminal messages to the exploitation of sexual images. The prosperous economy, the growth of mass culture and the surplus income, need for domestic luxuries, all these prompted consumers to replace their products on a regular basis without paying attention to the durability and sustainability of the products. 1950s used a marketing technique to permeate the consumer’s psyche about prestige, style and desire to be contemporary. Taking cue from the fashion boom prevalent during the period the domestic appliances were also marketed in a similar fashion. The companies adopted their own subtle ways to market the products superfluous to the requirement. The popularization of Freudian psychoanalysis in the 1950s and investment in ‘motivation research’ led firms to invest money in consulting advertising agencies. The companies also discovered that only through depth-advertising they could make a
He also establishes a relationship between abundance and identity in the light of bearing in mind growth of national advertising and he also called the postwar advertising the new “institution of social control” (77), which for Lizabeth Cohen was instrumental in strengthening the “postwar ideal of the purchaser as citizen who simultaneously fulfilled personal desire and civic obligation in consuming” (119). David potter remains the first critic to recognise the power of advertising that surpassed the government, school, and church after postwar as a major social force particularly through its new powerful outlet of TV. Potter’s focus on advertising as a medium of social control is not as bleak as Adorno and Horkheimer’s theory of production-line culture industry. Potter is of the opinion that in such a cultural context people were ill-equipped to challenge the power of advertising to shape choices and values. Martin Halliwell argues that the culture in the 1950s was used as a sceptical tool to challenge authority, but with the lure of advertising it was difficult for many to resist the pleasures of consumption (15). Hitchcock who came under the spell of this advertisement industry reaped maximum benefit out of it and his cameo appearances can be seen as …show more content…
He painted a rather grim picture where “the postwar vision of prosperous world, in which genuine human needs were to be met by a strong, efficient and growing economy, was shattered” (Hodgson 1). He alleged that the hidden persuaders, the big corporations instead of serving human needs were manipulating the very wants and desires of people using everything from subliminal messages to the exploitation of sexual images. The prosperous economy, the growth of mass culture and the surplus income, need for domestic luxuries, all these prompted consumers to replace their products on a regular basis without paying attention to the durability and sustainability of the products. 1950s used a marketing technique to permeate the consumer’s psyche about prestige, style and desire to be contemporary. Taking cue from the fashion boom prevalent during the period the domestic appliances were also marketed in a similar fashion. The companies adopted their own subtle ways to market the products superfluous to the requirement. The popularization of Freudian psychoanalysis in the 1950s and investment in ‘motivation research’ led firms to invest money in consulting advertising agencies. The companies also discovered that only through depth-advertising they could make a