Download Why is it important to study the History of Commercial Communication?

Why is it important to study
the History of Commercial
Communication?
Mercedes Montero
School of Communication
University of Navarra
Introduction
• I want to discuss some concrete examples of the
influence of commercial communication in recent history.
I endeavour to show:
• The training of future professionals should not be
confined to purely technical and economic aspects of the
world of advertising,
• It should also include deeper consideration of the
cultural impact of the persuasive forms of
communication.
• Because this will greatly enrich the teaching of our
subject, as we come to focus on their influence within
the mesh of social, cultural, political and other trends
that make up the world today.
1920s: Advertising and cultural change
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United States, ‘roaring twenties’
Advertising and real life offered the same thing: a
clean, ordered existence in which every need had a
product guaranteed to meet it. But:
Race
Social class.
WASP vision of the world. Ethnic minorities were
out.
1980s: advertising and postmodern sensibility
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In the mid-1980s Apple did not stop at sending
technology – it also spread a new social awareness:
utopian liberating and with a message of
democratisation.
Advertising of Macintosh offered productivity and
‘quality’.
The interface between cultural vitality and
advanced technology is the most important
dimension of the postmodern sensibility.
1990s: Advertising as the mirror of society
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500 advertisements awarded in San Sebastian in the 1990s
provided a cultural radiograph of Spain.
Issues continued to be present: Catholic religion, Spanish
stereotypes.
New ideas:
men doing tasks and having attitudes formerly regarded as
female.
the call to individualism and independence, specifically
targeting the young
other democratic values, such as support for groups on the
fringes of society, rejection of pompousness and
overbearing behaviour, condemnation of xenophobia and
racism, and the promotion of tolerance and peace.
1990s: Advertising as the mirror of society (II)
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“Anticipated socialisation”:
Homosexuality
Eutanasia.
All of this reflects a Spain in which massive social
changes were taking place. If advertising is a mirror
we are witnessing a set of shared values that are
very different from those that would have been
found just 15 years earlier.
The references of a society in crisis
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Institutional campaign (and cinematographic) “The
New York Miracle. Be a part of it” sponsored by the
New York City Council after 9-11 to restore the
city’s spirit and persuade North American to visit it.
Spectacular results:
By December: tourism only 10% lower than previous
year, on New Year’s Eve in Times Square
In April: Broadway, symposia, meetings and
conventions returning to its normal figures.
The references of a society in crisis
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Tocqueville about the USA:
The equality in fortunes, in the possession
of land, in political rights, equality even in
intelligence.
Creatives designed a product for the
culture and mentality of their fellow
citizens. The use of film celebrities could
be considered the right choice.
The History of commercial
communication: US vs. Europe
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The history of the discipline is traditionally led by North
American bibliography, and tends to ignore other points of
view.
Even though it is impossible to regard Europe as a unified
social, cultural and political system, it would be feasible to
differentiate between Europe and the USA.
In this sense, the historical study of our discipline could help
us to find out about the role of commercial communication in
the construction of the European identity and in the
configuration of the culture and mentality of each country.
The history of commercial communication
project at the University of Navarra
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The history of commercial communication in Spain has scarcely been
studied. What has been done to date is very partial in nature. It fails
to offer a proper overview of the history of advertising in its social
and cultural context. Moreover, it provides neither graphic material
nor oral testimony.
This project aims to open up an area of research which will be a
pioneer within Spain. It will also approach the history of commercial
communication from the point of view of their ability to form
mentalities and promote social cohesion or disintegration.
Taking into account the profound changes that occurred in Spain in the
last quarter of the 20th century, we believe that it is essential to
sketch out as clearly as possible the influence which persuasive
communication had in these developments.