Sexy Semiotics in Ads

We live in a "consumer society"- Honestly, what does that even mean? Well, to me it means that we give mediums such as advertising more power than we should. The heart of the issue- we don’t see the difference between the imagined future advertising echoes, and the way things really are. We’re often incapable of differentiating between our wants versus our needs, and advertising uses this “against” us!

Which Bubble Come To Mind?We exist in a culture that thrives off of the production, and subsequent consumption of goods. What we buy is oddly a way we express who we are. We gain our sense of self through our purchases, our belongings, and our use of these commodities- and as consumers, we are losing the power behind our “voice” as we give more and more meanings to our lives (based on the car we drive, the brands we wear, how we style our hair) Thus, we are allowing those things we buy to bring satisfaction to our lives that we believe are somehow lacking. Do we feel this way because of ads? Or do ads use these human weaknesses against us? This feeling of never being good enough, or always wanting more is dangerous.

I am awed by American Apparel’s bold campaign- their ads speak to a broad audience, and offer a sense of belonging to many; but they also seriously push the envelope in terms of women, nudity, and objectifying their bodies! Advertising makes us feel as though our wants are our needs…it uses the value we attach to products, to sell them to us. Ads allow us to believe we can actually obtain what we want but really can’t have, and American Apparel has mastered this concept. Maybe we should stop living in a fantasy world and be happy with what we have (oh wait, I mean, who we are!)

   What I love about advertising is that it highlights our human flaws, but also our strengths and weaknesses. Ads not only mirror ourselves, they reveal cultural subtleties ,which we then try and pick apart. I enjoy gazing at ads in attempts to understand how society has evolved.