Essay 2

I have chosen these sources to analyse throughout my essay as I am comparing the idea of politics borrowing ideas from the world of commerce. Although visually different in terms of audience, colour and style, the three images share similarities such as key themes for example aiding change of the status quo and desire for luxury; through visual technique. All sources evoke emotion from the audience to persuade them to agree with the statements, thus showing a symbiotic relationship between the two industries.  

‘One of the core desires that drive persuasion is the desire of people to feel special’ states Lakhani (Lakhani, 2008, p.139). This is evident in Figure 1, through the presentation of the glamorous lifestyle of the model used. Glamour is depicted within the image through the use of body language, the stance and prominence of flesh resembles a balance between elegance and sexuality. Reaffirmed by the use of fur and diamonds as props, the expense of the items conceptualises the lifestyle that comes along with the purchasing of said advertised product. Although all figures are aiming towards different demographics, within different time periods, all three share the same ideal that by endorsing into a particular product or idea you will be buying into a better lifestyle made achievable by that product/idea. Handmacher’s women’s suit company created an ad which was printed in Vogue 1954, which portrays a women standing out from her male counterparts in her new Handmacher suit: ‘Her identity and ability to be distinguished from men… are attributed wholly to the product’ (Lavin, 2002, p.79). Through purchasing the product, the woman is enabling herself to stand out, a trait desired by women in the workplace particularly during the 50’s when women’s rights in the work place were substantially unequal, in terms of advertising this was based towards a feminist audience; telling them that consumerist activities would progress their role within the work place. ‘Advertisers tend to exploit the fact that most people feel relative amount of discontent or lack of self-confidence in certain elements of their own lives.’ (Staff, 2010, p.42), therefore by purchasing the product advertised, you are achieving further confidence and make yourself content. Explaining the way in which by endorsing yourself into a product you are trying to gain access to that particular lifestyle, or bring yourself one step closer to what can be seen as a solution for whatever the issue may be. Similar in the way in which through voting for Trump would aid the country in staying true to the definition of being a nation (figure 3), and through voting leave (figure 2) you would be aiding an injection of funds into the national health service; or so the campaigns would have you believe. The use of text and visuals all promise progression into a lifestyle or ideal that would be changing, and by endorsing yourself into that product or idea you therefore are contributing to that change; thus proving similarities in the worlds of consumerism and politics as identified in my first essay.

‘Let’s give our NHS the 350 million the EU takes every week.’ (figure 2), ‘We must have a wall, the rule of law matters’ (figure 3) both sources describe something that will happen, a statement of change. Using a statement to promise an ideological world is a technique that the political sphere rely upon heavily, as does the world of commerce. Without creating a promise to either solve a problem, or enhance an experience, it deems anything relying on a brand redundant. ‘Brands are often defined as the psychological representation of a product or service or organisation, providing symbolic, rather than tangible use-value to consumers.’ (Scammell, 2015, p. 12) this analogy of a brand describes the need for the statement of change in order for a campaign to be successful and further suggests that the content is symbolic rather than realistic. The Chanel ad is in black and white; this depicts elegance, reaffirmed by its simplistic design. Inspired by modernism, evident through the Swiss design inspired typeface chosen, which is a movement entirely about changing and moving away from tradition; and focusing on new ideas, therefore by buying the product the customer is investing in new and fresh ideas. There is a theme of change also seen in Figure 2, where the use of medical visuals tells the audience that by agreeing with the content, in this case vote leave the EU in the referendum, they will be improving health services. The use of visual language to persuade the audience is also seen through the use of red, a colour known for sending subliminal messages of ‘change’ and importance; therefore, convincing the audience that agreeing to the content is for the best. Figure 3 also uses similar visual language in terms of colour, although the sense of authority here comes from the image, not solely the text. As the photo is taken from below, it gives Trump an authoritative angle, therefore sending the audience visual messages to agree with the statement at hand. The quote itself reveals change, although it presents Trump’s ideology, it mentions “the nation” therefore the audience will believe by agreeing to the statement, they would be aiding change for the good of the nation. Once again, these visual links between the sources show a manipulation of opinion through the use of subliminal messaging. Moreover, the psychology behind these ideas, which originated in branding and advertising, presenting the way in which the world of politics borrows from the world of commerce - as touched on in my first essay.

I hope to have proven there is evidence of a symbiotic relationship between the two industries, as the world of commerce introduced key techniques such as linking desire for a better way of living to their products - which now can be found in the political sphere. This craving for a better way of living, that may never happen, after agreeing to the content of these often misleading advertisements could deem these sources as propaganda. The influence from the world of commerce has forced political branding to become as such– ‘The ubiquity is yet another reason why this propaganda is rarely recognised as such: labelled advertising’ (Rutherford, 2000, p.9). This can also be seen vice versa as touched upon in my previous essay, therefore emphasising the reliance for these two industries’ visual techniques on each other; in order to remain relevant and successful.

Bibliography

Lakhani, D. (2008) Subliminal persuasion: Influence and marketing secrets they don’t want you to know. Chichester, United Kingdom: Wiley, John & Sons.

Lavin, M. (2002) Clean new world: Culture, politics, and graphic design. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Rutherford, P. (2000) Endless propaganda: The advertising of public goods. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Scammell, M. (2015) ‘Politics and image: The conceptual value of Branding’, Journal of Political Marketing, 14(1-2), pp. 7–18. doi: 10.1080/15377857.2014.990829.

Staff, M.C.C. (2010) Sex and society. New York: Cavendish Square Publishing.

Figure 1