thoughts on capitalism (ongoing)

[novapsyche]

Capitalism was theorized and implemented before the advent of modern advertising. Advertising, which dawned around 1910 (at least in the US), demonstrated (as was proven years later) that ads circumvent higher cognitive functions--that is, brands are interpreted by the brain at a nonrational level. Thus, capitalism unthreads itself, because it is founded upon the assumption that consumers are rational actors.

Advertising, in my view, removes agency: it replaces all options with what appears to be all options. It presents a small, visible market as the market that is available to the consumer. The latter is actually full of vendors that do not have access to advertising as well as those who do. Those who have access to advertising--those who already have the capital to create ads that reach the wide consuming public--alter reality by substituting a market that is artificial, a market that exists only in the reach of popular media.

Comments

[jennkitty.livejournal.com]

the women and cigarettes ad movement was HUGE and had massive effect. it's a good example of well placed advertising and target marketing. glad you mentioned it in relation to this topic.