Yet another way to analyze ads as deceptive selling tools is to analyze them
through the Myth Analysis Technique. Campbell defines this Technique in saying
that ads are constructed as an extremely short narrative that involves some
conflict in which the conflict is solved with incredible ease by the product
being advertised. (Campbell 363) A recognizable example of this is in one of the
Miller Lite commercials. In this situation, a male is shown alone at his house
watching a game. Once he opens a Miller Lite, the room fills with friends,
beautiful girls, and the best time that a popular guy would ever want to have.
This commercial, in essence, states that if you are lonely (Conflict), all that
you need to become the popular, party guy is a case of Miller Lite (Resolution)
and your prayers will be answered. This is totally untrue since a beer will not
make you more popular, and in extreme cases may turn you into an alcoholic.
The example given by Campbell is of the Marlboro Man. He is a representation
of the individual rugged spirit that is sought after by much of the population
in our culture and in cultures around the world. “A conflict is generated by the
audiences implicit understanding of what is not in the ad---a fast paced,
technology-driven urban world where most smoking actually takes place. This
implied conflict between the natural world and thee manufactured world is
apparently resolved by invoking the image of Marlboro.” (Campbell 363) Through
Myth Analysis, Marlboro will transport any smoker from the technological world
in which we live to a world in which you ride horses and rustle cattle.
Advertising is extremely important to the economy of the world. It drives the
market and pays for most of the entertainment that so many of us Americans
Enjoy. It is also the only way that we are furnished information about new and
innovative products. As I hope was demonstrated in this paper, advertising does
come with a price. As targets of advertising campaigns, we need to be more
objective of the messages that are being fed to us by the corporations of
America. If we are not careful, one could be lead by the media gods down a path
of destruction from which there is no return. As stated in the thesis,
advertisers use many underhanded techniques to sell us their products, and only
the consumer can make a change.
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