Publicity through pictures and oil paintings

  1. According to Berger, ”publicity proposes to each of us in a consumer society that we can change ourselves or our lives by buying something more.” What he means by that is that publicity is trying to convince us that we can become someone better by buying what is advertised. Publicity influences in the costumer the idea that you can become a better person, who is going to be envied by the society.
  2. As Berger states in this episode of ”Ways of Seeing”, publicity uses devices of art, such as poses, settings, symbol of prestige etc. While the oil painting uses the physical texture and tangibility of things. In my opinion this gives the meaning to what Berger says about the oil paintings being what the author already had, and publicity being what is aspired to have. Therefore, as the oil paintings are touchable as physical textures, makes them something that is already achieved. While the publicity is something that symbolizes what we aspire to achieve.
  3. As described in ”The dream of later tonight”, the consumer is influenced by what they see in the advertising, people who are enjoying life. It is a dream for every costumer to be part of the pleasure the people in the advertisement are having. They think that by being part of it, they would be bringing the greatest pleasure. But everyone know that this is just a dream, nobody really has a life that easy as it is described int the advertising.

Blog Post #3 ch4.

  1. Advertising not only promotes social messages but also lifestyle through illustrating an unreal better position of ideal consumer and creating better expectations of a product to impress the minds of the consumers.
    It’s significant in a bad way because the influence of advertising is a power to alter what consumers think and feel. It’s a manipulation and exaggeration of the quality of the product that tent people to consume it even if they are unnecessary.
  2. When you try to put differences between these two aspects. Think about the facts of oil paintings. As Berger explained in the video, it shows us the current owner’s life and his wealth without including any detail of how they get all those things. On the other hand, publicity shows us a perfect unreal life that we want to have and they want us to have in order to get unnecessary things by purchasing their products.
  3. The dream of a faraway place.
    When I was a child I used to travel often because my mom worked in a business company next to a prestige travel agency. Every time I went to my mom’s job I told her where was going to be the next place to visit. Now I realized that I didn’t care about how much was going to be the cost for those travels, food, etc. I just wanted to be there where the image outside of the agency was. Same peace, same sunny day, same beach because that’s how publicity has a big role in this life. I love visiting other places, and, when I see in those advertisements of people looking so peaceful and happy brings me a good vibe and a way to think that I can solve any problem by going anywhere.

Blog Post #3 – Ways of Seeing Episode 4

  1. Ads tricks our mind into believing in a product by exaggerating its’ quality. It misleads the consumer into thinking that there are things that are missing in our lives and the creativity of it is very appealing to its’ target audience. It’s very significant because it influences a potential customer’s buying decision.
  2. The differences are quite staggering. The oil painting merely shows a sense of contentment and appreciation of what we already possess whereas the publicity photos can give us the wrong impression that we can’t just be satisfied on what we already have. They reveal that advertisements fuels our desire to spend our hard-earned money on unnecessary material things. Consumerism at its’ best and definitely drives economic growth.
  3.  Let’s picture a massive BURGER FAST FOOD shiny banner sprawled on the side of a highway. You needed to stop for gas – the images of this juicy burger makes your mouth water and immediately you give in to your desire and YOU fell for it! It just goes to show that the advertisers did a great job in manipulating the photos making it look more appealing to us. That’s how they get us!

 

 

 

Prompt Blog Post #3

After you watch episode 4 of Ways of Seeing (or even while you are watching it), provide short answers the questions below.

  1. According to Berger, how do “publicity”–what we would call advertising–images influence consumers and why is this significant?
  2. As he compares oil painting to publicity (advertising) photography, Berger argues that oil painting “showed what the owner was already enjoying among his possessions and way of life;” “it enhanced his view of himself as he already was.”  Whereas publicity pictures, “appeal to a way of life that we aspire to or think we aspire to.” Why are these differences important? What do they reveal to us about the production of images for publicity?
  3. Choose one of the “dreams” he offers or think of your own. How does this dream offered by advertising use imagery to manipulate consumers?