I learned quite a bit about advertising through this video. I never realized how much they put into the whole process of it all. One idea that caught my attention was their use of building a sense of community for the consumer. The consumer has void areas that need to be filled with a sense of belonging: church, family, etc. used to fill these areas. Now people search out that fulfillment through buying into a product or the idea of it. The product helps them to feel like they are part of something bigger.
Another concept they use is the idea that they must evoke an emotional response through their product. There are people who specifically find out what consumers are thinking whenever they purchase certain items. After they get an idea of the general emotions behind these purchases, they target those specific emotions. Product placement in television is a huge part of advertising now. There have been story-lines on shows specifically written to promote a certain product in that episode.
One of the main plagues to advertising now is the use of TiVo and recording devices. People now have the option to skip over all of the ads and go straight to the program. When they skip the ads, they completely miss all of the messages being sent out through advertisers.
Another problem now is that society is becoming "cluttered" with advertising. It's so prevalent now that it's almost ineffective. Companies want to put out new ideas to rise above the clutter but the new ideas quickly just become part of it. If the companies stop advertising though, consumers will quickly forget about them. It has become almost a lose-lose situation for them.
I think some ethical concerns could deal with subliminal messaging and thought manipulation. It's almost a form of mind control and in some ways, they're telling consumers how to think and feel. Some ethical concerns may also be about content and appropriateness especially for younger audiences.
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