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The Changing Face of Advertising: What It Might Mean and How It Might Matter
Feb 11, 2017
The 24 hours following Super Bowl LI were full of commentary about the political angle of ads aired during the game. The recap: there was the Airbnb pro-diversity ad, the replay of the Coca Cola America the Beautiful ad in nine languages, the Audi women's rights ad, the pro-immigration Anheuser-Busch ad, and the 84 Lumber door-in-the-wall-along-Mexico's-border ad.
With the exception of Airbnb, (which is a collaborative economy business model leveraging people's homes for a service), these companies are selling us products.
In some cases they are selling us unhealthy products (Coca Cola); ones that lead to thousands of deaths annually (Anheuser-Busch); and ones that cater to those who have significant disposable income (Audi).
What do their products have to do with a more diverse and just America? Nothing, of course.
Just as sex has nothing to do with these and other products. Nonetheless, sex has frequently been what ads promise to provide.
So it's gratifying that during Super Bowl LI, corporations were selling their products and services through appeals to our better nature, advocating human rights, social justice, and peaceful coexistence.
While I know that Coca Cola, Anheuser-Busch, Audi, and 84 Lumber are not in the business of creating a better world, and their ads are carefully crafted to increase profits, I still consider these ads a very positive shift.
That appealing to our compassion and kindness is calculated to work in the selling of products is a good thing. That rejecting prejudice, "us and them" thinking, and fear-mongering are determined to boost sales is a great sign.
If justice and compassion can sell, especially in a country as polarized and angry as ours is now, that bodes well for the actual work of creating justice.
While I have no illusions that these ads will turn many viewers into engaged, conscientious activists, by normalizing and valorizing concepts such as acceptance, human rights, and diversity, they set a standard for ethical behavior and attitudes.
I do not believe that these ads would have been aired were it not for the massive citizen engagement currently underway; but whether corporations are following the mood of the citizenry or influencing that mood is not the point.
The point is that the shift is happening.
It took me the better part of a week to come to this positive conclusion. My first reaction to the enthusiasm for the ads was cynicism. Knowing that these companies do not have our or our world's best interests at heart made me feel like people were lapping up the good vibes like, well, beer, without using critical thinking and without acknowledging that it's up to each of us to actually do something to build a just, healthy, and peaceful society.
Now I feel differently. It matters that a massive audience was targeted not with promises of sex, but with promises of goodness.
Maybe this portends an outpouring of the goodness we need to harness with all our might to resist what we are facing right now in the U.S. and the world.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Zoe Weil
Zoe Weil is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), where she created the first graduate programs in comprehensive Humane Education linking human rights, environmental preservation, and animal protection offered online through an affiliation with Antioch University. She has given six TEDx talks including her acclaimed TEDx, "The World Becomes What You Teach," and is the author of seven books including "The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries" and "Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life" (2009).
The 24 hours following Super Bowl LI were full of commentary about the political angle of ads aired during the game. The recap: there was the Airbnb pro-diversity ad, the replay of the Coca Cola America the Beautiful ad in nine languages, the Audi women's rights ad, the pro-immigration Anheuser-Busch ad, and the 84 Lumber door-in-the-wall-along-Mexico's-border ad.
With the exception of Airbnb, (which is a collaborative economy business model leveraging people's homes for a service), these companies are selling us products.
In some cases they are selling us unhealthy products (Coca Cola); ones that lead to thousands of deaths annually (Anheuser-Busch); and ones that cater to those who have significant disposable income (Audi).
What do their products have to do with a more diverse and just America? Nothing, of course.
Just as sex has nothing to do with these and other products. Nonetheless, sex has frequently been what ads promise to provide.
So it's gratifying that during Super Bowl LI, corporations were selling their products and services through appeals to our better nature, advocating human rights, social justice, and peaceful coexistence.
While I know that Coca Cola, Anheuser-Busch, Audi, and 84 Lumber are not in the business of creating a better world, and their ads are carefully crafted to increase profits, I still consider these ads a very positive shift.
That appealing to our compassion and kindness is calculated to work in the selling of products is a good thing. That rejecting prejudice, "us and them" thinking, and fear-mongering are determined to boost sales is a great sign.
If justice and compassion can sell, especially in a country as polarized and angry as ours is now, that bodes well for the actual work of creating justice.
While I have no illusions that these ads will turn many viewers into engaged, conscientious activists, by normalizing and valorizing concepts such as acceptance, human rights, and diversity, they set a standard for ethical behavior and attitudes.
I do not believe that these ads would have been aired were it not for the massive citizen engagement currently underway; but whether corporations are following the mood of the citizenry or influencing that mood is not the point.
The point is that the shift is happening.
It took me the better part of a week to come to this positive conclusion. My first reaction to the enthusiasm for the ads was cynicism. Knowing that these companies do not have our or our world's best interests at heart made me feel like people were lapping up the good vibes like, well, beer, without using critical thinking and without acknowledging that it's up to each of us to actually do something to build a just, healthy, and peaceful society.
Now I feel differently. It matters that a massive audience was targeted not with promises of sex, but with promises of goodness.
Maybe this portends an outpouring of the goodness we need to harness with all our might to resist what we are facing right now in the U.S. and the world.
Zoe Weil
Zoe Weil is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), where she created the first graduate programs in comprehensive Humane Education linking human rights, environmental preservation, and animal protection offered online through an affiliation with Antioch University. She has given six TEDx talks including her acclaimed TEDx, "The World Becomes What You Teach," and is the author of seven books including "The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries" and "Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life" (2009).
The 24 hours following Super Bowl LI were full of commentary about the political angle of ads aired during the game. The recap: there was the Airbnb pro-diversity ad, the replay of the Coca Cola America the Beautiful ad in nine languages, the Audi women's rights ad, the pro-immigration Anheuser-Busch ad, and the 84 Lumber door-in-the-wall-along-Mexico's-border ad.
With the exception of Airbnb, (which is a collaborative economy business model leveraging people's homes for a service), these companies are selling us products.
In some cases they are selling us unhealthy products (Coca Cola); ones that lead to thousands of deaths annually (Anheuser-Busch); and ones that cater to those who have significant disposable income (Audi).
What do their products have to do with a more diverse and just America? Nothing, of course.
Just as sex has nothing to do with these and other products. Nonetheless, sex has frequently been what ads promise to provide.
So it's gratifying that during Super Bowl LI, corporations were selling their products and services through appeals to our better nature, advocating human rights, social justice, and peaceful coexistence.
While I know that Coca Cola, Anheuser-Busch, Audi, and 84 Lumber are not in the business of creating a better world, and their ads are carefully crafted to increase profits, I still consider these ads a very positive shift.
That appealing to our compassion and kindness is calculated to work in the selling of products is a good thing. That rejecting prejudice, "us and them" thinking, and fear-mongering are determined to boost sales is a great sign.
If justice and compassion can sell, especially in a country as polarized and angry as ours is now, that bodes well for the actual work of creating justice.
While I have no illusions that these ads will turn many viewers into engaged, conscientious activists, by normalizing and valorizing concepts such as acceptance, human rights, and diversity, they set a standard for ethical behavior and attitudes.
I do not believe that these ads would have been aired were it not for the massive citizen engagement currently underway; but whether corporations are following the mood of the citizenry or influencing that mood is not the point.
The point is that the shift is happening.
It took me the better part of a week to come to this positive conclusion. My first reaction to the enthusiasm for the ads was cynicism. Knowing that these companies do not have our or our world's best interests at heart made me feel like people were lapping up the good vibes like, well, beer, without using critical thinking and without acknowledging that it's up to each of us to actually do something to build a just, healthy, and peaceful society.
Now I feel differently. It matters that a massive audience was targeted not with promises of sex, but with promises of goodness.
Maybe this portends an outpouring of the goodness we need to harness with all our might to resist what we are facing right now in the U.S. and the world.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.