What Do You Mean By Change?

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Has anything changed in advertising now relative to the 1960s? The 1960s was the time of advertising revolution. We had Rosser Reeves who developed the idea of the USP, Norman B. Norman and the "empathy technique," Dr. Herta Horzog and her studies on American mass media, Bill Bernbach and his unorthodox approach to advertising, Shirley Polykoff and her introduction of women to the advertising nation, and Ilon Specht and her advertisement of adamant women. These were the original ideas pioneered in the 1960s that are still used today. I would like to think that the advertising industry has change, but there is reason for me to think otherwise.

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I think the advertising industry has changed, but the framework has not. First of all what is change? I'd like to think it's an original idea that has never been formed or brought up before. The problem with change is that for something that does change, there is something old that comes with it. For example, there were commercials in the 1960s and there are still commercials today. What has changed about them is that there is color on the TV, some of the products may have some technological advancement that improved it, and the way the product is portrayed to the public may seem different than it used to be.

Now I'd like to begin with the fundamentals, such as things that can be easily perceived (let's be honest here, I'm extremely lazy at the moment). Advertising is a game created for consumers and marketers. I believe that the objective of this game is for marketers to get the exact message, they created about a product and that is being sold, across to the consumer in hopes to make profit. The other goal of this game is for the marketers to win through selling that product. Now, do consumers and advertisers change? Last time I checked, we all have four arms, but maybe we have different ideas. But there are somethings that have not. For example, advertisers sell cars to consumers haven't changed. Cars are still cars regardless of its evolution. They have four wheels, a motor, and are meant for the consumer to move from A to B. Unless they can travel under and on water and fly, it's no different.

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Now let's forget about the products, let's think about the marketing tactics and let's compare 1960s advertisement to 2000s advertisement. I think it's safe to say that the 1960s did not have Internet. So yes, social networking websites are what makes marketing different today compared to before. There's one for change. The issue here is that has the marketing technique changed? I say no, advertisements are still advertisements. For example, in the 1960s newspapers contained advertisements. Today that still happens on newspapers of course, but on social networking sites as well. Well, okay, that's advertisement for you. I think it's fair to say that where will always be some form of ad
on something that a large population of people frequently see (television shows, social networking sites, newspapers and the list goes on). Okay, well maybe that tactic isn't the right one to discuss to describe change in the advertising industry. How about advertising styles that affects how a person feels towards that product?

This commercial in 2009 is something I can relate to. It includes a family and how the smell of Folgers is the best smell to wake up to. The message is more loving than the first one and you can see that is something more people can relate to today.

This Folger's commercial in the 1960s is not something most people can really relate to in terms of the characters. I believe that many people would be offended by this. Most women and some men would look down on this commercial because it blatantly demeans women. Nowadays, we would not have a commercial like this. So yeah, there's one for change.











I came in a bit skeptical about the idea that the advertising industry has changed, but I realize that there is some change that comes with things that are old. For example, the framework of advertising may stay the same for a while (I can't predict the future). There will always be advertisers and they will always discover a way to market their product to a large population of people. The advertisements such as the styles that are used will more or less stay the same; they will attempt to make a commercial that the targeted viewer can relate to. And it seems as that is so. For example, a commercial in the 1960s may be less attractive due to its lack of connection to the consumer; therefore, possibly making the product less attractive itself. The advertising industry's framework will never change, but the way the package they present to the public will.

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