Advertising and Pseudo-Culture: An Analysis of the Changing Portrayal of Women in Print Advertisements. (June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yazdanparast, Atefeh; Naderi, Iman; Spears, Nancy; Fabrize, Robert O.
• Is Part Of: Journal of macromarketing. Volume 38:Number 2(2018)
• Page Start: 185
• Page End: 205
• Publication Date: 2018-06
• Subjects: adorno -- identity -- cultural transformation -- semiotics -- Persia/Iran; Marketing -- Periodicals; Marketing -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 658.802
• DOI: 10.1177/0276146718762475
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0276-1467

Abstract

This study investigates the use of mass media, specifically advertising, in cultural transformation projects to weaken cultures and replace them with a crafted pseudo-culture. We rely on Adorno's theory of pseudo-culture to examine how political ideologies shape cultural transformation using mass-mediated ad images. Following a content analysis and a semiotic analysis of print advertisements over a period of 48 years, we identify five major themes underlying pseudo-culture formation and the advertising strategies implemented to support these themes. This work also identifies four major tools used in pseudo-culture formation and demonstrates how pseudo-cultures may be formed, promoted, and abolished.