Key concepets of adverts - Ideologies

Advertisements are one of the most important cultural factors moulding and reflecting our life today. They are ubiquitous, an inevitable part of everyone’s lives: even if you do not read a newspaper or watch television, the images posted over our urban surroundings are inescapable. Advertising has two main functions. The first is obvious - to sell us something. But the second function is more complex, as it projects advertising as a creator of structures of meaning.  Ideology is defined as the body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture. With this being said, the connection between advertising and ideology becomes clear and so does the deeper meaning of advertising

We often buy products which are promoted by people who seem to be in the same social class as us, and if we do not we are only looking to purchase products which are of a higher quality than we can afford because we feel that we succeed or fold in society based on what we are able to buy. The same goes for our news consumption. This relates directly to framing and agenda setting. According to Mass Communication Theory there is a general tendency to look for well-known people, especially leading politicians and celebrities, around which to construct news. The more prominent the person involved in any sphere, the more attention and privileged access as a source can be expected. News is often reports of what prominent people say about events rather than reports of the events themselves.

When a product is advertised it is projected onto the public in a way that will have meaning to consumers. When consumers purchase a particular product, elements such as social status, class, and culture are represented through their purchase. People identify their lifestyles by the products which they consume. An attempt to differentiate amongst both people and products is part of the desire to classify, order, and understand the world, including your own identity. With that being said, do you people associate your class or social status according to the products that you purchase? And if they do, do they think that purchasing products of a lesser value than they're used to will actually lower their social status? We are made to feel that we can rise and fall in society through what we are able to buy, and this obscures the actual class basis that still underlies social position. The fundamental differences in our society are still class differences, but use of manufactured goods as a means of creating classes or groups forms an overlay on them.