Thesis:

“In this essay, I shall argue that the crucial moral change was the beginning of shift from a Protestant ethos of salvation”(4)

Three main points:1. What is the therapeutic ethos 10-46 (great

summary 44-45-46)2. What was advertising’s role in this

“fundamental shift” ie/ how did ad-men take or co-opt this change in social needs and adapt it to a corporate model? (47-82)

3. A case study of ad-exec Bruce Barton as an example (82 +)

Conclusion: The roots of the modern consumer culture

can be found in the change in social values between 1880 and 1930 best represented in advertisements and their change in structure, focus, social role, and social value during this same period (76-77)

Advertising as Capitalist RealismWhat’s in a title:

1) Are Ads Real 1-19- no they only represent reality

1. How ads work (1-10)2. What is socialist realism (11-15)3. What is real anyways (15-19)

2) Ads as state art 20-31 As the official voice of capitalism 3) What ads are NOT- 32-

1. Manipulative (30-32)2. Religion (33-35)3. Truth (36-45)

1) Are Ads Real 1-19- no they only represent reality

For Lears: (the shift in print ads) the therapeutic ethos removed the

referential the image replaced the words The use value was replaced by the symbolic

value

For Schudson: (the shift in TV ads) Ads are no longer specific

Ie/ to the consumer: Ads connect consumer not only to the item for sale BUT to a community (ads reflect all and none at the same time)

Ie/ to time and space: places, events, people.

Socialist Realism refers to art produced in USSR that was:

State sanctioned State governed Goal is to represent “real life” Goal is to educate mass population

Therefore must meet certain aesthetic and moral demands Ie. The 5 “art should”s (15)

It’s a social and cultural constructThe point is not to represent “real” as it is

lived, but instead “real” as it is desired“Ads do not represent reality nor does it

build a fully fictional world. It exists instead on its own plane of reality…called capitalist realism” (10)

“the advertisement does not so much invent social values or ideals as its own as it borrows, usurps, or exploits what advertisers take to be prevailing social values” (25)

It is NOT officially state art In fact, there is nothing official about it What then gives it “state-like”

authority?Consumer agreementGovernment passivity

It does not represent the state as much as it represents the lifestyles associated with the state

Some social context please….what’s a cold war?

So, as Schudson raises: are these not images that suggest one way of life is better?(21)

Is this different? (23)American art privileges the consumer vs.

Soviet art privileges the producerTheir focus is on the tractor vs. US focus on

home entertainment center Maybe not government-run but certainly

socially sanctioned & omnipresent

Both US and USSR use this form of art as realism for political gain

Its about ideology representationhegemony

Lears on HegemonySocial consensus (7) what is normal gets represented/ what is

not get outsider statusNot static, constantly changing (8)

Schudson on HegemonyAds reproduce and even exagerrate

longstanding questions of ineqaulity (23)Represents “rare moments” as normal

instead of “capturing truth” (25) ie/ couples in magazines (24)

Ads are art- but not “real art” (29)b/c they are too commercially successful

Ads are influential but not manipulative (32)Remind us of inadequacies we have already

felt Ads foster belief but are not religious (34)

The represent the profane not the sacred Ads make truth statements but are not truth

(38) It is precisely because people don’t take

them seriously that they are effective… then what is it?

They are artLike state art or church art (45)

Art with an ideological function“It brings some expressions and images

quickly to mind and makes others relatively unavailable” (47)

“It flattens, rather than deepens experience” (48)

Ideology- its obvious!Works on two levels: obvious and hiddenWorks best when invisible/obvious/common

sense Ideology and 5 levels for learning (43)

Ie/ walking home at night Ie/ young people in a store ie./ post 9-11 Islam Ie/ students as lazy

For ads- the stages are not sequential Truth is not necc.

Schudson Asks the big questions What is advertising? AND How do ads work?

He suggests that: ads in capitalist society take on the role of state

art (19) As propaganda- but not truth As a reflection- but not a mirror image As representation- but not reality Ads are capitalism’s way of saying I love you to

itself (53) BUT THAT DOESN’T STOP THEM FROM HAVING

REAL CONSEQUENCES