Literature Review~ Sifting through what's already been said

Literature Review~Sex in advertising catalyzes Individualism

The dynamics of the way people interact with society have always boggled the minds of most classical philosophers, but the prevalence of media’s impact on that interaction really has become the ‘Rubik’s cube’ of contemporary social research. Media subsequently tell the masses how to live, whether selling the products we HAVE to use, or paving the ways of how we are expected to behave in social situations- media’s infiltration of culture has generally been there to manipulate consumerism. The social implication that advertising-inadvertently- affects the evolvement of humans in their capacity to interact is fascinating. As an attempt to find further analysis of this phenomenon, the following literature will explore the classical theories of individualism, sex in advertising, the social implications of advertising, and the social consequences of an individualized culture.

Individualism
According to the first uses of ‘Individualisme’ (in its 19th century French original), it was the European reaction to the French Revolution to its alleged source, the thought of the Enlightenment, as unbridled ideas jeopardized the French commonwealth into “an unsocial, uncivil, unconnected chaos of elementary principles” (Lukes 45-46). Thus, the dichotomy of the needs of the ‘Individual’ will trump the needs of their relation with the ‘World’ was presented (Lukes 46). Interestingly, in the early 20th century in a region not far from France, the definition of individualism was going through a different course. The translation of Georg Simmel’s ‘Individualism’ from 1917 emphasizes the importance of individuality, and how people aspired to express this with their own signature, particularly among the Germanic and Romanic cultures. “All individual freedom, distinction and excellence are sought within these limits, and are in fact nothing other than particularly pure and strong manifestations of typical nameable attributes” (Simmel 67). As social creatures, individuals are VERY concerned about how they present themselves to the public and make sure their expressions align with social norms, whilst maintaining a personal identity. The article then goes on to pay homage to the consequence of the German yearning of individualism on a more ‘deeply German person’ as Kant who, “vested the absolute singular worth of man in the absolutely inner moral conscience of personality, creating a figure of tremendous solitude uninfluenceable in the slightest way by either divine commandment or care for personal benefit, by either opinion or historical circumstance” (Simmel 69). Henceforth, despite these articles’ observations being outdated whilst commercial media being in its nascent stages, Luke’s and Simmel’s contributions to understanding individualism as a self-awareness that separates the ‘self ‘from the ‘outside-world’, and ‘Law’ and ‘universal law’ here stand in solidarity to one another. Conversely, in a more contemporary approach, Honneth provides a thorough retro-analysis of individualism-drawing from Durkheim, Weber, and Simmel. However, Honneth’s article links the socio-cultural change with the new forms of individualism as well as capitalism’s impact on the ideology. “As the confluence of material, social, and intellectual process of change which have so many traits in common, in the manner of an elective affinity, as to have been able collectively to create a new kind of individualism” (Honneth 468). Furthermore, Honneth’s research of individualism and how it relates to Western capitalism lends a plethora of resources in the works cited that will prove detrimental in further investigation.

Sex in Advertising
Sex appeal is an effective tactic used in advertising to convey a product in a desirable/ marketable way because it demands the viewers’ attention. However, by portraying sex too explicitly the results can be adverse. For example, Levit warns that there are social consequences if the sex appeal is executed too tastelessly. Levit uses the Abercrombie & Fitch example from 2002 when the Illinois State Senate-with several non-profits backing- passed a resolution condemning A & F’s advertising/marketing practice by asking the public and shareholders to boycott their catalog entitled “XXX Wet, Hot, Summer Fun”, showing naked boys and girls ‘frolicking in natural settings’-pretty ironic for a clothes store targeted towards teenagers. Levit’s article also includes the responsible effectiveness of sex appeal when used implicitly with an example of Heineken’s “Premature Pour” ad- when a man over-pours his drink when trying to impress an attractive lady from across the bar. Despite the message being sexually suggestive, whilst making Heineken desired, the public responded with a rise in sales of 13% in its first two quarters of 2002 (Levit).
Society is all too familiar with the term that ‘sex sells’, however, in Reichert’s article he presents the statistics to prove it with an example of condoms when it comes to brand-name recall being linked to sexual appeal. In a study conducted in 1982 by Richmond & Hartmann, ‘brand-name recall was significantly lower when sexual content in the ad was not functionally related to the product than when sexual content was linked to the product” (Reichert 254). Reichert’s article also provides many other gems of analysis of sex in advertising addressing the emotional and behavioral responses from the audience. Towards the end of the article, Reichert even criticizes the lack of study and inquires if it’s the stigma of sex research for which advertising researchers don’t delve deeper on the subject but he humbly hopes his work to provide a “steppingstone” for future research on the matter~ case in point (269).
In a society that equates sex with happiness- conveniently more than money- it’s only natural for marketers to cast that advantage in a lucrative light when presenting their products. A couple of Dartmouth economists (David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald) conducted a study on sexual activity and happiness and “estimate that increasing intercourse from once a month to once a week is equivalent to the amount of happiness generated by getting an additional $50,000 in income for the average American”(Kirchheimer). Does Sex Really make us happy? In his article, Reeves argues that the sexual angle has been so over-played that people are becoming indifferent. “Sexual imagery is losing its impact as consumers begin to ‘tune out’ the torrent of flesh on billboards and TV. Too much sex in the media has made adults immune and adolescents insecure” (Reeves 31). Reeves provides a realistic, almost comical perspective on the prevalence of sex in the media and its saturation in everyday life no longer celebrates our sexual liberation, but rather confines it to the ‘shallow sexualisation of public life’ (31).


Social Implications of Advertising
“Advertising and selling effort in so far as they influence demand may create uniformities of desires so that mass production of specialized articles may be disposed of” (Tosdal 66). It’s no secret that one of the objectives of advertisements is to skew the presentation of reality that would optimize the appearance of the product and shroud it in a positive light, thus appealing to the consumer. However, more times than not, advertisements’ presentation of ‘reality’ are far from the truth by depicting a ‘perfect’ world. The advertisement campaign that exemplifies, and even parodies, this notion are the Windows 7 commercials that show a normal person recounting a story having an issue with their PC showing a re-enactment with a more attractive person experiencing this epitome to make their PC run smoother (Youtube).In Marsha Richins’ article, “Social Comparisons and the Idealized Images of Advertising” she argues that ‘consumers see these idealized images and (consciously and unconsciously) compare their more mediocre selves and lives with the idealized images (Richins 71). As a result of this comparison from the studies she conducted, subjects become dissatisfied with their own appearance. In the same vein, Pollay argues that ‘advertising’s unintended consequences are seen by many as a pollution of our psychological and social ecology, which raises moral alarm and tempts a defensive reaction from those of us whose expertise and sense of personal worth is drawn from our knowledge of, and at least implicit assistance in, the process of persuasion” (19).
In a 1995 analysis of overt sexuality in advertising, Elliot, Jones, Benfield, and Barlow eloquently observed that, ‘it may be that their consumption of advertising symbolism young people are building a popular culture with a sexuality constructed from representations associated with their favorite consumer products. The new consumers’ ‘unpredictable decision-making power in selection and use of cultural commodities may be used to re-construct the meaning of desire and sexuality’ (212). Elliot, Richard, et al. provide a balanced optimism of sexuality in advertising and tackle the ethical controversies that surround the hot topic. However, they conclude that ‘if advertisements using overt sexuality are tightly targeted at younger consumers through appropriate media, and utilize imagery of mutuality in sexual experience, then they may have a positive role to lay in helping to transform the language of sexuality by allowing both genders to share an emancipatory choice of consumption meanings’ (Elliot, et al. 213).

Consequences of an Individualized Culture
There is much speculation of what may come of American society if it continues to follow the path it’s been on, including the theory that American culture will become dangerously individualistic and morph into ‘a nation of social isolates’ (Cerulo 353). In her essay, Cerulo investigates how America’s focus to be more individualized has a tendency to shift in accordance to certain social events and structural conditions, thus acknowledging the role of culture. Prime example of an ‘individualism surge’ occurred from 1970-1984 when a broad range of cultural sectors were immersed with messages of growing individualism. “Yet it is important to note that the culture of the period did not reflect American’s actual behavior and attitudes with a dramatic increase in individualism- behavioral and attitudinal moves toward individualism were temporary or limited in scoped” (Cerulo 360). This was a very straight-forward essay, not just in writing style, but Cerulo provides a table of important American Value definitions within the first pages that provides an invaluable reference when analyzing the ideologies.
In order to maintain a balanced perspective on the rising/falling of individualism Nevitt Sanford explores the latter by focusing on new social phenomena- devaluation of privacy, the new sexuality, group practices, and anti-intellectualism (Sanford 215-217). This research proves valuable because of its focus on the psychoanalysis of the ‘self’ as an individual surrounded by an ever-changing social culture. “Ways of consuming are guided in the interest of the market and of keeping the corporation going. There is little need for an individual to decide what he will consume because this is made clear for him in the form of advertising and the movies” (Sanford 215).

Conclusion
In conclusion, the literature reviewed here paves the way for further research as I am becoming more informed on the subject matter and learning the research skills necessary to be more thorough. The earlier works of individualism were interesting just from the standpoint that thee concepts are just as applicable 100 years ago as they are today when discussing its skeletal structure-priority of the Self over the State. Granted, the cultural landscape over time, particularly advertising, has impacted the extent of which individualism is accepted in a capitalist culture. Throughout the research conducted, I found far more information connected to some keywords more than others, and have a renewed sense of enthusiasm as I delve deeper into the subject matter. As a result, my curiosity for finding a deeper connection between the evolution of social interaction and cultural phenomenon, like advertising, lends some motivation to explore more research and what other implications can be drawn.



Works Cited
Cerulo, Karen A. “ Social Relations, Core Values, and the Polyphony of the American
Experience.” Sociological Forum 23.2 (2008): 351-362. Print.
Elliot, Richard, Abigail Jones, Andrew Benfield, and Matt Barlow. “Overt Sexuality
In Advertising: A Discourse Analysis of Gender Responses”. Journal of
Consumer Policy 18 (1995): 187-217. Print.
Honneth, Axel. “Organized Self-Realization: Some Paradoxes of Individualisation.”
European Journal of Social Theory 7.4 (2004): 463-478. Print.
Kirchheimer, Sid. “Sex Better Than Money for Happiness”. WebMD Health News.
16 Jul. 2004. Web. 20 April 2010.
URL: http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/20061101/sex-better-
than-money-for-happiness
Levit, Mark. “Sex in Advertising: Does it Sell?” Worldpaidshop.com. Worldpaidshop,
n.d. Web. 19 Apr 2010.
URL: http://www.worldpaidshop.com/advertising/102040.php
Lukes, Steven. “The Meanings of Individualism.” Journal of the History of Ideas 32.1
(1971): 45-66. Print.
Pollay, Richard W. “The Distorted Mirror: Reflections on the Unintended Consequences
Of Advertising.” The Journal of Marketing 50.1 (1986): 18-36. Print.
Reeves, Richard. “Does sex make us happy? Don’t talk about it…” New Statesman
134.4733 (2005). 30-32. Print.
Reichert, Tom. “Sex in Advertising Research: A Review of Content, Effects, and
Functions in Sexual Information in Consumer Advertising.” Annual Review
of Sex Research 13 (2002): 241-273. Print.
Richins, Marsha L. “Social Comparison and the Idealized Images of Advertising.”
The Journal of Consumer Research 18.1 (1991): 71-83. Print.
Sanford, Nevitt. “The Decline of Individualism.” Public Health Reports 85.3 (1970):
213-219. Print.
Simmel, Georg. “Individualism.” Theory, Culture & Society 24.7 (2007): 66-71.
Print.
Tosdal, Harry R. “The Advertising and Selling Process.” Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science 209 (1949): 62-70. Print.
Youtube Windows 7 Commercial
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLAO9YnlJSU



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