Stereotypes within Advertisements

Stereotype- Sociology. a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and heldin common by members of a group: The cowboy and Indian are American stereotypes.

A stereotype is a bias conception of someone put into it's most simplest form.

Race, gender, and weight are three attributes which create stereotypes amongst the people in America today. Ironically, while many stereotypes such as these exist in advertising, few of them are ever recognized! While using stereotypes to sell a product is a successful advertising technique for the company most of the time, there can be negative impacts on the the consumer end. Is this technique of advertising acceptable for an equal economy?

Race is one of the most widely discussed stereotypes in advertising...
Linked to colonialism; when the western nation took over with the idea of making the states "clean". Stereotypes also have history which trace back to propaganda used against the Nazis in Germany.

There are NO EXCUSES!

The fact that do "racist" stereotypes actually exists already says something... Why is this even a question?

This question alone says a lot about the society we live in. The reasons these ads exists is because it is the way our society is built. Racist.

Examples (videos & ads) coming soon...

Advertisements Vary...

Advertisements differ with the way they attract the consumer. However, all advertisements share one thing in common, the use of "semiotics". Many businesses and services may produce successful advertisements with the use of signs.

The use of signs are intended to act as a link between a concept and a sound. Signs have 2 factors which associate with them; known as, the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the form which the sign takes (touch, see, realistic). The signified is the concept which it represents.

Signs help advertisements in several ways:

• Symbols/Symbolic- signifier does not resemble the signified (languages, numbers, traffic lights, flags)
• Icons/Iconic- signifier perceived as resembling signified/portrait, cartoons, scale model, metaphors, and sound effects
• Index/Indexical- signifier is not arbitrary but is directly connected to signified footprints, smells, medicinal symptoms, recordings, photographs, and film
• Denotation- Literal, obvious, common sense
• Connotation- Socio cultural and personal association
• Myth- Extended metaphor, Dominant ideology of time
• Denotation+Connotation= ideology 

In ADV 91, a few different ads were shown as examples:
One, the SAAB SUV advertisement. The commercial does an exceptional job on applying semiotics by transferring qualities of an aircraft to a four wheeled vehicle. 

Two, the advertisement for Land Rovers latest SUV. In this commercial semiotics is applied by focusing on the signifier. As a couple walks into a local city dry cleaning mat, they drop soaking wet, dirty clothes on the counter with san and bugs falling out. Semiotics is applied by forcing the viewer to decode these signs in order to associate the vehicle with "extreme environments" such as a dessert. 

The Strongest Agency: AKQUA

After doing some research on different Advertising Agencies, i found one agency that really stood out to me. AKQA, a world wide agency which has produced advertisements for many well-known corporations such as Target, Xbox, Nike, Delta Airlines, and more. 

Not surprisingly, AKQA was rated number one for the top Advertising Agency in the world last year (2012) 

Other Agencies i looked at were FKM, SKG, and Palmer. While each of these professional agencies produce successful advertisements and consist of strong marketing tools. AKQA stood out to me not only because of their wide range of clients throughout the world, but also because of their easy accessible and sophisticated website. 

As a successful agency in the business world of 2013, you must have effective and competitive media tools such as AKQA's website. Take a look and get a feel for the interactive webpage here AKQA Website. 

Advertisement Agencies: The Breakdown

Did you know? 

There are two basic different types of Advertisement Agencies. Departmental Services and Group Systems

Although departmental agencies have different departments within the organization, all advertising is integrated! Advertising is the way you communicate a brand in marketing. The integrated figures within the process of advertising are the following:

Advertisers and Clients
Firms who have products, services, or causes that need to be advertised

Agency:
The outside firm that specializes in the creation and process

Media Organization:
TV, Newspaper, Magazine, Subscription

Specialized Marketing Services:
Direct marketing agency, sales promotion agency, interactive agencies, and PR firms

Collateral Service:
Wide range of support functions used by advertisers

Creative Services:
Creation and execution of advertisement

Art Department:
How the ad looks

Production Department:
oversee logistics and costs

Traffic Department:
Coordinates phases of process 

Copy Writers:
Write the headlines & conceive the idea

Other services:

Free Lancers: Self employed, works project to project 

Media Buying Services: Specialize in buying and knowing media 

Creative boutiques: provides only creative services