Sally Forth
Dr. Law
English 2803, Section 0012
September 1995
To many people, advertising is seen as just another freedom
allowing for a choice among products. However, in Ways of
Seeing, John Berger points out that advertising comprises
more than competition between manufacturers for consumers.
Advertising, he says, "is a language in itself which is
always being used to make the same general proposal" (131).
According to Berger, advertising tries to convince people that
they can "transform" themselves into something much like
the persons in ads by purchasing a certain product. The people
in advertisements are presented in pleasurable situations in
order to show how they have been changed by the goods they sell.
In doing this, advertisers create envy for their models and
glamor for the products they sell. Through this connection
of the product and glamor, companies hope to persuade people
that they too can be envied like the person pictured in the
ad if they obtain the object being sold (132).
Almost every advertisement in every magazine uses some form of
the persuasion Berger describes. Clothing ads are especially . . .
To top of page
Back to Eng 204 Syllabus
|