Advert Analysis: A Reflection

For this activity, my group and I analyzed a Marlboro brand cigarette advertisement from the 1950s. In our analysis, we discovered that Marlboro encompassed three main ideas/themes that they used to sell the cigarettes. These main ideas were exoticness, affluence and wealth, and they form the core of what this advertisement is about.

Marlboro's specific selection of these themes is a reflection of what was happening in society at the time. Around the early 1950s, air travel first began to be commercialized, but it was probably still quite expensive and reserved for the more affluent (upper-class) - hence our society was at a time when the rich were able to travel; and subsequently "exoticness" began being tied to money. This explains why so much of the advertisement is based on travelling and being rich, as these things were now linked. It was probably trendy for the rich to travel - this demonstrates the bandwagon effect, where people are told that they should want to travel since many wealthy people are also doing so.
 

The choice of these themes to sell Marlboro cigarettes also reflects what people valued at that time. It is logical that knowing what ideals society prized, Marlboro would play on those ideals to make us believe buying Marlboro cigarettes is the equivalent of achieving them. We thus see that our culture values the attributes of being different, having money, and having a good relationship. These traditional values are the things we believed to be important, and that could create a 'perfect life'. More interestingly, however, is what our society thought these values looked like. For instance, a good relationship was depicted as being between a man and a woman (this is discussed later), and being different can be accomplished just by travelling abroad. It reflects the narrow mindedness of society then.
 

Something to note in this advert is that both the man and the woman are white. This is worrisome, since they are supposed to embody the 'perfect people' (since they are happily married, on holiday, rich etc.). This advert was published in 1952 - still 3 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on that bus. Our society was thus at a time when segregation was still common, and the 'ideal' figures were white. Additionally, they were also very wealthy - since they could afford suits, pearls, and holidays etc. This advert therefore blatantly served the wealthy and the white, and ignored people of colour as well as the poor. This is because their stories did not fit in with the 'perfect' idea Marlboro was trying to attach to it's cigarettes.

 

Another marginalized group is homosexuals. The idea of love and of a perfect relationship is shown using a man and a woman, and this again reflects the traditional ideas that this ad employs. Again,  1952 is a long time before 1989, when Denmark became the first country to legalize same-sex marriages. In other words, any one that is not rich or white is ignored in this advertisement - all because they did not fit in with the 'perfect' idea.

 

Another concept the advert is (unintentionally?) perpetuating is that of conformism. This contradicts the first central theme of 'being different' (very strongly)but if we all want to be different, does that not make us all the same? Marlboro is selling safe ideas, they are traditional, things we are taught to aspire towards from a young age. Things like having money, finding a partner and settling down, but still being a little different - we have always been told to work for these things. Marlboro made an especially clever marketing choice by focusing on affluence, especially since it has always been (and continues to be) marketed to the public as the pinnacle of success. In this way we see Marlboro employing a combination of the bandwagon and problem/benefit technique. They use the problem/solution method slightly differently, however, fixating more on the solution as opposed to them problem. They sell the perfect life that Marlboro brings as a resolution to our problem of being commonplace, and this rubs of very well since the idea of the perfect life that they are selling is something their audience can identify with.

 

Finally, I would like to discuss the intended audience. First, we can assume they would be white - this allows them to relate to the rich couple on at least one level. More specifically, the audience could be said to be the middle/working class people. This is due to the excessive luxurious and affluent imagery used, which would appeal to people who can't have it and are working towards it more than the rich, who already have these things. Looking at this ad from an average, middle class point of view, the themes it purports suits them very well. Being a part of the 'working class' label, it is no surprise that they would want to be different, while their lack of hoards of cash would make them desire affluence, and their idea of love may be more traditional, subscribing to long-held beliefs and values.

All in all, this advertisement has been influence by real world events going on at the time, and reflects our state of mind collectively as a society, the norms of the time, and the ideals that we prized