Rendering the Advertisements into Polish. History of Polish Translation in Advertising

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Advertisement – Theoretical Background
1.1. Understanding the Ad – Definitions behind Mechanism
1.2. Tricks for Targeting Various Markets
1.3. Conclusion

Chapter 2: The ‘Know-how’ of Good Translation
2.1.Defining the ‘Translation’
2.2.Translation Procedures, Strategies and Methods
2.3.What is a ‘Good Translation’?
2.4.Translation – a Product of a Complex Work
2.5.The Notion of Equivalence
2.6. Brief History of Polish Art of Translation
2.7. Translation in Advertising

Chapter 3: “Mentos – the Fresh maker” or the Polish Idea of Adverts’ Translation
3.1. TV Adverts to be Remembered through Generations
3.2.Newspaper-Magazine Adverts
3.3.Disruptive Billboards

Conclusion

References

Introduction

The world of advertisement is a marvellous – for those who are the end receivers, meaning the potential buyers. The product well-presented is a highly sellable thing. TV watchers, magazine readers, even drivers – these all people are vulnerable targets to ever-present advertisement.

Advertisements are inevitable, living in the contemporary world it became obvious that everything advertises something; or at least – carries the image which refers to some promoted product. Over past quarter of century Polish society become deeply consumerist one. In America, this situation happened earlier and sociologists warned about it long before our market assimilated theirs.

The path from advertisement of any product leads amongst the others – through the desk of the translator. There are, obviously, home products and these which Poland can be proud of, nevertheless, the majority of goods that are being presented through various forms of advertisement comes from foreign markets. What is more, these products and their producers, together with the agencies responsible for implementation of these goods in particular countries, often choose to use their original campaigns. Therefore, Polish translators need to work in such way, to make the language of the advert spot catchy enough for our market. Such work is an invisible work and the one requiring lots of linguistic skills, joined with the cultural awareness and many other factors.

The art of translation is a rewarding work, nevertheless, there are the parts of it which are necessary to be learned and understood before anyone approaches such a responsible job as translating the advertisements of world-wide known products.

This paper’s aim is not only to provide the reader with some interesting facts regarding the advertisement, but also to make it clear how complex aspect the art of translation is. in order to do so, the author of this paper decided to divide the work into three chapters, each dealing with something different, but still – connected with the main theme of the paper – The Rendering of the Advertisements into Polish.

First chapter, titled Advertisement – Theoretical Background discusses the world of these powerful discourse of persuasion. Besides defining what is the advert and what forms it may take, the chapter also delves (although briefly) into the history of advertisement and compares the most powerful advertising market – the American one with our home market – in Poland. The second chapter - The ‘Know-how’ of Good Translation is a chapter devoted to presentation of the mechanisms hidden behind the final product – meaning the translation. it presents various techniques and difficulties connected with a good render of one language into other. It also explains how difficult it is to find the balance when one approaches so-called ‘Translation in Advertising’. The final chapter Three – “Mentos the Fresh maker” or the Polish Idea of Adverts Translation focused on presentation of the actual examples of foreign advertisements in Polish media. The period from before about fifteen years was the best time for Polish advertisement. Translators provided the viewers with funny and homey renderings of advert spots – so good, that they are still well-remembered. Present-days transaltions are far beyond these and probably more focused on visual message than on words.

Chapter 1: Advertisement – Theoretical Background

The chapter’s aim is to present the hidden forces and various tricks that push the world in its ‘proper’ consumerist direction in such way that the customers become vulnerable victims. The mechanisms range from psychological, playing on emotions to ideological, sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious; when approaching to advertisement research, one has to realize that although many people know that they are being ‘exploited’, most of them find this fact attractive.

1.1. Understanding the Ad – Definitions behind Mechanism

Make no mistake: advertising works. However, as a culture, we tend to be aloof and not a little snooty about advertisements, pretending that, while they may work on some people, they don’t work on us, and dismissing advertising language as trite discourse written for the uneducated (Goddard 1998: 2).

In contemporary society, advertising is everywhere. We cannot walk down the street, shop, watch television, go through our mail, log on to the Inter­net, read a newspaper or take a train without encountering it. Whether we are alone, with our friends or family, or in a crowd, advertising is always with us, if only on the label of something we are using (Cook 2001: 1).

For Williams: “[a]dvertisements are one of the most important cultural factors moulding and reflecting our life today. They are ubiquitous, an inevitable part of everyone’s lives: even if you do not read a newspaper or watch television, the images posted over our urban surroundings are inescapable. Pervading all the media, but limited to none, advertising forms a vast superstructure with an apparently autonomous existence and an immense influence” (Williams 2000: 11).

Katherine Toland Frith claims that most people think that there is too much advertising, that it makes them materialistic, that it perpetuates stereotypes, that it plays on fears of not being socially acceptable, that it lies, exploits children, and generally corrupts society. While most of these words of criticisms are not altogether true, there is some truth to all of them (Frith 1997: 1).

Advertisements are inevitable, living in the contemporary world it became obvious that everything advertises something; or at least – carries the image which refers to some promoted product. Over past quarter of century Polish society become deeply consumerist one. In America, this situation happened earlier and sociologists warned about it long before our market assimilated theirs. According to Sutherland and Sylvester:

Almost everybody is interested in advertising. Approximately $US400 billion is spent on advertising each year in the world (over $US200 billion in the USA alone). The average consumer is exposed to hundreds of ads every day. By the time we die we will have spent an estimated one and a half years watching TV commercials. Yet advertising continues to be something of a mystery (2000: 3).

Beyond the single examples of the quoted biographies’ marketing strategies, there is much evidence that advertising works on a whole variety of people, and in surprisingly immediate ways. Goddard reminds that in 1985, when a TV commercial featured model Nick Kamen who stripped down to his white boxer shorts in a launderette so that he could wash his 501s, sales of that brand of jeans went from 80,000 to 650,000 pairs over the course of one year (Goddard 1998: 2).

The question arises after the above introduction – ‘What in fact advertisement is?’ Cambridge International Dictionary of English refers to the action ‘advertise’ in the very short way: “to make (something) known generally or in public, esp. in order to sell it” (Procter 2000: 20). Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English on the other hand is more specific and explains that advertisement is: “a picture, set of words, or a short film, which is intended to persuade people to buy a product or use a service, or that gives informa­tion about a job that is available, an event that is going to happen etc.” (Summers 2001: 23). It also defines various types of advertisements:

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Fig. 7. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English word focus on’advertisement’ (Summers 2001: 23)

Julian Petley in his book Advertising summarizes the above facts in the following way: “advertising is the means by which goods or services are promoted to the public. The advertiser’s goal is to increase sales of these goods or services by drawing people’s attention to them and showing them in a favorable light” (Petley 2002: 4).

It is easy to understand that advertising clients are mainly, but not exclusively, corporations seeking to increase demand for their products or services. Product manufacturers would not invest in advertisements if they did not work, and the sums of money invested can be enormous, as Goddard claims (1998: 2):

Although advertisements are ephemeral in that each one is short-lived, their effects are longstanding and cumulative: they leave traces of themselves behind, which combine to form a body of messages about the culture that produced them. These messages can then function both to reflect and to construct cultural values: they can reflect the values of the powerful groups in society who produced the texts, but the reflection itself can then harden to become the touchstone for everyone (Goddard 1998: 3).

At the same time, for adverts to work, they must use commonly shared resources of language in ways that affect potential receivers and mean something to them. Moreover, for advertising to exist, a number of factors have to be in place:

- The interesting goods and services to be advertised
- Competition between different providers of the same kinds of goods and services, for which there needs to be a significant potential market
- The means of advertising cheaply to large numbers of people
- A population with sufficient education to be able to understand advertising (Petley 2002: 5).

In addition, Goddard states that: “At the root of the word ‘advertisement’ is the Latin verb ‘advertere’, meaning ‘to turn towards’ “(Goddard 1998: 6). While it is undoubtedly true that adverts are texts that do their best to get customers’ attention, to make people turn towards them, potential buyers would not want to say that everything they pay attention to is an advert. Therefore:

Central to our idea of an advert appears to be the factor of conscious intention behind the text, with the aim of benefiting the originator materially or through some other less tangible gain, such as enhancement of status or image (Ibid.).

1.1.1. All-Powerful American Advertisement in Brief

Early forms of advertising were sufficient if they included the red-and-white striped pole that indicated a barber’s shop, and a sign such as “The King’s Head” marking an inn. However, advertising as we know it today is a much more complicated and elaborate business, employing thousands of people with a wide range of skills in marketing, public relations, writing, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, and so on.

Although the origins of advertising were traced back to several extremely early sources, no one is exactly sure when it really began. Anthropologists, however, discovered evidence of several written advertisements and presented them as the first recorded efforts in selling. According to Donald A. McQuade and Elizabeth Williamson the ones most often noted are “a Babylonian clay tablet announcing the services of an ointment dealer, scribe, and shoemaker, as well as a piece of papyrus from the ruins of Thebes offering a reward for the return of runaway slaves” (in Inge 1998: 3).

Interestingly, the earliest publications about the New World suggest that America itself was presented to the European imagination in advertising terms. The publication of the first book about America written in English, Thomas Hariot’s A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia from 1588, may well be regarded as an advertising brochure.

Yet the Hariot/ White collaboration would not have had much influence beyond courtly circles had it not been for the ambition of Theodore DeBry, a Flemish engraver and bibliophile, who set out to publish a collection of writing about the European expeditions to the New World. DeBry learned of Hariot and White's work, published it in a volume entitled America I, and recast White's starkly simple watercolors as elaborate engravings depicting the New World as a cornucopia inhabited by natives in classic poses and garb. DeBry's rendition became the standard, ‘advertised’ image of the New World that defined the expectations of immigrants lured to America for the next three centuries (Ibid., 4).

Advertising in America, which developed in conjunction with the expanding colonial economy, began with its first product, tobacco. But as the colonies grew, advertising found its greatest impetus in shop signs and posted notices as well as in newspapers, once the press had won its right to exist.

In 1690, Benjamin Harris, the celebrated colonial printer secured a license to open a coffee house in Boston, where he sold the first advertised patent medicine in America and the first brand name:

That Excellent Antidote against all manner of Gripings, called Aqua anti Torminalis, which if timely taken, it not only cures the Griping of the Guts, and the Wind Cholic; but preventeth that awfal Distemper of the Dry Belly Ach; With Printed Directions for the use of it. Sold by Benjamin Harris, at the London Coffee-House in Boston. Price Three Shillings the half pint Bottle (Ibid.).

The scholars nowadays claim that it was Benjamin Franklin who did the most to stimulate the growth of a ‘proper’ advertising in America. As a printer and a newspaperman, Franklin made important improvements in advertising methods; he also made major changes in the style and format of printed advertisements. First of all, most newspaper advertisements, which consisted of three- and four line notices, were printed in various and uneven typefaces and were rather difficult to read. Franklin improved the visual for of ads by separating individual notices with white spaces and then by adding bolder headings, making one ad distinct from the next.

Moreover, to emphasize the differences in the advertisements, Franklin began using illustrations representative of the individual advertiser. He experimented with such different symbols as ships, tools, horses, and books, which indicated the general contents of the advertisements. These symbols ranged in size and they served as either borders or major graphics for the advertisements (Ibid., 5).

Despite Franklin’s improvements, the general state of advertising in colonial America remained relatively unfavourable. Most ads referred to simple notices for goods, and services, sometimes slaves, or lost items. Obviously, merchants used advertisements to attack competitors and to announce the newest wonder drugs.

However, late eighteenth century brought in a particular refreshment into advertisement world. With long notices shopkeepers began to inform the wealthy readers of the latest imported goods from England, Holland, and the Far East. As Inge informs: “[q]uality fabrics like chintzes and taffetas, and fragrant balms, spices, and perfumes had become signs of wealth and prestige in the New World. The words ‘imported’ and ‘just arrived’ in an advertisement spoke well of colonial America’s taste and of the advertiser’s audience, both of which changed after the revolutionary war” (Ibid.).

Technological advances in the early 1800s created frequent changes in newspaper format and production, especially in price reduction.

Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 19th century, the main printed media - newspapers and magazines - were still less important to advertisers than posters, handbills, trades people’s “cards” listing their wares, “advertising engines” (horse-drawn wooden towers coveted in posters), and the ‘sandwich men’ who walked the streets with poster boards strapped to their bodies, However, by (he middle of the century, newspapers and magazines were fast becoming the main sources for advertisers, as would commercial television and radio in the 20th century.

This picture was removed by the publisher due to copyright issues.

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Fig. 8. ‘Sandwich man’ advertising Dance Shoes

(library.christchurch.org: 2009-08-03)

Since the turn of the century advertisers have tried to explain consumer behaviour with the help of psychological theory, seeking to unlock advertising effectiveness with the key to individual motivations and desires. Between 1943 and 1954 seven thousand psychologists joined US advertising agencies.

In 1954 Maslow developed a hierarchy of human needs (A. H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 1954), stating that humans have a rational basis for needs starting with the basic: sleep, food, warmth, thirst, then later safety, security and fairness, trying to assert control over our environment. Other needs then arise, such as the need for belonging, love, status and esteem. These motivational and behavioural assumptions have formed a kind of ‘common sense’ about what makes consumers tick. Advertising in this behavioural psychological framework starts by seeking to match and satisfy consumers’ needs and desires. To unlock consumers’ spending, advertisers needed to appeal to the higher levels of human need, especially love, status, esteem and belonging. According to Brierley:

The personality of the consumer had to be matched by a personality for the brand. Consumers were meant to self-identify with brand personalities. The brand now had a complex “brand image”, and the advertisers were told that people would actually identify with this brand image (Brierley 1995: 30).

From technical site, by the 1920s, American public - and private - consciousness was saturated with advertising. Newspapers, magazines, transit ads, billboards, posters, and window displays proclaimed America’s commercial and social progress. The age of mass production, mass selling, and mass advertising arrived. As Reeves assumes:

Mass consumption was vital to mass production, and during the decade a gigantic advertising industry sprouted, determined to persuade, cajole, and intimidate the public into buying more and more of everything. The nation’s advertising bill doubled during the twenties, rising to $1.5 billion by 1927 (Reeves 2007: 84).

The mechanism was simple - people saw what they can buy and they wanted to have it – the magic of the advertising business was spreading and growing in power.

This picture was removed by the publisher due to copyright issues.

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Fig. 9. Advertisement of refrigerator – the symbol of the new standard of life

(advertisingarchives.captureweb.co.uk: 2011-03-03)

Agencies began to formulate theories of human behaviour and motivation which could be unlocked by persuasive treatments. New approaches to persuasiveness were categorised and systematised in the 1920s into ‘reason-why’ and ‘atmosphere’ advertising techniques (Brierley 1995: 132-133).

‘Reason-why’ was designed to stimulate demand by constructing a reason for purchase, such as helping to save time, being modern, or being socially acceptable. Reason-why ads were used to differentiate the product from others on the market, as in an example from the 1960s: “Make sure it’s Cadbury’s. Because no other chocolate can possibly give you the proper, creamy, Cadbury taste” (Ibid., 133). It created the hypothetical feeling that consumers were essentially rational and made consuming decisions based upon their own reason.

In an expanding market, there is no other reason to try to make appeals other than reason-why, because consumers continue to buy, but once competition rises and the market flattens, advertisers need to find new appeals. ‘Atmosphere’ advertising, on the other hand, appealed to the emotional side and was meant to evoke non-rational responses such as sexual desire and patriotism from consumers.

The advertising industry has changed remarkably in the past one hundred years - from the simplicity of brokering space in newspapers to the complexity of integrating the informational necessities and nuances of effective copywriting with the alluring qualities of elegantly purposeful graphics into promotional ‘campaigns’ with demonstrably successful results.

The statistics talk for themselves: “in 1880, American business spent approximately $175 million on advertising. By the turn of the century, that figure had grown to $300 million. In 1987, American corporations spent nearly $100 billion advertising their goods and services” (Inge 1998: 1). With each new fiscal year, advertising, through its own ever-increasing personnel and expenditures, more and more vigorously underwrites the very acts of consumption it promotes.

1.1.2. Modest Beginnings of Polish Advertisement

Beginning with 1989 Polish modern advertising market began slowly developing (Wasilewski 1999: 1). However, although the actual date of the ‘real’ advertisement is not known, those were the first decades of the twentieth century that saw the advertisement in Poland. In the market one could find such positions as Łukasiewicz’s Reklama, (1913) or Batko’s Reklama w przemyśle i handlu (1916). Interestingly, the between-war period was the best for marketeers. It was the time of Polska Agencja Telegraficzna (Polish Telegraphic Agency: my translation) , which advertised itself as the most efficient within country and reaching also the abroad customers. However, these were the conditions of the pre-war Poland. Sadly, with the socialistic regime that fall onto the period after Second World War and the following 45 years, Poland lost all it had – including blooming and efficient advertising market.

When in 1989 socialism fell, the borders re-opened to Western products and markets and the big networks of advertising agencies managed to get to our market, the so-called ‘de-monopolisation’ of medias began. Throughout years the advertisement began to be fashionable, ever-present and influential again.

In nowadays Poland advert is inevitable element of market. With each passing year – surprising the specialists both those domestic and the foreign ones, it climbs the ladder of success and breaks the barriers. How was and how is Polish advertisement perceived? Wojciech Orliński, one of the editors for Gazeta Wybrocza assumes that it takes one of the three forms, following the suicidal path of boredom and stereotype (Orliński 2004: online archive of Gazeta Wyborcza).

The first group of advertisements states: “Here is the happy family, happy because they use the X product”. This is the way that nearly everything is promoted, beginning with natural resources (there was not so long ago the advert of Polish gas-workers “Natural warmth at your home”) and on political spots finishing. In such mass of similar campaigns it is difficult what in fact makes you smile – the yoghurt or the washing powder.

The second idea of promoting the things is: „Here is the group of nice reasonable people. You can be like them and join them when you eat those chips or when you start using particular mobile network provider” etc… the variation of this advert is participation of famous people in place of the nice people. It is a must-have of such campaign to include the name-relating trigger, because sometimes it is difficult to realize what the customer is supposed to buy. That is why the most famous advertising slogan of coffee stated “Pedros? No, Gajos” and recalled actor’s face with cup of coffee. The most difficult aspect in this sector is that some actors ‘borrow’ their face to different adverts.

The third group is the one which assumes that the best solution is to add some varnish to their company’s image which would add something like hundred years old tradition. The good example is PZU (insurance company) which although it is indeed old, but the ‘tradition’ reaches back to Prussian annexation when it was obligatory to buy fire insurances. Nevertheless, the giant in this section is beer brand Dębowe which sports the image of massive oak barrels, looking decently old. The only problem is that such type of barrels was used to sediment wine or whiskey not beer (Orliński 2004: online archive of Gazeta Wyborcza).

Moreover, it is difficult to assume whether the problem lays within polish business, advertisement or the society, but sadly – auto irony is hardly found in polish adverts. The best example is famous movie Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra. It included the character of Egyptian woman who loses the network from time to time. The French original was named Itineris and was easily recognised as free advertisement of some local network provider; other countries used name Vodafonix. But when polish character appeared to be Idea, the roar of dissatisfaction arouse. Idea company did not perceive it as funny and catchy free of charge advertisement but as an insult diminishing their quality.

The final effect is that when the advertisement block begins most of Poles quickly change the channel to avoid boring and often annoying millions-worth campaigns.

a) The Best Remembered Advertising Slogans of 1990’s.

1. Frugo fruit drink: “No to Frugo” (Let’s go Frugo: translation mine), authors: Kot Przybora, Iwo Zaniewski, Jan Mazurczak, Marek Bimer , 1996;
2. Motorola pager: “Łączy bez łączy", (Links with no links: translation mine), author: Andrzej Kotański, 1995;
3. Kotlin tomato ketchup: “To co ma pomidor to ma ketchup – Kotlin”, (The inside of tomato inside Kotlin’s bottle: translation mine), author: Cezary Filew,1997;
4. EB beer: “Czas na EB” (Time for EB: translation mine), author: Barbara Jankowiak, 1993.

b) The Most Remembered 1990s Advertising Campaigns

1. Łaciate milk, 1995
2. Frugo, 1996
3. Pollena 2000 washing powder with slogan – “Ociec prać” (play of words from Janosik movie), 1990

1.2. Tricks for Targeting Various Markets

By the early twentieth century key consumer markets such as confectionery, soap and tobacco had already become saturated. Though advertisers had developed strategies such as expanding consumer spending through increasing credit, they also turned to advertising messages to help increase sales. As early as 1908, when The Psychology of Advertising by Professor Walter Dill Scott was published, advertisers began to turn to psychological theories to try to unlock the consumer’s mind (Brierley 1995: 132).

The consumer ethic is universal. Everything we do, see, hear, and even feel appears to be connected in some way to our experience as consumers. Whatever label we wish to put to it, there can be little doubt that contemporary consumerism is driven by diversity and choice, by an emphasis on difference, and the conscious and deliberate promotion of material goods as status indicators for particular market segments. Marketing routine therefore links a range of commodities and their associated cultural and symbolic capital to more or less coherent lifestyle images (Slater 1997:191).

Miles, Anderson and Meethan (2002) go as far as stating that the logical consequence of such approach leads to viewing the desire for goods as some sort of fetish. However, at the same time they soften this vision by assuming that the uses to which goods are put are more than an apparent satisfying of basic needs (Miles- Anderson-Meethan 2002: 3). In fact the producers of commodities have little or no control, despite the rhetoric of marketing and advertising, over their development and use. Therefore the consumers should not assume that the intentions of the producers are simply absorbed by the unsuspecting and passive consumer. As Miller (1995:41) notes, although consumption may be globalised, it can also act as a way for local groups to both create and maintain a sense of difference.

Although consumption is a means by which self-identities may be defined and maintained, it is not the only one. Factors such as gender, ethnicity, kinship and age, for example, may in fact be more salient ways of expressing identity, or of mediating patterns and forms of consumption. In fact, consumption may simply be a vehicle through which more significant aspects of identity are expressed (Miles- Anderson-Meethan 2002: 4).

Because modern markets are wider and more open than pre-industrial markets, advertisers try to make communication easier and cheaper by fixing the market in a specific place and time. They also attempt to control their business environment by classifying, measuring and “mapping” their product and consumer markets. They use market information to predict future behaviour, and to gain advantages over competitors. However, product and consumer markets are not self-contained – they overlap. The following part of the chapter will deal with particular target groups and forms of marketing techniques used in order to gather their interest.

1.3.1. Women as Consumers

Janice Winship recalls mid February 1994, St Valentine’s Day, when Wonderbra’s advertising campaign hit the cities’ billboards in Britain, ‘the original push-up plunge’ bra made headline copy (Winship in Miles- Anderson-Meethan 2002: 25). Wonderbra blossomed into a popular cultural icon for the 1990s. In one of different adverts, the model Eva Herzigova sports a black Wonderbra, smiling as she gazes downwards at her ample cleavage. More careful scrutiny, however, throws up the real mark of difference - the ad’s copy: against a white background in large black serif type: ‘HELLO BOYS’.

In an opposition with beautiful Herzigova stands the other female character, set in British surrounding and constantly aware of her flaws, however, all of them are – not surprisingly, centered around consumerism – Bridget Jones, created by Helen Fielding. For example:

Sunday 8 January

9st 2 (v. bloody g. but what is point?), alcohol units 2 (excellent), cigarettes 7, calories 3100 (poor).

2 p.m. Oh God, why am I so unattractive? Cannot believe I convinced myself I was keeping the entire weekend free to work when in fact I was on permanent date-with-Daniel standby. Hideous, waste two days glaring psychopathically at the phone, and eating things (Fielding 1996:27).

For Bridget, the pleasures of overeating with chocolate, mince pies, drinking too much sparkling wine while watching ‘EastEnders’, cause shame and when her office email-flirtation falters she records: “V. depressed. Going shopping” (Ibid., 31). Exploring the frailties of femininity – its consuming passions and passion for consumption – the Diary presents Bridget as the prototype of woman-consumer.

Interestingly, focus group research indeed indicated that in case of women their heaviest consumption is on ‘alcohol, cigarettes, eating out, takeaways, clubs, gigs, cinema, theatre’ on the one hand, and ‘clothes, shoes, underwear’ on the other (Fydler 1998:16).

Christine Gledhill refers to the aspect of ‘the state of the contest’ in gendered relations (Gledhill 1997: 383) and that can take several forms, the most important being: first, women consumed by, or taken up with all things feminine; second, women as a market segment conjured up by marketers; and third, women as active subjects who consume signs and commodities.

1990s brought new image of woman, different from the one being patronized and perceived as a ‘blind’ consumer. Moreover, the development of specific advertising aimed at the specific markets, so-called ‘targeting’, highlighted the need for fresh approaches to advertising. This can be clearly seen in the case of a 1998 marketing conference entitled ‘Winning Women’. As the publicity states: “For marketers, understanding the course of change is essential. It is not good enough to rely on old stereotypes, or even last year’s imagery young single women are the most challenging for marketers to keep up with” (Miles- Anderson-Meethan 2002: 31).

Interestingly, a range of campaigns from the mid-1990s joked with, made fun or represented a symbolic violence against men. The most striking example was the Lee brand advertisement of Bootcut jeans ‘Put the boot in’ which featured a woman’s leg, her stiletto-heeled boot resting on the buttocks of a prostrate and naked man. This advert was highly criticised for its obscenity and double meaning, however exactly this double signification, and the ad’s stimulation of the tension between the two, is common to most of the women campaigns, seeming to fulfil the women’s need for the excitement of the new, and with the brand then embodying that tension.

One more issues to emerge from the new approach towards women-consumers was an awareness of the importance of not patronising an audience. Adam Lury stressed it in the following way:

Customers are no longer prepared to be the 'child', ever credulous, submissive to authority … They want to be involved in the process and increasingly they want recognition that it is their agenda that is being followed … they are equal partners in a deal whose terms are constantly changing (Lury 1998:79).

The advertising speaks to the target group in a tone of voice and with a cultural sensibility that they recognise. As Alison Fydler suggests it should be “entertaining, making fun out of life but also be relevant” (1998:38).

1.3.2. Men and Advertisement

Dick Hebdige’s (1979) Subculture: the Meaning of Style, implicitly recognised that men’s relationship to the world of goods was not merely as producers, and that male identity was not secured through the institutions of production alone. Since then, through the advertising and promotion of an expanding range of goods targeted at men, the marketplace has become a privileged site for the elaboration and construction of a proliferation of new masculine identities.

Also, the impact of social and cultural changes on purchasing behavior has changed the way companies do business. For example, years ago women did grocery shopping for the family and now men are also doing the grocery shopping. Interestingly, researches showed that for information about products and services, men rely on advertising on newspapers and radio than television. Moreover:

A study of men depicted their motives for purchasing specific magazines. The male population was divided into traditionalists (27%), searchers (22%), achievers (20%), fast trackers (17%), and young urban techies (14%). Traditionalists have a high regard for religion and family and enjoyed reading about cars and hunting. Searchers were likely either to be divorced or single and tended to watch a lot of science fiction or television. Achievers earned the most money, exhibited great confidence in every aspect of their lives, and tended to read business, news weeklies, and computer periodicals. These three groups tended to be middle aged and older. Fast trackers tended to be about age twenty-five and prized earning money and eventually believed they would be successful. The young urban techies averaged about age twenty-seven and were well-educated and politically progressive (Whelan 2001: 18-21).

Another important aspect is that consumers engage in a decision process for store choice as well as for product and brand choices and here, not only women are brand-aware. Men consist of the equal group interested both in brand and comfort or fashion. In addition, according to Michman, Mazze and Greco male shoppers tend to have greater brand loyalty than do female shoppers. Men are less eager to switch brands if satisfied (Michman-Mazze-Greco 2003: 90).

Furthermore, the increasing affluence of the single male market creates new opportunities and challenges for marketers. Single men are willing to spend a greater proportion of their money to food consumed away from home, alcohol, transportation, entertainment, tobacco, cash contributions, and to retirement investments than single women. Moreover, singles tend to prefer products that are low maintenance, affordable, and can be used safely. They prefer to live close to where they work and will move into housing such as lofts and condos that families with children usually avoid. This market segment is attractive for purchasing fashionable apparel. The size of this market is estimated at approximately $600 billion and lifestyle market segmentation strategies are especially appropriate in reaching this market segment (Ibid., 113).

1.3.3. Children and Youths as Advertising Target

In considering the emergence of a consumer society, it is worth noting that young people's experience of a consumer society, at least in a sense, puts them at the forefront of recent social change. The children, teens, and the college market represent enormous potential for marketers. Marketing to this segment has a great deal to do with the psychological development of children and their dependence on their parents. As children’s ages increase, their influence and independence increases.

Michman, Mazze and Greco provide the following statistics: “According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 25.7 percent of the population, 72.3 million people, is under the age of eighteen. That represents a growth of 13.7 percent over 1990. There are at least six recognized youth segments: ages 0-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, 13-15, and 16-18 with age compression and ethnic factors having an impact on each of these segments” (Michman-Mazze-Greco 2003: 129).

‘Age compression’ is a term that means children are growing up more quickly than they did a generation or even a decade ago. The ‘tweens’ are between the ages of nine and twelve and are replacing Barbie and Lego blocks with video games, clothes, and cosmetics. Children no longer have to play dress-up since they can wear children’s versions of their parents’ clothes from stores like Gap and other well-known brands.

A decade ago girls were interested in Barbie until they were age nine or ten years and now they lose interest at age five or six. This speed-up process is a result of access to influences and information, the instance with which trends move, and working mothers who give children the opportunity of seeing what other children do in their homes. Goddard assumes that:

Younger groups can also be targeted by means of reference to older slogans and catch-phrases. Often this is about rebellion, acted out linguistically – turning the older generations’ nice sentiments into in-yourface statements (1998: 71).

Determining what kids buy and why they make the purchase choices they do is a complex task; however, making them feel their choices match exactly the advertised products requires a lot of wit and creativity. Goddard provides an example of slogans which secretly encode taboo words – such as ‘Thank fuck it’s Friday’, clearly implied in TFI Friday - a light entertainment show, produced by Ginger Productions (Ibid., 72-73). Swear words representation under initials only, with possibility to decode in purely innocent way, was usually aimed at a young audience: such trick could satisfy a desire to sneak the forbidden past one’s parents, smuggle it into the respectable living-room right under their noses. Goddard adds: “Intertextuality is no observer of boundaries: it doesn’t have to involve a particular slogan for a specific product. It can move between advertising and many other forms of discourse” (Ibid., 72).

Michman, Mazze and Greco claim that purchasing motives are not permanent and change throughout the child’s growing up (Ibid., 130). Their motivation is strongly influenced by other children. And above all, children are actively learning and acquiring new objects of desire that will subsequently modify their lifestyle characteristics. In order to support such view, according to Jones and Slater, the authors of What’s in a Name: advertising and the concept of brands:

Consumers - especially young consumers - are quite savvy when it comes to advertising. Advertising is totally open. Consumers recognize this and they are skeptical. They know the advertisement’s purpose is to sell something. Immediately, the consumer’s own psychological barriers rise, allowing the consumer to screen and choose what advertisements are noticed, as well as what advertising information is retained. The consumer is in complete control, not the advertiser (Jones-Slater 2003: 232).

The researchers discovered that younger consumers indicated no loyalty to the leading brands and preferred not to use their parents’ brand. Therefore, alert producers such as Redox washing detergent, felt it important to change the packaging to make it less nostalgic and more exciting and up to date (Ibid., 254). The strategy was aimed at a younger audience: the 59 million “post-baby boomers” who did not enjoy doing the laundry. The proposition spoke to the audience about how to balance their very active life-styles while dealing with the family’s boring clothing. The role of the advertising was to relate to consumers’ need for clean clothes - a result that can be achieved with minimal trouble. In brief, they wanted a brand they could call their own. The question is: ‘How to show it to a wise observer in such way to attract his attention and not to lose it?’

What is important is that young consumers have tremendous influence over purchasing power at home due to the changing dynamic of the family. They spend a lot more time at the store with their parents. Moreover, “[y]oung people like to belong and reference groups serve as an important frame of reference for individuals in their purchasing decisions” (Michman-Mazze-Greco 2003: 130). These groups of reference can include memberships or aspiration groups; teenager seeks opportunities to become a part of such group and consequently be recognized as someone important. As a result:

Marketers can broaden their market for a product by associating their brand with a significant reference group or a respected individual. For example, Nike has associated their athletic footwear with Michael Jordan. An entire line of products can be based on a reference group. This can include jackets, hats, and shirts when designed with the name of a football or baseball team. Teenagers are especially conscious of reference groups (Ibid., 131).

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