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- What type of lifestyle does the ad you selected portray? Would you purchase this car if it meant being able to live this lifestyle?
Television is one of the most popular advertising platforms due to the general outreach advertisers can gain. Broadcasters likely slot in an advertisement in between popular programs with the main aim being to reach out to the various viewers tuned in. Such is the case with a new Renault Clio advertisement that I watched during one of my favorite shows. The advertisement portrays a relatively middle-class lifestyle while incorporating Thierry Henry. This famous football star played for France and notable clubs such as Monaco, Arsenal, and Barcelona football club. In part, the advertisement is compelling, given I am a huge fan of masculine and sporty cars. At the end of the advert, a page comes up with contact information, and I am somehow compelled to contact the manufacturer to learn the car’s price tag and if I can have a test drive before actual purchase.
- What is the cultural value? What types of cultural values are present in the as you selected? For example, being young? Wealthy Being a male?
The advertisement shows Thierry helping a girl escape from a multitude of individuals that chasing her. Thierry quickly offers the girl a ride, and they together speed off from the mob. Thierry’s excellent driving skill and control give the car control and a quick gateway through narrow building walls. As the advertisement comes to an end, we see Thierry parking the Renault Clio into a small parking space emphasizing the compact car’s design. The car’s new design is built with a sleek, sporty, and masculine touch, which is particularly emphasized through the advertiser picking Thierry Henry. At first glance, the car looks expensive, but a quick check shows the can is cheap and can also be a good acquisition for any gender.
- Explain what is cultural hegemony (ideology) from this week’s readings? Use the concept of cultural hegemony to explain why many young adults buy or want cars that they can’t afford.
Cultural hegemony is not but a concept but one that the general society has adopted. Humans now own more than they have ever owned, with consumerism largely being the driving force to this phenomenon. We now want anything and everything we can get our hands-on. With effective advertisement, we gradually chase after everything we can get our hands-on with many people believing a particular product or service will make them happier. Advertisement creates an illusion than owning a particular product leaves one as also being successful with many young adults opting to do anything within their means to have created a society in which lacking to own the latest car as one being a failure. Even though this is true to an extent, research has come out with evidence showing people do not feel any happier than they previously did without a given product or service.
- In what other ways can you personally connect to consumerism and cars? How can you connect your personal experience with anything that you watched or read this week?
Advertisements have become a large part of what we consume right from print and social media. At one point or the other, we will tend to get engulfed in the consumerization culture. This is pretty much the case when I view the Renault Clio advert. A masculine touch and softer body are some of the major features that I look in a car with the Renault Clio being well built to fit my personal preferences. It features an improved built specification that makes the car have a price tag that is slightly out of my budget. Making sound financial decisions is always encouraged with more savings being required if I am to own the car without putting a strain on my finances or going into debt.
- eWhat are the ways young adults can try to restrict the impact of consumerist culture conditioning around cars in our society? Can you find real-life examples of counter-culture movements?
The way we consume goods and services is largely influenced by how culture and how we function as a society. Consumerism is continuously driven by various economic and social conditions, such as the different social classes within society. To effectively overcome the consumerist culture that has taken center stage over the past couple of decades, young adults need to find more meaning in life by being more in contact with their cultural roots, spiritual foundations, family ties, and ethnic traditions. In so doing, they can gradually be more in line with a cultural background that does not involve capitalism, consumerism and fill the void that most material things fill.