Jean Kilbourne's Jesus Is A Brand Of Jeans
Culture change is to blame, not advertisements
Some would say the power of ads has an immeasurable effect on the world. In Jean Kilbourne’s article “Jesus is a Brand of Jeans,” she insinuates that society has made a negative shift due to ads. She says our culture values products as the ultimate source of happiness, which devalues what would previously be considered as important. Essentially, she says that people no longer value relationships and non-monetary things. For example, one of the ads depicts a man making love to a woman while covering her face with a picture of a car, which show how people are emotionally attached to items. Kilbourne goes so far as to say, “Ads have long promised us a better relationship…buy this and it will love …show more content…
By saying that, I mean culturally the media has taught us to value products over people, not advertisements for products. I believe Kilbourne is not directing her frustration at the source of the problem. People see celebrities living fancy lives with nice cars, lots of money, and everything money can buy. People don’t necessarily aspire to have each of the items but they want to life. One could say that effective ads sell a lifestyle rather than product. For example, many Tiffany jewelry commercials don’t even show the actual. Tiffany advertises a brand, a brand that is expensive and wealthy people buy, therefore, the item isn’t important rather the feeling behind the advertisement.
With that being said, Kilbourne also emphasizes the idea that minimizing the effect of ads adds to their power. Essentially, advertisements companies want you …show more content…
Essentially, she says that instead of valuing nontangible things like religion, we value products, which means consumerism is our main religion. Surely Kilbourne is right to say that consumerism has become too important, but I would say people still have their values. The world just functions on money and consumerism, so we must incorporate it into everything we do. For example, even to help other, often times donating money is the best way to help. A bunch of unskilled people could volunteer their time, but it would be much more efficient and effective to collect money and donate money. The power of money is immense. Money funds consumerism and ads play off the
Some would say the power of ads has an immeasurable effect on the world. In Jean Kilbourne’s article “Jesus is a Brand of Jeans,” she insinuates that society has made a negative shift due to ads. She says our culture values products as the ultimate source of happiness, which devalues what would previously be considered as important. Essentially, she says that people no longer value relationships and non-monetary things. For example, one of the ads depicts a man making love to a woman while covering her face with a picture of a car, which show how people are emotionally attached to items. Kilbourne goes so far as to say, “Ads have long promised us a better relationship…buy this and it will love …show more content…
By saying that, I mean culturally the media has taught us to value products over people, not advertisements for products. I believe Kilbourne is not directing her frustration at the source of the problem. People see celebrities living fancy lives with nice cars, lots of money, and everything money can buy. People don’t necessarily aspire to have each of the items but they want to life. One could say that effective ads sell a lifestyle rather than product. For example, many Tiffany jewelry commercials don’t even show the actual. Tiffany advertises a brand, a brand that is expensive and wealthy people buy, therefore, the item isn’t important rather the feeling behind the advertisement.
With that being said, Kilbourne also emphasizes the idea that minimizing the effect of ads adds to their power. Essentially, advertisements companies want you …show more content…
Essentially, she says that instead of valuing nontangible things like religion, we value products, which means consumerism is our main religion. Surely Kilbourne is right to say that consumerism has become too important, but I would say people still have their values. The world just functions on money and consumerism, so we must incorporate it into everything we do. For example, even to help other, often times donating money is the best way to help. A bunch of unskilled people could volunteer their time, but it would be much more efficient and effective to collect money and donate money. The power of money is immense. Money funds consumerism and ads play off the