After watching The Persuaders on Friday, we had a good and lively discussion about advertising. Sam brought up an important reminder that, as we've been saying about many things, advertising isn't all good or all evil -- it's a complex mix of both, requiring discernment to tell the difference. Even a single advertisement is a complex mix.
Here's an example: two ads for mobile phones. The first, for a Droid phone, is literally dehumanizing, suggesting that the phone will make you more efficient by making you more like a machine:
The second is for an Apple iPhone. This ad shows how the technology can make you more human, building your relationships by connecting you with others:
Now, this doesn't mean Apple is a better company and that everyone should go out to buy iPhones; I'm sure I could find an example of a poor ad from Apple. But contrasting these two ads shows, at least in part, how advertising can be done well (exhibiting Kingdom qualities) and how it can be done poorly.
If you're interested in reading more about advertising, see "Prophetic advertising" by Sam Van Eman on catapult magazine. Then check out his book, On Earth as It Is in Advertising.
Do you have other examples of good or bad advertising you've thought of since class?
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