What is the Self Concept?

The Self

72% of men and 85% of women are unhappy with at least one aspect of their appearance

Many products are bought because people are trying to highlight or hide some aspect of the self

                                              

Which of the following has caused you to have a bad day?

•Skin Problems   (12%) •Clothes you had on (11%) •How your hair looked (77%)

 If you could make only one change with your hair, what would it be?

•More attractive color (3%) •Be thicker/fuller (93%) •Less or more curly  (5%)

 

At which occasions have you wished you had a better hair day?•Wedding  (4%) •College/High School Reunion  (1%) •Night out on the town  (12%) •Business meeting  (3%) •Everyday  (79%)

Self-Esteem

Self Esteem refers to the positivity of one's attitudes towards self

Consumer's feeling about themselves shape their consumption practices

Self-Esteem Marketing

Self Esteem SlogansDiet Coke "Live your life" — or, in other words, drink it because you just feel good about it - not to lose weight

Apple computer: "The Power to Be Your Best.“

Charles Atlas "You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine.“

Camay soap "You are in a Beauty Contest Every Day of your Life.”

Gillette: “The best a man can get."

Dasani: "Treat yourself well. Everyday."

The real and the Ideal

The Gap creates a tension

The Real - the reality of who we are

The Ideal - who we would like to be.

Products are purchased because they are consistent with either self.

The Real and the IdealMany products appeal to consumers tendencies to fantasize about the way we would like to be

The Breck girls were idealized images of an American woman from the 1930s to the 1980s who Advertising executives thought everyone could love: a woman both desirable and chaste

poses were executed in pastels, with soft focus and haloes of light and color to create highly romantic images of feminine beauty and purity

Multiple Selves

consumers are different people at different times

We play different roles - in class or at work

Different selves have different consumption patterns

Clairol permits you to explore and express the full range of your multiple selves

1998 Bacardi launches a $15 million advertising campaign under the theme "Bacardi by night."

"We know our consumers do something each day -- they work, they have responsibilities. But at night they let off steam.

Who do the ads target?

CONSUMPTION AND SELF CONCEPT

Consumption of products and services contributes to the definition of self.

Consumers exhibit attachment to products to the extent that it is used by the person to maintain his or her self concept.

Gender Identity

What does it Mean to be a Man in Our Society

• Men never cry• Should not show emotion• Not quitters• Physically brave• Independent• Heroic and patriotic ideals• Adventurous• Shaving• First day at work - earning a wage• Initiations• tough• Courageous• Drinking• Physical strength• Sex

This Pirelli image of Carl Lewis wearing red high heel shoes challenges the conventional view of black male athletes as being ‘super-masculine’

Gays are 12 times more likely to be in professional jobs,

94% more likely to use a product of service advertised in a gay publication

80 per cent of the household dollar is spent by women

Women as Consumers

The products do not need to be geared towards women since they generally control spending for their family's household, as well as for their own personal needs

70% of men's underwear is bought by women.

Studies continue to show that women control purchases of everything from household goods to investments and expensive consumer durables such as automobiles.

According to a study by Business Week and Gallup, women will control $1 trillion by 2010, representing nearly two-thirds of the USA’s wealth.

Do women feel less valued than male consumers?

If so what can businesses do about it?

Do companies generally meet the needs of women as consumers?

Canadian research has indicated women are not particularly impressed by firms seeking their dollars..

Cascade Dishwashing Detergent

1958 issue of Lady's Home Journal. 

The man in this ad is envious of his hostess' spotless drinking glasses. 

Rather than giving him advice on how to get his glasses just as clean, she advises him to tell his wife to use Cascade.  

The designers of this ad assume that washing dishes is a woman's chore. 

The roles are strictly defined; it never crosses the woman's mind that Jean's husband might have something to do with dishwashing in his household. 

How are women portrayed today?

She is a "multifaceted success machine”.

She is a nurturer and a seducer.

She is the twenty-four hour a day woman, and she never sleeps. Is it a mistake to portray women this way?

This ad is striking because it shows a man in what is typically thought of as a woman’s role.

What does the fact that he can open the pail “without passing out” say about men?

Men are domesticated. Sex objects

Which word seems to go with each picture?

taketanaluma

naluma

consonants are sonorants perceived as “softer” and

more “feminine”

Chanel, a perfume

taketa

Because the consonants are hard it is perceived as

“harder” and more “masculine”

Clorox, a hard-working laundry product

Sound Symbolism: The vast majority of people pair taketa with the angular illustration and naluma with the curved one.

Social Influences (continued)

Sex roles: society’s expectations about the appropriate attitudes, behaviours, and appearance for men and women.

Products can take on the attributes of their users, and become linked to one gender or another.

Men buy hardware while women shop for clothing and food(?)

In today’s social environment of gender equality, changing roles, and political correctness, these rules no longer apply.

BODY IMAGE

Is there an ideal body image?

How an individual conceptualizes his/her personal appearance including the size, shape, and weight of his/her body

While on average people weigh more than they did 20 years ago; the perceived 'ideal' body type is getting thinner.

This dissonance has been found to contribute to body dissatisfaction in both men and women

A poll by Kellogg’s found that 62 percent out of a sample of 503 women over 18-years-old believe that an ideal body weight and size do exist.

These women said the major factor determining the feminine ideal comes from television advertising or fashion magazines.

Ads appearing in popular teen magazines promise to transform a girl’s appearance. While these ads are designed to encourage a girl to use make-up and dieting to look acceptable, they can undermine her self-confidence and contribute to negative body image

Girls are usually more concerned with appearance than boys because they have been socialized to overemphasize appearance

One study of Saturday morning toy commercials found that 50% of commercials aimed at girls spoke about physical attractiveness, while none of the commercials aimed at boys referred to appearance

Other studies found 50% of advertisements in teen girl magazines and 56% of television commercials aimed at female viewers used beauty as a product appeal. Teen People Magazine

March 2003

One study found women’s magazines have 10.5 times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines did.

Victoria’s Secret is RevealedWhat does this ad suggest women should look like?

The current ideal of female beauty is difficult to achieve. The ideal being a young Caucasian female, height 5'8"- 5'10", weighing 110-120 pounds or less. Make-up, lighting and air-brushing are used to slim down the images even more. Less than 10% of the female population are genetically destined to fit this ideal.

Victoria’s Secret, “Angels’ Collection”

Bulimic Barbie

The latest addition to Mattel's best-selling fashion doll range has caused near-riots in toy stores as children and collectors alike rush to pick up their very own Bulimic Barbie.

The new doll, complete with a fridge full of ice cream, chocolate and cake, is the epitome of doll technology. "Look at this," squealed mother-of-two Dawn Galway, 31, activating the toy's realistic gag reflex by pushing its hand into its mouth. "Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?" she asked, as the synthetic vomit gushed into the tiny basin.

A Mattel PR spokeswoman said: "Mattel have an ongoing commitment to fans of Barbie to keep her relevant and now. Market research indicates that many young girls are developing a fascination with bulimia and other eating disorders, and this new doll reflects that." Barbie enthusiast Kylie Holridge, 10, said. "Now, with Bulimic Barbie, I know just how to get that perfect thin figure.

Kylie's elder sister Jodie, 13, said that Barbie has inspired her quest for a slimmer, trimmer figure since she was nine.

Matel, the makers of Barbie, sued The Body Shop, UK for this ad. They withdrew it and settled out of court.

Kellogg’s Special K cereal realized that campaigns featuring young, thin models barely squeezing into tight clothes alienated their older audience,

“Our consumers told us they really couldn't relate to advertising techniques that used unrealistic body images. "They said that they couldn’t live up to the standards of beauty dictated by advertisers."

1998 Kellogg's Special K runs a campaign that says there is no ideal body weight.

“Men are Supposed to be Strong”

What message does this ad send to men? Women?

Do we usually see more scantily clad men or women?

Is this what a man looks like? Should men look like this? Why or why not?

Where do our ideals of beauty come from?

• Recent advertising trends are just as harmful to men

• Unforgiving & unrealistic images• Men’s magazines encourage obsession with body

image, aging & sexual prowess