Introduction
Sellers of various products often use advertising to attract people’s attention to the product. M&M’s advertising is an example of how marketers use vivid images and events that cannot exist in real life to make potential consumers pay attention to the brand. Thus, it is essential to analyze M&M’s advertisement from the perspective of the main theories of functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism, and indicate which one is best suited to describe the advertisement.
M&M’s Ad Analysis
Functionalism
According to functionalism, society functions together to maintain harmony. Equally, in the advertisement, a person interacts with candy-like creatures and is not surprised by their existence (The Hall of Advertising, 2019, 00:00:02). Accordingly, they can coexist together, provided that one does not question the reality of this phenomenon.
Conflict Theory
Meanwhile, examining the advertisement from the perspective of conflict theory, the man buys a pack of M&Ms. He discusses with the candy-like creatures about eating their species, which is not allowed (The Hall of Advertising, 2019, 00:00:12). Consequently, after the man’s remark, they exchanged packs of candy to avoid consuming their color of candy. This indicates that inequality based on social differences contributes to discrimination (Macionis, 2019). Thus, the advertisement highlights the differences and demonstrates the superior position of humans as superior social beings.
Symbolic Interactionism
Furthermore, the man and the candy interact in the advertisement and form specific roles; the man seems bright, but the candy does not. Therefore, according to symbolic interactionists, advertising creates symbols and perpetuates stereotypes (Macionis, 2019). Functionalism describes the advertisement best because the man is not surprised by the existence of candy in reality, and they can have a conversation. In general, they are part of the same society, and unnecessary questions about the nature of candy can lead to dysfunction.
Conclusion
In summary, M&M’s advertisement can be explained through three lenses. From a functionalist perspective, different species can live in society, but there is no need to question the existence of candy in reality. A conflict lens view of advertising shows the superiority of one species and the inferiority of the other. Meanwhile, the symbolic interactionist lens creates stereotypes about the superiority of one species over another. Hence, the best way to describe advertising is through functionalism because people live with candy and do not think about its unreality.
References
The Hall of Advertising. (2019). M&M’s – Switch (2000, USA) [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Macionis, J. J. (2019). Society: The basics (15th ed). Pearson.