Given the discursive vagueness of the above-provided image, it can be used to convey a number of mutually complementary messages to the targeted audiences, so that the latter form a favorable attitude towards the brand-name Benetton, in general, and towards the specific line of this Company’s products, in particular.
The main of these messages can be formulated as follows: The color of one’s skin should not define his or her stance in life – the person’s affiliation with humanity should. In fact, this particular message can also be the image’s textual slogan. It is meant to emphasize the fact that, due to their association with the Homo Sapiens species, people are naturally inclined to be empathic towards each other – especially for as long as the relationship between children and adults is at stake. After all, there can be only a few doubts as to the sheer aura of ‘lovingness’ radiated by the image. The reason for this is apparent – the image’s compositional subtleties imply that there is nothing ‘unnatural’ about the fact that many White people do not simply tolerate being in close physical touch with African-Americans, but that the former (especially women) actually enjoy it.
The image’s first supporting message, meant to be recognized by onlookers on an unconscious level, is: White people have a moral obligation to comfort the Blacks in the form of patronizing the latter. This message is conveyed by the fact that, as it can be seen in the image, the white hand accounts for its main (dominant) compositional element. The concerned composition of two hands (black and white) touching each other implies that the Whites are in the position to protect African-Americans from the hostile social environment – hence, the symbolic significance of the visual impression that the child’s (black) hand is actually reaching out for help.
The image’s second supporting message is best defined in the following manner: As compared to what happened to be the case with the Blacks, the Whites are more ‘human’ – at least in the Eurocentric sense of this word. The rationale behind this suggestion has to do with the proportional length of fingers on both hands and with the image’s accent in dichotomizing black and white colors. Whereas, the long fingers of the featured white hand (and also the absence of calluses on it) imply that the affiliated person is most likely a ‘white-collar’, the short and stubby fingers on the child’s hand bring about the unconscious associations with the racist idea that African-Americans are ‘natural born’ manual laborers. The fact that, due to the presence of a much larger white hand in the background, the smaller black hand looks somewhat ‘parish’, does strengthen the image’s subtly racist overtones even further.
Thus, it will be thoroughly appropriate to suggest that the overall appeal of the discussed image has to do with its ability to do both: to promote the idea of interracial tolerance, and to prompt people to doubt the validity of this idea at the same time. In other words, the image’s semiotic power is concerned with the clearly controversial sounding of its motifs – something that is fully consistent with Benetton’s reputation, as the company that makes a deliberate point in causing people to experience the sensation of cognitive dissonance, as the most fundamental principle of its advertisement campaigns.
The goal of the proposed advertisement campaign (based on the discussed image), is to cause as many people as possible to associate the brand-name Benetton with the notion of ‘eccentricity’ – at least, for as long as the Company’s marketing strategies are at stake. After all, there is indeed something rather uncanny about the image – the onlookers’ exposure to it is very likely to sharpen the unconscious race-related anxieties in them. In its turn, this should result in increasing the measure of the image’s noteworthiness and consequently – in ensuring that there is much emotional sounding to the name Benetton. And, as psychologists are well aware of, the more some public controversy surrounds a particular brand-name in the fashion industry, the more it is likely for people to think of the affiliated lines of clothing as particularly desirable/trendy.
It is understood, of course, that the above-suggestion applies primarily to Westerners (more specifically – White ‘urban young professionals’ or ‘yuppies’), as people who enjoy the world’s highest standards of living, on one hand, and who consider themselves intellectually sophisticated/racially tolerant, on the other (Savran, 1996). The described situation is brought about by the high standards of living in the West, which come at the expense of Western nations making sure that the so-called ‘developing’ countries never become fully developed. Because they can afford it, White ‘yuppies’ tend to assess the actual significance of a particular product, in regards to what happened to be its ‘perceived’ (highly subjective or even imaginary) value (Riviere & Mencarelli, 2012). The latter, in turn, positively relates to this product’s varying ability to come as an asset, within the context of how the targeted would-be consumers strive to achieve self-actualization.
Because White ‘yuppies’ are endowed with the complex of historical guilt over the ancestral legacy of racism, most of them do apply much of a conscious effort into trying to adopt the ideals of racial tolerance as their own. This explains why the most ardent promoters of political correctness consist of the described type of individuals. On the other hand, however, these people cannot help remaining racially-biased deep in the realm of their unconscious. Apparently, they know perfectly well that their continual dominance, as the representatives of the most socially privileged class in America, can only be ensured for as long as the society itself remains strongly Eurocentric.
Hence the paradox – White ‘yuppies’ are capable of doing both at the same time: acting as the advocates of racial tolerance and patronizing African-Americans in the most unsuitable manner; indulging in close and personal socialization with the people of color and finding the latter ‘primitive’; condemning the legacy of colonialism and believing that the West’s mission of bringing ‘democracy’ to the world is fully appropriate (Zipp, 2014).
As it can be seen, the above-mentioned activities, on the part of White ‘yuppies’, are mutually contradictory – something that reflects these people’s highly confused state of mind, which in turn has always been considered one of the main psychological traits of a degenerate/decadent – just as it happened to be the case with one’s unconscious fascination with ‘eccentricity’. Therefore, the image-based marketing campaign, concerned with targeting the audience of decadent Whites, should indeed prove effective. The reason for this is apparent – the image’s explicit and implicit motifs are consistent with the manner, in which these people reflect on the surrounding social reality and their place in it.
The advertisement strategy model that I suggest should be deployed in our case, will need to take into account:
- The fact that, given the mentioned cognitive/perceptual characteristics of the targeted consumers, it is specifically the promotion-focused motives that define their purchasing choices (Hawkins, Mothersbaugh & Best, 2012). The rationale behind this suggestion has to do with the logically sound assumption that, due to having their basic needs throughout satisfied (because of their high social status), White ‘yuppies’ are naturally driven towards the products that they perceive being capable of helping them to achieve self-actualization – in full accordance with Maslow’s theory of needs. What it means is that the would-be deployed advertisement strategy must be concerned with convincing consumers that by being affiliated with the brand-name Benetton, they will be able to take full advantage of their sense of existential self-identity, as sophisticated/socially conscious individuals, who pay much attention to the issues of social relevance.
- The heightened likelihood for the pro-purchasing range of considerations, on the part of this audience, to be latent (subliminal). In particular, while deciding in favor of affiliating themselves with the brand-name in question, White ‘yuppies’ will be primarily concerned with trying to show to the world that they are intellectually flexible (in the sense of being daring enough to apply an additional effort into promoting the ideas of multiculturalism). At the same time, however, they will also seek to present themselves as those who promote these ideas out of the sheer ‘goodness’ of their hearts – something that reflects the subliminal strive towards domination in ‘yuppies’.
- The fact that, as practice shows, the lifestyles of White ‘yuppies’ usually reflect these people’s preoccupation with experiencing sensual pleasures, as such that has the value of a ‘thing in itself’. Therefore, the would-be deployed advertisement campaign should contain implicit references to the practice of interracial mixing, as both: socially progressive and pleasurable.
In its turn, this allows us to outline the strategy’s main sub-sequential phases:
- The demographic analysis of the population that is to be exposed to this marketing strategy. In essence, the Company should make an inquiry into what accounts for the targeted population’s racial makeup and into the specifics of the potential consumers’ social status.
- The analysis of the best ways, as to how the marketing message can be best delivered to the targeted population. In this respect, the Company’s managers in charge of marketing should assess the particulars of the communication infrastructure in the area.
- The identification of the set of emotions that the marketing campaign in question is expected to trigger in the targeted audience. This will require managers to become thoroughly aware of what constitutes the essence of existential anxieties in White ‘yuppies’, as people who welcome the process of American society growing ever more multicultural, but who nevertheless believe that it is namely the Whites who should remain in control of this process.
The main indication that the proposed marketing strategy will prove effective should be considered the presence of the objective preconditions for its message to stir public controversy. Hence, this strategy’s main principle – the affiliated visuals (such as the discussed image) should be concerned with exploiting the theme of the Blacks and Whites finding themselves in the state of intimate interaction with each other – something that rarely happens in real life.
Given the perceptual/cognitive predispositions of White ‘yuppies’, as rather intellectually advanced individuals, capable of assigning the highly subjectivized significance to their aesthetic experiences, it will be thoroughly appropriate to leave them at liberty of interpreting the image’s discursive implications. In this respect, we can refer to the practice of exposing people to the sequence of the de facto unrelated, but emotionally charged images, commonly used by the makers of TV-commercials – the discursive framework that binds these images together exists only in the targeted audience’s imagination. What really matters, in this respect, is ensuring the emotionally memorable (or even shocking) subtleties of the conveyed message – even if the latter cannot be defined with a high degree of certainty.
In light of the above-mentioned, it will be logical to assume that, for as long as communicating the described earlier messages to the chosen group is at stake, the Company’s managers will be much better off relying on the combination of both: the conventional and the so-called ‘word-of-mouth’ (WOM) communication approaches (Lo, 2012).
One of the possible ways to proceed, in this respect, would be erecting billboards with the discussed image on them in the areas known for the high concentration of ‘yuppies’, such as the central parts of just about every large city in America. The actual effectiveness of delivering these messages to the ‘end-users’ should prove even higher if the image does not have any textual inscription, whatsoever – something that will naturally prompt the targeted audience to apply an additional effort into trying to ‘decipher’ the image’s actual meaning. In its turn, this should result in increasing the measure of the concerned image’s emotional appeal – as practice indicates, people are innately drawn to the thought-provoking visuals.
Because, as it was pointed out earlier, the image’s semiotics is essentially ‘self-constructed’, the representatives of the targeted population will be naturally encouraged to discuss the discursive implications of the depicted composition of black and white hands with their co-workers and friends. Consequently, this will put Benetton in the position of being able to take practical advantage of WOM’s main benefits, such as the speedy and cost-effective dissemination of information, the psychological plausibility of the delivered advertising-messages, and affordability (Armstrong & Kotler, 2005).
Another integrated approach for conveying the message of racial tolerance, which can be used by the Company, is establishing the image’s online presence, as part of Benetton’s corporate philosophy. In the aftermath of having succeeded in it, the Company will be able to contribute rather substantially towards providing the targeted population with the objective incentives to indulge in the web-based discussions of what the concerned image stands for, in the discursive sense of this word. It is understood, of course, that this will facilitate the process of the affiliated explicit and implicit messages being channeled to White ‘yuppies’. The full soundness of the proposed initiative can be illustrated, in regards to yet another qualitative aspect of these individuals’ existential mode, as people who are strongly addicted to the Internet.
As it was implied earlier, there is the strongly defined ideological/political sounding to the would-be deployed marketing campaign, aimed to increase people’s awareness about the benefits of allowing American society to grow ever more multicultural, which in turn should provide the targeted audience with a good reason to purchase clothing from Benetton. As such, this campaign appears fully consistent with the main agenda of mainstream media in this country – to divert people’s attention from the social issues that really do matter (such as the rapidly widening gap between the rich and poor in America, or the approaching collapse of the U.S. economy, due to the enormous budget-deficit), while encouraging citizens to indulge in the socially irrelevant forms of political activism (such as the one, concerned with the protection of ‘gay-rights’, for example).
Therefore, it will be logical to assume that most of America’s Media-corporations should be genuinely interested in helping to promote the campaign in question. After all, there can be only a few doubts that while exposed to it, people will be prompted to think that it is namely racism (and not ‘classism’), which undermines the integrity of American society more than anything else does. Consequently, the lesser is the number of people who understand the actual (not imaginary) challenges, faced by the society, the easier it is for the representatives of this country’s elites to enjoy their luxurious lifestyles, at the expense of exploiting socially underprivileged citizens – pure and simple (Mizruchi, 2000). Given the fact that most of these Media are owned by White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs), who themselves used to be ‘yuppies’ during their younger years, the campaign’s subtle promotion of the idea that it is thoroughly ‘natural’ for the Whites to patronize African-Americans, should come as an asset.
The image-based marketing campaign should also be supported by American movie-celebrities, as individuals who tend to lead the utterly eccentric/flamboyant lifestyles, and who are known for the sheer strength their enthusiasm in promoting a number of ‘noble causes’, as the part of trying to remain in the Media’s spotlight. After all, it does not represent any secret that these people are more than capable of doing both: traveling to Africa to be photographed holding ‘hungry children’ in their hands (for publicity), and acting as spokesmen for the American-based transnational corporations, on the account of whose commercial activities the majority of people in the Third world continue experiencing a hard time trying to meet the ends.
In light of what has been said earlier about the semiotic connotations of the image-based marketing campaign, there can be only a few doubts that celebrities should be emotionally comfortable with it – all due to the concerted campaign being just as hypocritical as many of these individuals themselves happened to be. Moreover, they should also be willing to act as the campaign’s active participants – it will provide them with the additional opportunity to strengthen their public reputation, as people who do not like snorting cocaine as much as they like helping the needy/underprivileged.
Thus, it will be fully appropriate to conclude this paper by reinstating once again that, despite being ‘well-intentioned’, the chosen image and the would-be based upon marketing campaign are subtly racist. Nevertheless, this should not affect the campaign’s ability to draw fans/supporters and consequently – to result in increasing the emotional appeal of Benetton’s products to the targeted category of consumers. Therefore, we cannot seriously believe that the actual goal of the proposed campaign is to revitalize the sense of social conscientiousness in people, as something that has the value of its own. This, however, does not mean that the Company should admit it. Quite to the contrary – Benetton should continue producing the thematically similar advertisement-images, as the mean of convincing people that it is indeed fully committed to building a ‘multicultural paradise’ on Earth.
References
Armstrong, G., & Kotler, P. (2005). Marketing: An introduction. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Hawkins, D., Mothersbaugh, D., Best, R. (2012). Consumer behavior: Building marketing strategy, 12th Edition. Web.
Lo, S. (2012). Consumer decisions: The effect of word-of-mouth. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 4(3), 188-196.
Mizruchi, M. S. (2000). The stability of the American business elite: Discrimination, competence or connections? Industrial and Corporate Change, 9(3), 545-550.
Riviere, A., & Mencarelli, R. (2012). Towards a theoretical clarification of perceived value in marketing. Recherche Et Applications En Marketing (English Edition), 27(3), 97-122.
Savran, D. (1996). The sadomasochist in the closet: White masculinity and the culture of victimization. Differences, 8(2), 127-152.
Zipp, S. (2014). The cultural structure of postwar urbanism. American Quarterly, 66(2), 477-492.