Citation #1
Phillips, Barbara J. and Edward F. McQuarrie. “Narrative and Persuasion in Fashion Advertising.” Journal of Consumer Research. 37.3 (2010): 368-392. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web.
Summary
These authors analyse fashion advertisements to demonstrate how narrative transportation can be used to persuade consumers in the fashion industry. Narrative transportation is “the act of being transported into a story world as a result of becoming involved in a tale” (Phillips & McQuarrie 368). The main argument is that advertising practitioners use an advertising imagery labelled the grotesque to generate narrative transportation for fashion consumers and also to assist in overcoming consumer resistance through fostering a more powerful experience of fashion brands. The authors draw from many theories (e.g., theories of brand experience, consumer culture theory, elaboration likelihood model, aesthetic theory) and fashion practitioners (e.g., Bottega Veneta, Michael Kors, Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo) to demonstrate that a multiplicity of fashion advertisements contain components that allow consumers to perform a narrative.
A substantial number of advertisements contain narrative imagery with an element of grotesque which acts to provide consumers with a more powerful and sustained experience of the brand that occasioned it, hence igniting compulsive purchase decisions due to the ensuing positive outcomes arising from the powerful experience (Phillips & McQuarrie 380). Upon employing an interview methodology associated with consumer culture theory and interpretivist perspectives, the authors found that most fashion consumers variously engage advertisements to act (consumer oriented to the product rather than its advertisement), identify (consumer tries on and negotiates identities as depicted in the advertisement), feel (consumer approaches fashion images primarily to regulate mood or to obtain a desired emotional response), transport (consumer oriented towards the narrative complexity of the images offered in each advertisement), or immerse (consumer approaches fashion images primarily to regulate mood or to obtain a desired emotional response) (Phillips & McQuarrie 384-387).
Key Quotations
“The concept of advertising engagement is intended to open up a space for identifying routes to the persuasion of consumers” (Phillips & McQuarrie 370). This statement shows that the major objective of advertising is to persuade consumers to purchase products or services irrespective of need.
“The idea is that consumers engage grotesque ads differently, in a manner that benefits the brands that construct this particular kind of imagery” (Phillips & McQuarrie 380). This shows that advertising practitioners have internalised the game of employing grotesque imagery and using narratives to transport the same to consumers with the view to creating market opportunities for fashion brands.
Evaluation
This work is useful as it demonstrates how advertising practitioners employ grotesque imagery and transport it to consumers for purposes of reinforcing brand experience and creating a need for consumers to purchase fashion brands. The authors rely on credible sources and tested theories to support their claims; however, the qualitative methodology used to conduct the interviews is not well explained. Overall, the work is helpful in understanding how advertisers employ psychological mechanisms to increase the demand for fashion products and services.
Citation #2
Carroll, Angela. “Brand Communities in Fashion Categories using Celebrity Endorsement.” Journal of Brand Management. 17.2 (2009): 146-158. Business Source Premier. Web.
Summary
This conceptual paper draws upon a variety of leading scholarship in the domains of branding, celebrity endorsement and fashion marketing to demonstrate the shifting trend in fashion branding from traditionally-oriented initiatives (written signals) towards a focus on visual signals and cues. In this light, the author underscores the need for an alternative approach to brand communications and suggests celebrity endorsement as one of the approaches that could be used “in the branding process both in terms of gaining and keeping attention and in creating favourable associations leading to positive brand knowledge and distinct brand images” (Carroll 150). Celebrity endorsement is a form of advertising which works fundamentally by developing a congruent image between the brand and the consumer to occasion certain advantages which include increased attention towards a particular fashion brand, image polishing, brand introduction, brand repositioning, as well as the potential to underpin global campaigns (Carroll 150).
The author cites other theoretical frameworks such as the Source Attractiveness Model to demonstrate how advertising practitioners use attractive celebrities to succeed in changing beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of consumers toward particular fashion products with the view to generate purchase intentions. The author also cites other seminal works from other researchers to demonstrate that celebrity endorsement is effective as a medium of advertising fashion brands owing to the fact that brands themselves are generally viewed by consumers as strong vehicles for expressing self-concept (actual or aspirational), achieving image congruence, as well as signifying group membership (Carroll 152). In the view of the researcher, various forms of advertising (e.g., celebrity endorsement) continue to be employed as fundamentally important tools in brand image-creation that function by transferring cultural meanings and their implications from celebrity to brand and to consumer (Carroll 155).
Key Quotations
“The Source Attractiveness model suggests that consumers generally have a more positive response to attractive people and the effectiveness of the message depends on the similarity, familiarity and liking of the endorser” (Carroll 150-151). This statement can be used to demonstrate why advertising practitioners are increasingly relying on attractive models to shift people’s attitudes, values, and needs toward particular fashion brands.
“The effectiveness of a celebrity endorsement strategy may be mediated by variables such as the celebrity/product fit, the product and usage occasion, societal/cultural conditions and the volume of repetitive advertisements featuring celebrities” (Carroll 150-151). This statement is important as it demonstrates that there is more to advertising than merely using celebrities to endorse particular fashion brands.
Evaluation
This work is important as it assists in understanding the dynamics of using celebrity advertising to shift the attitudes, values, beliefs, needs, and expectations of consumers toward a particular fashion brand. The author uses credible and authoritative sources to back the claims made in the paper. Overall, the analysis helps in understanding how image (celebrity endorsement) can be used in advertising to shift the beliefs and perceptions of consumers. However, the paper is largely conceptual and hence relies on the input of other scholars to make claims.
Citation #3
Moore, David J. and Seung Pil Lee. “How Advertising Influences Consumption Impulses.” Journal of Advertising. 41.3 (2012): 107-126. Business Source Premier. Web.
Summary
The authors of this work undertook two quantitative studies in a bid to investigate some of the most important factors that determine how hedonic advertising appeals (pleasures of buying a particular product/service so vividly that consumers end up actually visualising the emotions they are likely to experience) influence consumption impulses. The main claim of the authors was that “a hedonic advertising execution format highlighting the pleasures of food consumption rather than the utilitarian benefits of the product may play an effective role in improving the consumer’s ability to visualise the imagery of the consumption experience” (Moore & Lee 107). The visualisation process leads to stronger anticipation of the emotions to be experienced by the consumer upon consuming the food (or buying the fashion product) and, in the event that the anticipated emotions are activated, the consumer experiences a tug-of-war between impulse and restraint and may end up generating excuses to justify conceding to the eating temptation (or to the purchase of the fashion product).
An impulse is described in the study as “a sudden forceful urge to yield to a given stimulus that is associated with pleasure” (Moore & Lee 107). Overall, the paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating how imagery visualisation (the activation of stored information in the production of mental images beyond what is provided by the stimulus), anticipated emotions (emotions based on the premise that there is no uncertainty about the future occurrence of the imagined experience), taste anticipation (awakening of an acute sensitivity for the imagination of the most vivid and cherished characteristics of the taste experience), and hedonic rationalisation function in hedonic advertising appeal to influence consumption impulses and purchase decisions (Moore & Lee 108-112). The authors rely heavily on the works of other theorists in imagery visualisation, taste anticipation as well as hedonic rationalisations to support their claims and findings.
Key Quotations
“Advertisements featuring the hedonic dimensions of a product or service should typically stimulate the affective rather than the cognitive processing system” (Moore & Lee 108). This statement is instrumental in understanding how hedonic advertising dimensions can be used in the fashion industry to create impulsive buying behaviour by igniting affective states such as joy of ownership, pleasure, fantasy and fun.
“Visualisation [serves] as a key factor in enhancing the impact of product description on taste anticipation, hedonic rationalisations, and consumption impulses” (Moore & Lee 116). This finding demonstrates that image visualisation in advertising plays an important role in influencing the affective states of fashion consumers with the view to initiating impulsive and unplanned buying behaviours.
Evaluation
This source is particularly useful in understanding how advertising practitioners make use of hedonic dimensions to appeal to the affective states of consumers in a bid to create impulsivity that is firmly grounded in hedonic rationalisations. The work can assist in understanding why some consumers spend all their earnings on fashion products. The authors use credible and updated sources to support their claims; however, they are not quite clear on how anticipated emotions and taste anticipation influence consumption impulses.
Citation #4
Lahiri, Isita and Humaira Siddika. “Fashion Behaviour: Detangling Promotional Factors.” Globsyn Management Journal. 8.1/2 (2014): 64-76. Business Source Premier. Web.
Summary
The authors of this study used a quantitative research methodology to investigate the impact of apparel promotion or advertising on fashion behaviour propagated by consumers in Bangladesh and West Bengal. The authors argued that “powerful market stimulants such as fashion shows on television, fashion advertisements, in-store displays, and fashion events in the urban shopping malls have influenced the transnational cosmopolitanism among consumers” (Lahiri & Siddika 65). The authors’ main claim, it seems, is nested on demonstrating how the distinctiveness of fashion features (e.g., designer brand, celebrity endorsement, media reviews) benefits for the emotions of consumers to influence their purchase intention for fashion and designer apparel. The authors cite other researchers to back their claim, though they do not make use of any theoretical framework to reinforce their argument.
The study found that various promotion/advertising formats (e.g., store promotions, events, online advertisements, social media, direct mail, relationship building, seasonal offers and celebrity endorsement) influence fashion behaviour among consumers, and that the social media as well as celebrity endorsements are increasingly taking the leading role in influencing the consumers’ perceptions regarding particular fashion products (Lahiri & Siddika 66-73). Overall, the authors found that the mentioned promotion/advertising formats influence fashion behaviour among consumers and even lead to purchase intention. In terms of managerial implications, the authors suggested that marketers could employ the mentioned promotion/advertising formats to influence fashion behaviour among consumers (Lahiri & Siddika 72-73). However, some formats work better than others in appealing to the affective and psychological states of consumers, hence the need to undertake careful analysis of the formats against the consumer’s psychographic and demographic characteristics.
Key Quotations
“The involvement of consumers in fashion products depends not only on their own perceptions but also on peers’ response to their personality and change proneness” (Lahiri & Siddika 65). This statement underscores the importance of friends and peers in perpetrating fashion behaviour among consumers. It shows that advertising alone is not to blame for the upsurge of consumers who make decisions about their clothing style based on public opinion.
“Promotion-led fashion retailing culture stimulates fashion oriented attitudes, debt and spending behaviour on clothing among consumers” (Lahiri & Siddika 65). This statement is important as it shows how advertising in fashion not only stimulates fashion-oriented attitudes but also leaves consumers in huge debts due to impulsive and irrational purchase decisions as they seek to match or be like what is demonstrated in the advertisements.
Evaluation
This source is useful in terms of reinforcing an understanding of the impact of apparel advertising on consumer fashion behaviour. Indeed, it illuminates another perspective of advertising related to the fact that consumers can be influenced to shift their fashion behaviour through relationship building, seasonal offers and direct mail. Although the study uses credible support for its claims, it is not published in a reputable journal and the authors fail to compare their findings with other existing literature on the topic.
Citation #5
Keshari, Pragya and Sangeeta Jain. “Consumer Response to Advertising Appeals: A Gender Based Study.” Journal of Marketing and Communication. 9.3 (2014): 37-43. Business Source Premier. Web.
Summary
Upon the realisation that the main objective of advertising is to grab the attention of consumers and motivate them to purchase the advertised products or services, the authors of this study set out to investigate consumer responses (reaction of consumers towards a specific stimulus) to rational and emotional advertising appeals based on gender. Their main claim was that gender has an important role to play in influencing consumer response to advertising appeals. The authors made use of influential theoretical foundations (e.g., Cognitive Information Model, Pure Affect Model) to demonstrate how consumers respond to advertisements. While the Cognitive Information Model presupposes that consumer preferences are not shifted by advertising and that consumers’ decisions in making purchases are rationally-oriented, the Pure Affect Model assumes that “consumers form their preferences on the basis of elements such as liking, feelings, and emotions induced by the advertisement or familiarity triggered by mere exposure to the advertisements, rather than product/brand attribute information” (Keshari & Jain 37). The authors also relied on the seminal works of Armstrong and Kotler (1991) to show how advertisers use rational appeals (e.g., product’s quality, economy, value or performance) as well as positive emotional appeals (e.g., love, humour, pride, prestige and joy) to change the consumers’ belief about the advertised brand (Keshari & Jain 38).
The study found that (1) consumers differ in their response to rational and emotional advertising appeals, with rational appeals eliciting more favourable response from consumers compared to emotional advertising appeals, and (2) male and female consumers do not differ in their response to rational and emotional advertising appeals (Keshari & Jain 41). These findings seem to contradict other studies which have found that “women have higher advertisement readership for complex messages, exhibit increased discrimination ability, process advertisements more comprehensively under conditions of low or moderate involvement, and use both subjective and objective information” (Keshari & Jain 41). Such discrepancy in key research findings calls for further scrutiny.
Key Quotations
“Advertisers use specific advertising appeals to interest, to create, and/or to influence consumers’ attitudes towards a product or service” (Keshari & Jain 38). In the context of the research paper, this statement could be taken to imply that advertising in fashion generates desire for the fashion product and the advertising appeals act to persuade the consumer to invest in the fashion product by making purchase decisions.
“One of the variables that affect consumer response to a larger extent is gender of consumer, and therefore, gender has been an issue of long-standing interest to advertisers” (Keshari & Jain 38). This statement opens up an exploration on the mediating influences of gender on advertising in fashion.
Evaluation
The study is insightful, particularly in demonstrating that gender does not play an important role in deciding or influencing how consumers respond to rational and emotional advertising appeal. Although this conclusion may be contested in fashion contexts, it is nevertheless well-reasoned and is delivered after analyzing primary data from the field. The study employs credible support to back its claims, though it could have been carried out in more cities to guarantee the generalisability of findings.
Citation #6
Alexander, Jon. “Advertising itself is not evil, but it has Certainly Got out of Control.” The Guardian 2011. Web.
Summary
This article locates the business of advertising within the social and cultural context and argues that advertising is not necessarily evil though it has gone out of control. In general, the article provides a rich history of advertising, before turning to discuss how advertising is shifting in contemporary times, the consequences of such a shift, as well as what needs to be done to address these consequences. The author is categorical that advertising used to be a good thing during the early days as it was employed for the intended purpose (Alexander par. 6). However, much has changed and advertising is now beginning to appear dangerous due to social, cultural and economic factors.
The author refers to other works done by him and other writers to reinforce his claim that “higher levels of advertising lead to people working longer hours, saving less, and borrowing more” (Alexander par. 11). The consequences of advertising, according to this article, include economic burdens, prevalent social inequity driven by extrinsic motivations, as well as high incidences of mental illness due to unresolved extrinsic motivations and personal debt (Alexander par. 12-14). The author notes that the solutions to these problems lie in stopping advertising from creeping further into our lives by creating space for our intrinsic motivations to be expressed and validated, as well as removing advertising from certain parts of our lives (Alexander par. 17-18). The author further suggests that “we then need to go deep into the cost-benefit analysis and start to remove advertising from the places it should not be” (Alexander par. 19). Overall, the author argues that people should commence this process by removing advertising from childhood, as a young child cannot form the implicit social contract the same way an adult does.
Key Quotations
“We are by nature at least as co-operative as we are competitive, as least as selfless as narrowly self-interested, and at least as driven by the desire for fulfilment and purpose as we are by the desire for status and success relative to our peers” (Alexander par. 10). This statement summarises many of the factors that make fashion to hold consumers at ransom.
“Advertising in aggregate serves to normalise and validate the pursuit of status, of financial success, of sexual prowess, of self-interest as individual and societal goals, at the expense of fulfilment of purpose, of selflessness, and so on” (Alexander par. 11). Again, this statement shows some of the reasons that make consumers to spend so much money on fashion due to the illusion of advertising.
Evaluation
This article is insightful in terms of identifying the causes and consequences of advertising in our society as well as proposing a raft of solutions to the problems. It is important in the fashion context as it shows how consumers have been entrapped in the snare of advertising and what needs to be done to free them from the vicious cycle of impulsive spending. The article is contained in a reputable newspaper, thus its credibility cannot be questioned.
Citation #7
Monbiot, George. “Advertising is a Poison that Demeans even Love – and we are hooked on it.” The Guardian. 2011. Web.
Summary
The article argues from the perspective that advertisers, rather than financial institutions, conglomerates, lobbyists and political pundits, are the enemies that need to be confronted. The author cites influential personalities and seminal reports to demonstrate that advertising “is either ineffectual or it raises enormous ethical questions everyday” (Monbiot par. 3). To demonstrate the ethical concerns raised by advertising, the author claims that although advertising practitioners insist that consumers have nothing to fear from their attempts at persuasion if they become informed and educate their children in media literacy, they nevertheless end up employing neurobiologists to come up with the most inventive techniques of bypassing the conscious mind (Monbiot par. 4). The author then proceeds to explain how advertising influences our mindsets through pervasiveness and repetition, and also how consumers blindly or passively process and absorb the imagery and messages contained in the advertisements without contesting them.
As postulated by the author of the article, “the low-attention processing model developed by Robert Heath at the University of Bath shows how, in a crowded advertising market, passive and implicit learning become the key drivers of emotional attachment” (Monbiot par.5). The author cites science and other discourses to demonstrate how advertising practitioners have been effective in minimising opportunities for the logical or conscious mind to intervene in making reasonable and justifiable fashion decisions. On the contrary, the practitioners have made use of evolving knowledge in science to enhance “intuitive judgements that are made instantaneously and with little or no apparent conscious effort on the part of consumers – at point of purchase” (Monbiot par. 6). The author argues that some of the most pronounced consequences of advertising include poor working habits, individual debt, problems in family life, and inability to save. The plan of advertisers, according to the article, is to encourage us to become dissatisfied with what we have and to instil in us a perception that we must buy their products or services if we want to be sexy, beautiful, happy, and relaxed (Monbiot par. 8-11).
Key Quotations
“Advertising claims to enhance our choice, but it offers us little choice about whether we see and hear it, and ever less choice about whether we respond to it” (Monbiot par. 4). In the fashion context, this statement shows how consumers are duped into buying fashion products from a broader pool of choices
“The messages used by advertisers are designed to trigger emotional rather than rational responses” (Monbiot par. 5). Again, in the fashion context, this statement demonstrates how advertising has been effective in igniting the emotional responses of consumers in order to elevate impulsive buying behaviour.
“People who watch a lot of advertisements appear to save less, spend more and use more of their time working to meet their rising material aspirations” (Monbiot par. 7). These are the consequences of advertising which appear to be true in fashion contexts.
Evaluation
This article offers a lot of important information, particularly on understanding the dynamics of advertising and how it entraps consumers in artificial cocoons that appear to be nourished by need and status fulfilment. The article is insightful on how advertising practitioners continue to use science to play into the minds of unsuspecting consumers. The article provides credible support for its claims, not mentioning that it is contained in a reputable newspaper.
Citation #8
Dallas, Kelsey. “Shopping, Fast and Slow: How the Fashion Industry Drives Consumer Behaviour.” Deseret News. 2014. Web.
Summary
The article sheds light on how fast fashion has shifted consumer behaviour towards a desire for instant gratification. The author of the article claims that the fast fashion phenomenon comes at a cost as “retailers use low-quality materials, selling items that wear out or tear in the span of a few months” (Dallas par. 6). The vicious circle is maintained by the fashion industry, which trains consumers to buy more clothes without even considering their price or quality. Consequently, consumers spend more just to keep up with the artificial expectations of the fashion industry. However, the article reports about a resurgence of a slow shopping trend that ensures that consumers are in control of their money and happier due to quality assurances. The author cites figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics to demonstrate how the fashion industry continues to benefit unfairly from consumer spending (Dallas par. 9).
The author notes that fashion companies “take advantage of quickly shifting trends by peddling lower quality items that [are not] built to last and convincing consumers that high closet turnover is desirable” (Dallas par. 13). Indeed, the author notes how big fashion shows trigger retailers such as Zara and H&M to imitate new trends and have them in stores within a few weeks as affordable versions of the trending styles minus the quality assurances. The author posits that fashion shoppers should not look to material things to fill something that is lacking in them or just to feel better because they are wearing something new irrespective of price or quality concerns. Rather, they should arm themselves with budget- and quality-based arguments to ensure they not only purchase quality fashion products but also mitigate fast fashion’s adverse impact on the industry and the environment (Dallas 22-32).
Key Quotations
“Rapidly shifting trends mean consumers regularly buy new clothes without considering whether they are worth the price, trained by the fashion industry to favour full closets over slower, savvier shopping” (Dallas par. 6). This statement shows how the fast fashion industry contributes to repeat purchase decisions among consumers.
“Today’s fashion industry is driven by money more than the sense of loyalty to consumers” (Dallas par. 14). This statement shows the centrality of money in the contemporary fashion scene.
Evaluation
The article not only introduces a new concept of fast fashion and its adverse effects on consumer behaviour, but also highlights some of the dynamics and dangers of advertising in fashion. It also uses credible support for its claims, though the author has overrelied on the narratives provided by individual consumers.
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Alexander, Jon. “Advertising itself is not evil, but it has certainly got Out of Control.” The Guardian 2011. Web.
Carroll, Angela. “Brand Communities in Fashion Categories using Celebrity Endorsement.” Journal of Brand Management. 17.2 (2009): 146-158. Business Source Premier. Web.
Dallas, Kelsey. “Shopping, Fast and Slow: How the Fashion Industry Drives Consumer Behaviour.” Deseret News. 2014. Web.
Keshari, Pragya and Sangeeta Jain. “Consumer Response to Advertising Appeals: A Gender Based Study.” Journal of Marketing and Communication. 9.3 (2014): 37-43. Business Source Premier. Web.
Lahiri, Isita and Humaira Siddika. “Fashion Behaviour: Detangling Promotional Factors.” Globsyn Management Journal. 8.1/2 (2014): 64-76. Business Source Premier. Web.
Monbiot, George. “Advertising is a Poison that Demeans even Love – and we are hooked on it.” The Guardian. 2011. Web.
Moore, David J. and Seung Pil Lee. “How Advertising Influences Consumption Impulses.” Journal of Advertising. 41.3 (2012): 107-126. Business Source Premier. Web.
Phillips, Barbara J. and Edward F. McQuarrie. “Narrative and Persuasion in Fashion Advertising.” Journal of Consumer Research. 37.3 (2010): 368-392. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web.