Mad World

Advertising is so pervasive in our culture.  I’ve been reading A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture and the chapter on advertising is very revealing.  The authors make the point that Advertising is the new religion.  At first glance I thought, “yeah right.”  However, they have a point by asking the question, “What does advertising promote?”  It does not necessarily promote a product.  In fact, often advertising promotes a way of life - maybe a religion?  For example we hear messages like: “defy the rules, be yourself, accept yourself as body and spirit, shun authority, seek engagement, be proud of who you are, be an individual, get connected, re-prioritize your life, take control of your destiny, remake yourself.”  Sounds like religious language to me.  What products are being promoted here?  You can’t tell fromt he slogans, that’s for sure.  Advertisements are selling the ideal.  Calling us to something “better.”  Beckoning us to get beyond our everyday and be a part of something bigger.  Not much different than what we call people to is it?  A life with Jesus really is “better.”  A relationship with Jesus calls us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.  But the point in advertising is not Jesus - it is the self.  This is a religion of the self.

So are advertisements overtly religious?  Maybe not intentionally, and maybe the average consumer does not think of them as “religious,” but, the ideas being promoted are religious in nature.  listen to the commercials tonight if you’re watching Man vs Wild like I’ll be, and look for these overtones, and start to think about what is really being sold.

~ by ryanmcbride on January 19, 2007.