Title

Advertising and pseudo-culture: An analysis of the changing portrayal of women in print advertisements

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This study investigates the use of mass media, specifically advertising, in cultural transformation projects to weaken cultures and replace them with a crafted pseudo-culture. We rely on Adorno’s theory of pseudo-culture to examine how political ideologies shape cultural transformation using mass-mediated ad images. Following a content analysis and a semiotic analysis of print advertisements over a period of 48 years, we identify five major themes underlying pseudo-culture formation and the advertising strategies implemented to support these themes. This work also identifies four major tools used in pseudo-culture formation and demonstrates how pseudo-cultures may be formed, promoted, and abolished.

Publication Title

Journal of Macromarketing

Publication Date

2018

Volume

38

Issue

2

First Page

185

Last Page

205

ISSN

0276-1467

DOI

10.1177/0276146718762475

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