Is There a Deeper Meaning in Advertising?

Many people in the media often wonder if there is a deeper meaning in advertising. There is no set answer to this question but some try to answer it by analyzing the advertisements found on all various media outlets. The company known as Patagonia, a clothing retailer, had an ad running on Black Friday that read “Don’t Buy This Jacket.” The advertisement went on to state the following:

“It’s Black Friday, the day in the year retail turns from red to black and starts to make real money. But Black Friday, and the culture of consumption it reflects, puts the economy of natural systems that support all life firmly in the red.”

The company has a Common Thread Initiative, which was stated in the advertisement, pledging that the company is going to be more responsible in the way it designs and manufactures its items. The initiative also asks its customers to be more responsible when it comes to buying, using, and disposing of the clothing as well. Patagonia also pledges to its customers that they will take back any of its clothing when customers no longer want it so they can recycle it. Patagonia also tells customers that they will repair any broken gear.

“WE make useful gear that lasts a long time,” the ad states. “YOU don’t buy what you don’t need.”

It makes experts in the advertising field wonder why companies like Patagonia would spend top dollar on a full-page ad telling consumers not to buy a specific product of theirs. Most are under the impression that it solely was an attention grabbing stunt on the part of the company.

Black Friday saw the annual shopping tragedies take place in stores across the country. One woman decided she would pepper spray other customers in an effort to beat them to various deals at a Wal-Mart. A man died in a Target, but that did not matter to shoppers as they continued to walk around him and on him to get to the merchandise. Another shopper was robbed in a parking lot after shopping.

The advertisement from Patagonia actually has a deeper meaning because it took on the consumerism of America. Almost all major retailers opened their doors late Thursday night, which was Thanksgiving, and advertising experts feel the Patagonia advertisement was telling America how retailers were encroaching on our national holiday of family, food, and football.

Most Americans were waiting to hear someone say ‘we are sick of all this,’ and Patagonia finally had the knack to do it. Everyone knows all of the advertisements, the shopping, and the consumerism is bad for us but we continue to do it, which plays right into the hands of the retail companies across the country.