The media we want?

One of the great and effective methods of modern advertising is its ability to instil a void in a targeted audience that can only be filled with the amazing new product that is offered. A great example of a company who have mastered this technique is Apple; as they had a keynote presentation just days prior and still are up to their usual of telling you why you need what they have. Proof of this is abundant, for example: the iPad created a sudden mass of demand for a tablet product, of which previous attempts had been un-appealing and therefore making us need something we never thought we would care about. We want the media we get and we will continue to get more all the time.

The media can do much more than try to convince you that you have some previously unknown need for something. It can hand the responsibility of convincing over to the potential customer alone. An example of this is a motor vehicle website. There are few of these sites now that don’t feature a ‘customize it yourself’ type section. These sections are great at making someone feel that they have invested something into a product and “Now it has your name on it, so you might as well buy it.” (O’ Shaughnessy and Stadler, 2012). Companies can make us want what they have and we do all of the work.

Another way the media can create content that we will inevitably want is by attaching a concept to somebody who is well known or influential. These kinds of people are found throughout all types of media and they can convey ideas about clothing brands, electronics and even life style choices like dietary ideals. The people that develop the product are also important because they can create something new that may initially not have much importance in society, but public representation is what will make it become important. Those that represent the media can tell us what we want even “despite the fact that there is a small, limited number of media producers, they speak to, and on behalf of, the whole society…”  (O’ Shaughnessy and Stadler, 2012). We want the media that is given to use because it can make us feel as though we are fitting in and are approved by those we look up to.

Michael O’Shaughnessy and Jane Stadler, Media and Society: Fifth Edition. South Melbourne Australia: Oxford University Press

Quote 1: chapter 9 pg 154

Quote 2: chapter 3 pg 37