If one were to travel back to 19th century and describe to its inhabitants what it is like living in modern age, denizens of 19th century would undoubtedly have heralded modernity as Utopia; bullet trains, air travel, advances in medicine, computers, and an overall higher quality of living. These are all nice things, but living in modern age one cannot help but feel dissatisfied. There is yearning for traditional social bonds along with fear of losing one’s individuality. The world around us feels as real as plastic, as genuine as retail chain store experiences. And amidst all this modern identity crises, we try to bring comfort to ourselves by striving for authenticity.
What is authenticity? The topic of human authenticity became a subject matter for philosophers when industrial revolution kicked off in Europe and people started wondering about true nature of objects. Authenticity slowly became defined as being concerned with three ideals. First, we all have a unique sense of self (Taylor, 1991). Second, this unique self requires a lot of nurturing and development, primarily through creative endeavors (Trilling, 1971). Third, there is a social dimension to authenticity, where people who show their unique lifestyles to others are perceived as being authentic.
Now, advertisers know that since there little to no cultural meaning in modernity, the key to good marketing is to create authentic brands. There are many products that are sold in the guise of being authentic, but Botterill (2007), a researcher at Brock University, Canada, limited her interpretive analysis of marketers’ use of authenticity to jeans and sneaker ads because they are targeted at 18-25 year olds; an age group that craves for authenticity the most. The study by Botterill (2007) involved sampling 300 sneaker ads and 700 jean ads out of all print and television advertisements shown in American and European markets between 1999 and 2005. The goal of this study was to find out if there was some pattern of authenticity rhetoric that was common among various ads.
One recurring theme that was immediately apparent to Botterill (2007) in the jeans ads sample was the placement of jeans in terrains that characterized challenge and escape; post-industrial cities, burnt out factories, streets, rooftops, and deserts. Many of these locations that once were inhabited by the mythical authentic cowboy were now home to models in jeans. Burnt out factories and post-industrial cities as backdrops for models in jeans were symbolic of rebirth of a new, more genuine way of life that one might become a part of if one were to buy those jeans.
When characters were presented indoors they frequently were depicted doing everyday activities in modest and relaxed interiors; drinking coffee in a room with paint drippings and dirty plates for example. Furthermore, models in the sample ads frequently slouched, appearing too drained of energy to meet prescribed social norms. The models were posed in ways that made them appear of having been caught in a dream. Sceneries of this type were reflective of models in jeans not caring about any social norms and instead focusing their attention on their self-development.
The story of how authenticity made its way in shoe marketing campaigns is a bit more interesting as Nike, a shoe brand in possession of 40% of this market, built its empire through the campaign of equating Nike with athleticism. Athletic values such as adhering to rules of trainers, discipline, and teamwork stand in opposition to authenticity. However, authenticity eventually emerged as a viable marketing angle when Nike’s competitors like Reebok and Adidas realized that they could not beat Nike in their own marketing game and the better strategy was to advertise their products as rebellious in nature.
Reebok in the shoe ads sample appeared to have embraced the authenticity angle the most, as its 2002 ad campaign included hyper fast edits showing people crashing bicycles, jumping railings, and other convention defying stunts. Reebok was slowly positioning itself as a brand for emotionally and existentially intensive individuals.
Reebok continued with its authenticity rebranding tour in 2003, 2004, and 2005 by linking itself to hip-hop. Artists like 50 cent and Jay Z frequently appeared in Reebok promotional campaigns talking about how the members of the hip-hop culture like to keep it real and supporting certain brands ups their street cred. In 2005 Reebok with its campaign “I am what I am” triumphantly entered blackspolitation territory as it used, 50 cent for example, to glorify black gangsta character and its authentic rebellious nature. Reebok openly romanticized black gangsta as the gateway to authenticity and success, even though according to U.S. Department of Justice African Americans in 2004 accounted for 44% of prison inmates despite being representative of 12% of the population.
In conclusion, the struggle for living an authentic life is very much an outcome of the ways in which modernity has failed to satisfy our needs. Existentialist philosophers like Heidegger and Sartre encouraged individuals to go through intense life experiences in order to inject authenticity in their lives. Unfortunately, the exploitative forces of capitalism have thwarted this quest by claiming to be able to sell authenticity that at best only provides a temporary illusion of meaning and liberation.
References:
Botterill, J. (2007). Cowboys, outlaws and artists: the rhetoric of authenticity and contemporary jeans and sneaker advertisements. Journal of Consumer Culture, 7, 105-125.
Taylor, C. (1991). The ethics of Authenticity. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
Trilling, L. (1971). Sincerity and Authenticity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Comments