Jean Kilbourne's Jesus Is A Brand Of Jeans

Culture change is to blame, not advertisements
Some would say the power of ads has an immeasurable effect on the world. In Jean Kilbourne’s article “Jesus is a Brand of Jeans,” she insinuates that society has made a negative shift due to ads. She says our culture values products as the ultimate source of happiness, which devalues what would previously be considered as important. Essentially, she says that people no longer value relationships and non-monetary things. For example, one of the ads depicts a man making love to a woman while covering her face with a picture of a car, which show how people are emotionally attached to items. Kilbourne goes so far as to say, “Ads have long promised us a better relationship…buy this and it will love
you.” I do agree that people have a fear of commitment and they choose products because it requires more emotional stability; product will never get mood and break your heart like people. However, I would say this trend it due to a change in presentation of information.
By saying that, I mean culturally the media has taught us to value products over people, not advertisements for products. I believe Kilbourne is not directing her frustration at the source of the problem. People see celebrities living fancy lives with nice cars, lots of money, and everything money can buy. People don’t necessarily aspire to have each of the items but they want to life. One could say that effective ads sell a lifestyle rather than product. For example, many Tiffany jewelry commercials don’t even show the actual. Tiffany advertises a brand, a brand that is expensive and wealthy people buy, therefore, the item isn’t important rather the feeling behind the advertisement.
With that being said, Kilbourne also emphasizes the idea that minimizing the effect of ads adds to their power. Essentially, advertisements companies want you
to think you are not impacted by the influential ability of ads so you will be vulnerable while looking at advertisements. Advertisements companies hope to affect people on a subconscious level. For example, people don’t look at commercials for clothes and go shopping, often times they see the ads and do nothing immediately. However, the next time they go into a store and they will go to the product. I do acknowledge ads effect people on a subconscious level, but to what point is where I disagree. For example, some ads having nothing to do with a product and their approach is rather to grab your attention. Therefore, not every ad has the intention of exploding customers. Instead, it’s a cumulative effect as Kilbourne suggests. All the ads are sending tiny subliminal messages that when combine create a huge message. I would say this message isn’t necessarily to buy certain products, but sends a message that the culture is changing. It conveys to society that wealth and buying things will make you happier—happiness can be bought. In today’s society this idea of buying feelings is very evident. For example, when parents try to mend broken relationships with children they buy gifts or after a couple fights one of them buys the other a gift. In both situations, material items are not the solution. Another example, when men buy a wedding ring, they are expected to spend 1-3 months salary. Does a more expensive ring show that your husband loves you more? No, but the culture says it does. People are materialistic. Placing value in material items leads to a moral decline, but if people did spend money on material things, the economy would be on steep decline. Our culture thrives off of materialism. The shift in values is similar to what Kilbourne implies: “apparently bottomless consumerism not only depletes the world’s resources, it also depletes our inner resources.
Essentially, she says that instead of valuing nontangible things like religion, we value products, which means consumerism is our main religion. Surely Kilbourne is right to say that consumerism has become too important, but I would say people still have their values. The world just functions on money and consumerism, so we must incorporate it into everything we do. For example, even to help other, often times donating money is the best way to help. A bunch of unskilled people could volunteer their time, but it would be much more efficient and effective to collect money and donate money. The power of money is immense. Money funds consumerism and ads play off the
consumerism.