Student
Topic 1: Picturing Marketing
The lecture presented in Week 1 introduced the concept of marketing and challenged us to understand the marketing of commodities from both a mainstream and critical perspective. As a consumer I used to have the same perception as the mainstream, recognising marketing as ‘soft & fluffy’. Now being a student of marketing, I have come to a different understanding. I have chosen an image, which immediately evokes a more critical response to marketing; a baby with a barcode imprinted on his or her forehead1. 1
http://patriot-‐newswire.com/2012/05/global-‐warming-‐alarmist-‐wants-‐to-‐barcode-‐babies
These days, a barcode is imprinted somewhere on almost every item available for purchase. The barcode is the modern symbol of a commodity available for purchase by the masses. The image of a barcode is automatically associated with buying. The display of a barcode upon the forehead of a baby immediately identifies the baby as a transactionable commodity.
The image is confronting but also ambiguous. Is it literally suggesting that the baby is available for purchase or is it intending to convey a more complex message? Is the baby truly intended to be the transactionable commodity or is it suggesting that humanity should be controlled and regulated in the same way that massed produced commodities are controlled and regulated?
The expression on the baby’s face introduces an element of humour and irony, suggesting perhaps that the viewer is not to take too seriously the idea that the baby is actually available for purchase.
It was explained in the lecture that the marketing of commodities evolves from the utility that
The lecture presented in Week 1 introduced the concept of marketing and challenged us to understand the marketing of commodities from both a mainstream and critical perspective. As a consumer I used to have the same perception as the mainstream, recognising marketing as ‘soft & fluffy’. Now being a student of marketing, I have come to a different understanding. I have chosen an image, which immediately evokes a more critical response to marketing; a baby with a barcode imprinted on his or her forehead1. 1
http://patriot-‐newswire.com/2012/05/global-‐warming-‐alarmist-‐wants-‐to-‐barcode-‐babies
These days, a barcode is imprinted somewhere on almost every item available for purchase. The barcode is the modern symbol of a commodity available for purchase by the masses. The image of a barcode is automatically associated with buying. The display of a barcode upon the forehead of a baby immediately identifies the baby as a transactionable commodity.
The image is confronting but also ambiguous. Is it literally suggesting that the baby is available for purchase or is it intending to convey a more complex message? Is the baby truly intended to be the transactionable commodity or is it suggesting that humanity should be controlled and regulated in the same way that massed produced commodities are controlled and regulated?
The expression on the baby’s face introduces an element of humour and irony, suggesting perhaps that the viewer is not to take too seriously the idea that the baby is actually available for purchase.
It was explained in the lecture that the marketing of commodities evolves from the utility that