The Self
What is the Self Concept?
Self-Esteem
Self-Esteem Marketing
Self Esteem Slogans
DIET COKE "Live your life" — or, in other words, drink it
because you just feel good about it - not to lose weight
APPLE COMPUTER: "The Power to Be Your Best."
CHARLES ATLAS "You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine."
CAMAY SOAP "You are in a Beauty Contest Every Day of your
Life.”
GILLETTE: “The best a man can get."
The Real and the Ideal
The Real - the reality of who
we are
The Ideal - who we would like
to be.
The Gap creates a tension
Products
are
purchased
because they are consistent with
either self.
 Many products appeal to
consumers
tendencies
to
fantasize about the way we
would like to be
poses executed in pastels, with
soft focus and haloes of light and
color create highly romantic
images of feminine beauty and
purity.
Multiple Selves
consumers are different
people at different times
We play different roles - in
class or at work
Different selves have
different consumption
patterns
Clairol permits you to explore
and express the full range of
your multiple selves
Which
Library
does she
work at?
CONSUMPTION AND SELF CONCEPT
 Consumption of products and services contributes to the
definition of self.
 Consumers exhibit attachment to products to the extent that it is
used by the person to maintain his or her self concept.
HELEN de ARAGORN
Gender Identity
What does it Mean to be a Man in Our Society
• Men never cry
• Should not show emotion
• Not quitters
• Physically brave
• Independent
• Heroic and patriotic ideals
• Adventurous
• Shaving
• First day at work - earning a wage
• Initiations
• tough
• Courageous
• Drinking
• Physical strength
• Sex
This Pirelli image of Carl Lewis wearing red high heel shoes challenges the
conventional view of black male athletes as being ‘super-masculine’
Depiction of Women in Ads
1950s - mass consumption in high gear, TV ads
idealized the woman as the guardian of the home,
and the man as the bread winner. Men were shown
as endorsing their wives choices of products.
1960s - educated women started exhibiting their
discontent with the depiction of women in ads.
Armed with diplomas and new sophisticated birth
control methods, they demanded for the right to
have both career and family. The great social
change in the sixties allowed a variety of depictions
of women: sex kitten, nurturing mother and
independent working girl. Men become consumers.
1970s Advertisers in the nineteen seventies realized the changing
roles of women, and so they used such issues like woman's lib,
ethnic heritage, and critiques of capitalism to sell their products.
Advertisers realized that not just white people were buying
products. Ethnic people were placed in advertisements.
1980s independent woman.
1990s 2000s
She is a "multifaceted
success machine”.
She is a nurturer and a
seducer.
She is the twenty-four hour
a day woman, and she
never sleeps.
Men are domesticated. Sex
objects
BODY IMAGE
Matel, the makers of Barbie, sued The Body Shop, UK for
this ad. They withdrew it and settled out of court.
 Ads appearing in popular teen magazines promise to transform a
girl’s appearance. While these ads are designed to encourage a girl
to use make-up and dieting to look acceptable, they can undermine
her self-confidence and contribute to negative body image
 Girls are usually more concerned with appearance than boys
because they have been socialized to overemphasize appearance
 One study of Saturday morning toy commercials found that 50%
of commercials aimed at girls spoke about physical attractiveness,
while none of the commercials aimed at boys referred to appearance
 Other studies found 50% of advertisements in teen girl magazines
and 56% of television commercials aimed at female viewers used
beauty as a product appeal.
One study found women’s magazines have 10.5 times more ads and
articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines did.
The latest addition to Mattel's best-selling fashion
doll range has caused near-riots in toy stores as
children and collectors alike rush to pick up their
very own Bulimic Barbie.
The new doll, complete with a fridge full of ice
cream, chocolate and cake, is the epitome of doll
technology. "Look at this," squealed mother-of-two
Dawn Galway, 31, activating the toy's realistic gag
reflex by pushing its hand into its mouth. "Isn't that
the cutest thing you've ever seen?" she asked, as the
synthetic vomit gushed into the tiny basin.
A Mattel PR spokeswoman said: "Mattel have an
ongoing commitment to fans of Barbie to keep her
relevant and now. Market research indicates that
many young girls are developing a fascination with
bulimia and other eating disorders, and this new doll
reflects that." Barbie enthusiast Kylie Holridge, 10,
said. "Now, with Bulimic Barbie, I know just how to
get that perfect thin figure.
Bulimic Barbie
Kylie's elder sister Jodie, 13, said that Barbie has
inspired her quest for a slimmer, trimmer figure
since she was nine.