I do not know whether advertising leads society or whether it follows it. The answer may be that it does both. I look back on the advertising of my youth particularly that of the cigarette industry, and I cringe.
I grew up in a world where everyone smoked. They smoked in restaurants, on buses on the way to work, on enclosed airplanes, and at the library. Even if one was a non-smoker, one arrived at one’s destination smelling like an ashtray. My college even had metal ashtrays in the classroom, and I remember one dramatic professor who waved at slides of works of art on the screen with his burning cigarette, blowing smoke in the general direction of a painting of a Madonna and child with great declarations of passion. But the advertisers knew we were smoking, and perhaps they were just stoking our unspoken desires. Perhaps men wished they were masculine cowboys on the range like the Marlboro Man, or women wished they were leaning forward romantically while a dashing male figure lit their cigarette. The advertisers even obliged us by making it seem safe. I wince as I remember one ad at the back of a popular magazine “Four out of five doctors smoke Camels,” it blared. The ad went on to say, “Time out for many men of medicine usually means just long enough to enjoy a cigarette. And because they know what a pleasure it is to smoke a mild, good-tasting cigarette, they're particular about the brand they choose.”
Today, I look at the advertising in the new world of the Covid 19 virus. We may not have enough testing for this disease afflicting us, we may not have enough ICU beds in our hospitals, or a vaccine on the horizon, but the advertising community has instantly caught up with the current facts of living in the world of a pandemic. And many of them are embracing the need for social distancing and masks.
On a trailer dealer’s perimeter fence, “The only safe way to travel.”
On a web site, “Match your mask to your outfit, your colorful statement will replace your smile.”
On a hardware store ad on TV showing pictures of happy people barbecuing and watching movies in their backyard, “Summer is open.”
On a car rental ad showing masked employees wiping down a car, “When you’re ready, we’re ready.”
From a national fabric store, free patterns for making masks and clever holders for those masks.
At a fast food restaurant, “We care for you and our employees. We wear masks and ask that you do too.”
Is this done to promote business or is the business community recognizing a real need? Is it creating a movement or just reflecting what society really thinks? At least they are not telling us that four out of five doctors think the pandemic is good for us.