Aesthetic Categories in Advertising

Humanitārās un sociālās zinātnes 2017
Guna Matule

The aim of the research is to analyse techniques of advertising and how advertising adapts the theory of aesthetics and means of aesthetic communication already present in arts. The object of the research is the use of aesthetic categories in advertising. The goal of advertising is to attract attention, to provoke emotions, to trigger some attitude, to persuade and to elicit certain action. To do this advertising uses a set of different methods such as shock, compassion, and humour. The effectiveness of advertising can be increased using aesthetic techniques established in the field of arts. The beautiful a s a n a esthetic c ategory i s w idely u sed i n d ifferent p erspectives beautiful as useful, beautiful as harmony and symmetry, beautiful as spiritual and divine – all to persuade the customer to acquire a particular good. The ugly a s a n aesthetic category is the opposite of the beautiful – if something was ugly before it will be put right by purchasing the particular good. The use of the tragical is somewhat limited, however, when matters of life and death, existential issues come in the centre of attention it can be used in advertising to solicit particular behaviour. The sublime i s u sed i n a dvertising e ven m ore s eldom, s ometimes i n a d istorted manner. The comical, having many facets, has wide application in advertising; being a transgressive category it is most likely to run into ethical problems if the contents become obscene, cynical, or insulting to certain groups of society. In general, smart usage of aesthetic categories can increase the effectiveness of advertising, but the built-in conflict of the need to attract attention and to comply with ethical norms might cause tension, especially when dealing with such aesthetic categories as the ugly, the comical, and the sublime.

Keywords
aesthetic categories, methods of advertising, ethics of advertising, effectiveness of advertising

Matule, G. Aesthetic Categories in Advertising. Humanitārās un sociālās zinātnes, 2017, Vol.27, pp.104-113. ISSN 1407-9291. e-ISSN 2255-8543.

Publication language
Latvian (lv)