OUGD501- Seminar 2- Consumerism

Using the text Berger, J. (1972) 'Ways of Seeing', we were asked to get into groups and analyse the text, picking out points of interest to relate to examples of advertising.

We chose three points to present to the class:


'Publicity begins by working on a natural appetites for pleasure - But it cannot offer the real object of pleasure and there is no convincing substitute for pleasure.'

We chose the muller yogurt advert because it works by stimulating the viewers desire for pleasure through the everyday object, 'the yogurt.' This is reinforced by the desirable environment alongside the luxurious clothes and positioning of the female.



'Publicity is never a celebration of a pleasure - in - itself. Publicity is always about the future buyer . It offers him an image of himself made glamorous by the product or opportunity it is trying to sell.

The image above is an advertisement for Lynx deodorant that targets the future buyer. It portrays power and dominance by suggesting the product will make you desirable to women. 

'Publicity is never a celebration of a pleasure - in - itself. Publicity is always about the future buyer . It offers him an image of himself as he might be.publicity is about social relations not object'

The final advertisement we chose was for Joop Homme fragrance. Similar to the Lynx advert, it portrays a desirable image, this is what you should aspire to look like. Berger says its not about the object, this is confirmed by the product not being the main focus.