SOCIAL CLASS IN ADS

Social class is: “A status hierarchy in which individuals and groups are classified on the basis of esteem and prestige acquired mainly through economic success and accumulation of wealth. Social class may also refer to any particular level in such a hierarchy”
British Social class is divided into three main classes to which belong: 
- The Upper Class – usually people who are wealthy
- The Middle Class- this is the class which is major in UK. To this class belongs industrialist, professionals, business people and shop owners.
- Lower/ working class- people who are agricultural or factory workers.
Social class can depend on people you hang on, income, occupation, brought up, group you belong to, what are your values, layout on society.
Nowadays social class depends mostly on income. People in higher classes have more money than this in lower classes. The conditions at work also depend on social class. People from upper-middle classes and middle class have more freedom with their occupation. Generally this people are more respected and enjoy more diversity.

The Marxist collection of classes involves a group of people who share economic or social relations. According to Marx, social class involves two factors:
- Objective factors
- Subjective factors
People can show their social class by costume, grooming, manners, language codes and unique political rights.
Shopping behaviour depend on the social class. People usually match their values and expectations with the stores. People don’t shop in the stories where they feel out of place. Advertisements allow the shopper to make social class identifications of stores.
One research showed the influence of social class on the shopping process. The results say:
- Middle and upper class women shop more often than those in the lower class
- For women in higher social class is important to shop quickly
- Middle and lower class have a tendency to browsing without buying anything
- The lower social status shop usually prefer downtown shopping
- Lower class women prefer discount stores that women in middle and upper class.
SOCIAL CLASS AND ADS:
1. Ad below shows Versace clothes. People can see posh women with a boy who is dressed in the suit. This ad shows expensive clothes, jewellery and accessories. Not everyone can buy it. People can say straight away that this ad is just for rich people.

2. This ad shows street after part...the ad is addressed to middle and lower class. Upper class dosent go for the parties which are on the street. 

3.  Thirs ad shows once again expensive watches, celebrity, diamond and well know brand.....just for posh people. Upper class

Below there are three ads which show how advertisements show difference in social class:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-beeoDbsPM- this ad shows colourful swatch watches for young people. It is classify with the middle class teenagers. Everyone knows how expensive “Swatch watches” are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INBOvCWYqlU this ad is addressed to the lower or middle class people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U66z1CeyKsk this ad is addressed to “chavs” people in other world to lower class people.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
AnetteLaeaur(2008) Social Class: How Does It Work ?United States
Fiona Devine (1997) Social Class in America and Britain;Edinburgh

Group conformity, opinion leaders and peer pressure

Have you ever been in a group of people who were saying different things? How did you feel about that? Have you ever made the decision by feeling the group [pressure? If so you were complying with your need to confirm.

Group is “a collection of individuals who have regular contact and frequent interaction, mutual influence, common feeling of camaraderie, and who work together to achieve a common set of goals.”

Need of confirm is a feeling to belong to the group. To be accepted in the group you need to go along with the group rules or people.

Different group have different norms or rules to which people need to confirm. It depends on language, dress, behaviour, dress, social and class roles, gender roles etc.

To persuade someone you need to show that you are trustworthy.  To show it you need to deal with the group rules.

There are many different types of groups:

Ascribed - the group you are born into

Reference - is a group looked to for lifestyle

Acquired - Is one which is joined or moved into

Aspirational - This is a group one aspires to belong to. Perhaps a group someone looks up to

Disassociation - A group someone would hate to belong to. e.g. 'Chavs'

Contrived Formed for a specific purpose - This includes unions and committees.

Associative - What group someone realistically belongs to such as college friends and neighbours.

Peer - These are people of equal standing like school student or a regular contact

How to advertisements try to persuade people to belong to their group?  The example can be the advertisements of “PALL MALL” cigarettes.

PALL MALL advertisement tries to convince people to belong to their group by showing in the ads man and women enjoying cigarettes together. On their faces people can see satisfy smiles while puffing the cigarette.  The advertisement text invites audience to confirm the PALL MALL group the text says: "Wherever you go, notice how many people have changed to PALL MALL in the distinguished red package." The large cigarette package itself displays, "WHEREVER PARTICULAR PEOPLE CONGREGATE."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y8VgzUNPnU- this short advertisement shows an amazing world of a famous star Nicole Kidman. Almost every girl would like to be in that world and would like to belong to the group of famous and rich people.  In one part of this ad the man says: “You must be there tomorrow…” obviously by buying the channel perfume.

The products can make people associate to a specific group of people for example people who wear Lonsdale clothes belong   to the chavs group. People who wear d&g or Louis Vittoe clothes are associated with posh people.

Or

Opinion leaders are “Individuals whose ideas and behaviour serve as a model to others. Opinion leaders communicate messages to a primary group, influencing the attitudes and behaviour change of their followers. Therefore, in certain marketing instances, it may be advantageous to direct the communications to the opinion leader alone to speed the acceptance of an advertising message.” The example of it can be the ad of dental floss which may influence dentists. The advertisers are using the opinion leader to influence target group, they also give testimonials.

Nowadays is a world of mouth. “Mouth” is the best way to reach audience is and this role belong to the opinion leaders try to reach audience by world-of-mouth marketing campaigns.

Below there is a link which shows how the influence of group, social network and option leaders work together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jgQapB6cb4&feature=related

Peer pressure – means people in your age who try to influence you on how you act to make you do something.

One of the hardest thing is making decisions by yourself….but it can be even harder when other people try to pressure you from one way to another. Everyone must deal with peer pressure the example can be a group of people who try to convince another person to be mean to other people, to go for a party or to cut class. People give in to peer pressure because they would like to be liked by other people, to be part of the group or people may be worry that other people will lough if you don’t do something.

But how peer pressure is presented in ads?

Advertisements affect the way people live. People are exposed to over 2000 ads a day. Advertisements have a much bigger value that the products and it is because they sells values, images, and concepts of success, love , popularity etc. Advertisements tell the audience who they are and who they should be….sometimes they sell addictions e.g. cigarettes, coffees, alcohols…many teenagers are very sensitive for peer pressure. Mass communications has made national peer pressure which affects people’s lives and values.

Ads usually shows world where people are ugly, poor disabled etc…and everything what people do in that imperfect world is talk about products.

Group’s conformity, opinion leaders and peer pressure is something with what we have to live through all of our lives. We have to learn how to say “no” not to be affected by other people or ads.

REFERENCES:

Dennis Conn (1990) introduction to psychology, twentieth edition, Copyright.

Diana Kendall (2010) Sociology in Our Times, Wadsworth USA p. 154

Kate Hawelinn, (2000) Peer Pressure, Capstone Press