UF Professor: Advertising Onslaught Has Become Part Of American Culture

April 1, 1996

GAINESVILLE—There are few places left in society where people can go to escape the onslaught of advertising, but according to a University of Florida English professor, the public almost enjoys being courted by commercialism.

“We don’t mind being advertised to,” said James B. Twitchell, author of Adcult USA: The Triumph of Advertising in American Culture. “In fact, sometimes we seek it out.” His latest book isn’t a scolding review of the cause of America’s shrinking attention span, but a look at how advertising helps to accommodate our cravings.

A study by the American Association of Advertising Agencies has shown that of the 3,000 advertisements a person consumes in a day, only 80 will be noticed, and only 12 will cause some reaction.

It all begins when people sit down to breakfast in the morning, Twitchell said. The cereal box sits staring at them from across the table. Of the vast number of characters and celebrities used to promote cereals, Twitchell said, Fred Flintstone and his gang have had the best staying power. On the way to school or to work, people may see billboards, park benches, public buses, inner-city basketball backboards, parking meters and taxis covered with advertisements.

Once students arrive at school, they may get Chef Boyardee worksheets showing how to use pasta in home economics class. Prego offers the Prego Science Challenge complete with an “instructional kit” to test the thickness of various spaghetti sauces. Union Carbide donates a video explaining the benefits of chemicals in their lives. Kodak, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s sponsor essay contests about why kids should stay in school.

Advertisements stare at passengers from the walls and float down from the speakers of the elevator as they travel to work. While at work people on the phone are captive audiences as they listen to advertisements when they are put on hold. Advertisements have even invaded the sanctity of the public bathroom — some now appear over urinals.

On the way home, a stop at the gym puts people face to face with a wall of advertising while they use the Stairmaster. On their right a person is wearing a Nike T-shirt with the statement “Just do it”. On their left is a person listening to music from a bright yellow Sony Walkman cassette player.

Next stop is the supermarket and a shopping cart adorned with small billboards. In order to capitalize on indecisive shoppers, the same products aren’t placed in alphabetical order and higher priced merchandise is mixed in with the value items.

Finally at home they settle back in their easy chairs and try to escape the advertising attack by watching a program on the public broadcasting channel, but those “underwriting announcements” seem a lot like commercials, Twitchell said. The birth of the infomercial has produced hour-long commercials that cut down on the leg work and perils of being a door-to-door salesman.

Try taking a trip to escape the reach of advertising. USA Today supplies airplane passengers with Sky Radio, complete with eight 30- to 60-second commercials per hour. Advertisements are even printed on air sick bags, Twitchell said.

But there is no vacation from advertising. Chairlift towers now serve as billboards at ski resorts. Advertisements are beamed to clouds over San Francisco by laser. Public parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite, as well as private parks like Disney World and Six Flags, are covered with advertisements.

Twitchell attributes this advertising assault to the public’s high tolerance for commercialism and its eagerness to be entertained. He calls that culture Adcult.

“A generation ago we would have communicated meaning by referring to literature and religion. Now we use ads,” Twitchell said. “‘Where’s the beef?,’ ‘You deserve a break today,’ ‘I love you man,’ and ‘Because I’m worth it’ are more than just commercial slogans. They are ways we organize and communicate experience.”