Interviewing: 

Today, I got to sit down with my mom and interview her. She has worked in advertising (the premise of my project) for over 15 years now, so she is definitely knowledgable on the industry. Our conversation was lengthy, so here are some key topics we covered:

*I will be inserting the interview when I am done editing it

-The (very complex) step by step process of creating an advertisement

-The role of an advertising agency in building or establishing a brand’s identity

-Advertising through the decades; ways in which cultural climate/ politics influences the creation and creative content of an advertisement (And vice versa. An advertisement can influence the way individuals view themselves, individuals, who essentially shape society)

One important thing I learned from our conversation was how an advertising agency operates. In an agency, there are many different departments that each play a crucial role in the birth and cultivation of an advertisement. An ad certainly cannot be successful without the help of each department:

Working with my essential question:  

Answering my essential question has involved researching advertisements, studying them, and reading articles about them. What is the meaning behind this print ad or commercial? What impact does it have on the viewer? And most importantly, what is it about these things that may generate potential success? Reading articles from Forbes to AdAge, which analyze advertisements has helped me think deeply about these questions. In doing so, I have begun to form my own opinions on what defines success.

The birth of a new sub-question: 

In addition to interviewing and self conducting research, I started my first class on Coursera. The course is titled “Advertising and Society.” As cheesy as it may sound, I came to an “epiphany” after taking my first course…I was on my laptop reading about the professor teaching my class when I happened to stumble across a book that he had published titled Culture And The Ad: Exploring Otherness In The World Of Advertising. I skimmed through a few of the Goodreads reviews and was immediately captivated. The book explores capitalism, race, advertisements, and their role in shaping how we view society and ourselves. These bigger picture ideas/themes were essentially what my project has been examining for the past week. To see them being highlighted in a format other than my own was really reassuring. Furthermore, this newfound sense of excitement provided me with clarity and confidence that the idea of examining the societal impact of advertising is one of great substance and therefore should be centralized in my project.

With that, I have decided to add a new sub-question to my project: “What is the relationship between advertising and culture?” I think that this new sub-question fits the scope of my project really nicely and is one that I am eager to examine further throughout the upcoming weeks.