WaKaHaLuLi: May 2010

This is the essay I wrote for my first assignment in my Communication and Media Class. I am really pleased with how it all came together so I thought I would share with you the brilliant mind you get to associate with! Just kidding about the brilliant mind. I really just think I wrote a fantastic essay.... it's ok if you don't like it.

For many years my husband worked in advertising. He was a graphic artist and designed many ads for companies trying to make a particular product look so appealing people couldn’t resist buying it. I came across an article entitled, Shadows in the Cave by Kirk Souder. In this article he uses Plato’s allegory of the cave in relation to branding in the advertising world. I find the connections he made interesting on different levels.

The first point he makes is the only reality the man chained to the wall knows is the shadows. The man doesn’t know they are shadows, he believes them to be real. But when this man turns around, he finds out that the shadows aren’t real, the objects casting the shadows are real. Mr. Souder then makes the connection to the objects that surround us in our lives and those objects are shadows and the ideas behind creating these objects are where the truth is. The actual object is an “imperfect manifestation of that truth. Objects are transient but the idea of an objet is not. The idea is eternal.”(Souder, 2000, 15). This idea spoke to me on a very basic level. Although I can apply it to many areas in my life one came to mind almost instantly. My husband and I have spent years working on our yard. We started with an idea and are trying to make that idea a reality. Somehow, though the end result is satisfying, it always falls short of the original idea.

Secondly, Mr. Souder discusses branding is a special kind of idea it is an ideal. “A brand is an ideal that manifests itself as an object.” (Souder, 2000, 15). He goes on to talk about different brands that have been around for a number years. Even though the actual object may not stand the test of time the ideal of the brand will. This reminds me of a conversation my husband and I had when he received an alphabet poster where the alphabet was taken from particular brands of products. For instance the O was from Oreo and the M was from McDonald’s. We talked about how we could identify each letter easily and so could our children. We also discussed the idea that certain products become so popular in our culture that we call all products that are similar by that name. Like MP3 players are called ipods. If I started talking about Kleenex you would know I was talking about tissues or if I mentioned a Happy Meal you would know I was talking about a kids meal at a fast food chain. It is in these ways that the brand becomes the ideal in our minds. Think about the symbols we see that conveys the ideal of status or success. Really it could be anything from wearing specific designer clothes to driving an expensive car.

The last point that Mr. Souder makes is that a great brand makes us think that it holds ideals that we, as humans do. That this brand, whatever it may be, is not a shadow but has a soul, “A soul trying with every new manifestation to get closer to it’s ideal—the opening of the cave.” (Souder, 2000, 15). This is where I disagree with Mr. Souder. As wonderful and life changing as some products are, they are still objects. They have no soul and if they were no longer around we would find a way to move on. I think here in America we have placed to great an emphasis on material goods that we have lost sight of the bigger picture. Would we truly be happier more fulfilled people if we had all the best products at our fingertips? I don’t think personifying objects is creating better lives for any of us. I buy into advertising just as much as anyone else. That is the point isn’t it? We are made to think that a certain brand is going to help us reach an ideal that seems important, whether that means driving the coolest car, being the most beautiful, thinnest, smartest person a brand can make us.

My first impressions are much different than the conclusions I have come to when I first read Plato’s cave allegory, as well as this article. I believe it all comes down to what our reality is. Are we the man chained to the wall or are we the person carrying the objects making the shadows? What is the most important thing in our reality? Is our reality based on the superficial or does it go deeper than that? What ideal are we striving to reach? Will we let someone else determine what ideal we should be reaching for? In the end I believe there are and will be more questions than any of us have answers for. The point is we continually search for those answers, which will have the most meaning and bring us closer to the ideal we want to reach.

References

Souder, K. (2000). Shadows in the Cave. Adweek New England Edition, 37(43), 15. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/4188167-1.html