The advertisement's role in the construction of a "pleasant life" idea inside a consumption society

• Grant number: 15/20642-2
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal researcher: Valquíria Padilha
• Grantee: Letícia Pires de Campos
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto (FEARP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In a consumption society context, people are submitted every day to publicity strategies, in which a concept of "pleasant life" is built based on owning a large amount of goods. To what extent is a "pleasant life" linked to consumption and how it is shown on publicities? We suppose that publicity - main shaft of the consumption society - build a conception of a "pleasant life" through consumption of goods and services. Thereby, consumption culture teaches us what is to be happy, what is living comfortably, what is having success, status, to be virile and alluring. We consider that the conception of a "pleasant life" is extremely reductive in a psychosocial point of view, because people project their happiness based, mainly, on possessing goods. The Critical Theory (CT) is the theoretical reference of this research, as it helps us to analyze how the publicity can get in, conquer it and stay in consumers' minds and hearts. The objective of this research is, then, to investigate: a) if there is a relation between consumption and a "pleasant life" implied on the advertisements and b) how this relation is expressed. To achieve those objectives, within a qualitative research, we'll conduct a literature review and an analysis of advertisement broadcasted on television, based on the method of filmic discourse analysis.