INTRODUCTION
Advertising is a form of mass communication intended to promote the sale
of a product or service, or relay messages on behalf of a corporation or
institution. Its purpose is to influence the buying habits of billions of
people. Advertising and newspapers have often gone hand in hand. In the
United States, newspapers are the second-most popular advertising medium
following television. On average, the ads make up about 65% of the newspaper’s
content.
Being that advertising is my major, and a staff member in the advertising
department for the Daily Tar Heel, newspaper advertisements are very interesting
and appealing to me. In this paper, I will examine the Saks Fifth Ave. advertisements
placed in the New York Times during the week my birthday, Tuesday, January
26, 1982 to Saturday, January 30, 1982 and the week of my mother’s
birthday, Monday, April 11, 1955 to Friday, April 15, 2002.
SAKS FIFTH AVE. 1955
The New York Times relies heavily on advertisements in order to generate
revenue. One of the most common retailers who advertised in the NYT was
the upscale retail store Saks Fifth Ave. The products that were that were
displayed in the NYT were primarily women’s apparel. Saks Fifth
Ave. advertised different styles of women’s dresses. For example,
some were elegant, others were meant to be worn at cocktails, and many
were meant to be worn daily. All of the dresses fell below knee length,
and all had sleeves. Many of the styles were indicative of the social
norms of women dress.
Along with giving an illustration of the dresses, the advertisements also
included a written description of its use and/or purpose. For example,
a tag line for one of the ads was, “a smart woman’s travel
costume,” implying that the dress is intended for those women who
will be going on a trip or vacation. Another observation I made when viewing
these advertisements was the inclusion of prices and available sizes.
One ad in particular mentioned everything from price, size, color, and
even nationwide store locations where the dress advertised could be found.
Figure 1 is an example of a Saks Fifth Ave. advertisement of a classic
style dress for women. An interesting point that I noticed was the use
of the word ‘costume’ instead of dress.
Figure 2 is another example of a Saks Fifth Ave. advertisement. This is
an illustration of the inclusion of price, available sizes and nationwide
location where the dresses could be purchased.
Figure 3 is yet another example of ad advertisement for Saks Fifth Ave.
cocktail dress. This is an illustration of how the ad included information
about mail and phone orders. It was striking to see a woman modeling a
sleeveless dress, but the retailer was sure to display a matching jacket.
A foreigner were to come to the United States for the very first time,
knowing nothing about American history, tradition or culture, except for
what is displayed in the advertisements in the NYT, they would probably
think minority groups do not exist. During the year 1955 many African-Americans
lived in this country under segregation. The Saks Fifth Ave. advertisements
are an example of the division of races in this country. Of all the ads
for Saks Fifth Ave. during the week of April 11th to April 15th, 1955
there was not one single African-American featured. Not only was there
no representation of African-Americans, there were no Asian or Hispanics
either.
It was fascinating looking at the old publications of the NYT, because
it gives me a perspective of the technological advances made over the
years. Many of the Saks Fifth Ave. advertisements in the year of 1955
were hand drawn. It says a lot about the complexity of creating and producing
an ad. These drawings captured the ideal image of an attractive woman.
These women appeared to be very petite, with an extra-small waist and
legs that seem to go on forever. They had long-flowing hair, great facial
features and flawless skin.
A friend once told me that advertising should be viewed as an investment,
rather than an expense. The frequency and placement of an ad can be the
determining factor of a retailer getting a return on their investment.
To my surprise, Saks Fifth Ave. ran advertisements multiple times every
day. They had ideal locations within the paper as well. For example, there
would be one ad on the third page of the paper, and then another ad on
page six or seven. Saks Fifth Ave. ran substantially large-repeat ads
as well in relationship with the other ads. The average size of the ads
was a 2x8.
SAKS FIFTH AVE. 1982
Historically, retailers have relied on placing advertisements in the newspapers
in order to build their business. Twenty-four years later, retailer Saks
Fifth Ave. continued to use newspapers as a medium in which they informed
the general public about their products. In 1955, the ads were primarily
women apparel. By 1982, Saks Fifth Ave. continued to feature women’s
apparel in their advertisement, but they also began to advertise name-brand
shoes such as Salvatore Ferragamo and Casadel. Jewelry such as earrings
and necklaces were other products that were advertised in the NYT. Figures
1 and 2 are examples of the different products that Saks Fifth advertised
in the NYT. Instead advertising women’s apparel, the retailer decided
to expand its advertised products to shoes and jewelry.
Saks
Fifth Ave. continued to insert descriptions of the products and the prices.
The descriptions of these ads were more detailed and provocative. For
example, the ad for Salvatore Ferragamo’s shoes read, “…and
the newest, naughtiest sandals of the season.” During this time,
the ads included the location of its stores throughout the nation. Another
interesting observation was that Saks Fifth Ave. used the same logo in
1982 that they had used in 1955. The retailer also continued to include
the prices in some, but not all, of their advertisements.
In 1982, there was still an absence of minorities’ representation
in all of Saks Fifth Ave.’s ads. Considering the social and cultural
advances made during those 24 years, one would think that retailers would
attempt to appeal to all consumers, but that would not be the case. White
women continued to be featured in the ads for Saks Fifth Ave. The retailer
began to use male models in their ads, but not to the extent of women.
The creation of photography revolutionized the way people viewed ads.
Technological advances were evident after looking at the Saks Fifth Ave.
ads in 1955. In 1982, all of the ads were created with the use of photography.
This enabled retailers to incorporate models into their advertisements.
Also, this new visual images helped to promote the products Saks Fifth
Ave. to their target audience.
In 1982, Saks Fifth Ave. continued to advertise heavily in the NYT. As
they did in 1955, Saks advertised multiple times in one issue, but there
was a slight difference. They were becoming ‘bigger and better.’
With the introduction of photography in capturing the perfect image, Saks
Fifth Ave. began running larger size ads. They frequently ran at least
one full- page ad daily. Interestingly, they kept their same location
throughout the paper. For example, they would place a smaller ad [2x6]
ad on page three and then they would have their full-page ad inserted
on the fifth page. Saks Fifth Ave. has consistently used the NYT as a
medium to promote their product. On the following page, Figure 3 illustrates
a full-page advertisement for their women’s apparel. It included
wordy descriptions of the product. The retailer did not include prices
in this particular ad, but it was a regularly practiced.
COMPARISON
As time has progressed and change evident, newspapers have always been,
and will continue to be a source for information. Newspapers will also
continue to be a medium in which retailers introduce and/or promote their
product.
Saks Fifth Ave.’s advertisements has undergone many changes due
to technological advances in photography, but yet remained the same through
its message. From 1955 to 1982, Saks Fifth Ave. continued to maintain
its focus on women’s apparel, extending its advertisements to name-brand
shoes and jewelry. The advertisements featured the same format and style
in 1982 as it did in 1955.
Over the 24-year span between 1955 and 1982, Saks Fifth Ave. did not integrate
other minority groups in their advertisements. Also, it is important to
note that males were featured in some ads, but not as frequently as Caucasian
women.
An interesting fact about Saks Fifth Ave. was its longevity with the NYT.
The retail store has continually ran advertisements of substantial sizes
on virtually the same pages.
As I said earlier, advertising is a form of communication intended to
make consumers aware of a particular product. For many years, Saks Fifth
Ave. has used the NYT to communicate with its target audience. It can
be said that Saks Fifth Ave. has successfully promoted its upscale products
with style and panache.
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