Postulate of social change as a marketing tool

Abstract

The article discusses the issue of communicating various types of social changes in advertising. Examples of several commercial advertising have been analyzed to show and explain what social changes are postulated in advertisings and why large brands decide on it. The article has a reviewing character. It is based on the case studies of three advertising campaigns, which are preceded by a theoretical part focusing on the operationalization of the concepts of social change, advertising, and embedding the topic in the theory of social systems and communication. The article is not strictly empirical, it has a more exemplifying character, as it is based on a large number of advertisements. There is an attempt to forecast the direction of change in contemporary advertising. In the future, advertising, not only social, but also commercial, can be used more often to communicate and shape attitudes or values. For commercial brands, it can be a way to validate their market activities and to increase consumer confidence. On the one hand, the described examples can be treated as instrumental, commercial activities, but, on the other hand, as a medium of social change, such as equality of women in the Middle East, or a change in the ideal of the female body in the Western culture.