ASPIRATIONAL ADVERTISING V. INHERIT ADVERTISING

We as consumers understand (whether it is conscious or not) that a product cannot fully survive as a product unless it has a "world" to live in. This world is exclusively presented through an advertisement. These worlds vary greatly from demographic to demographic.

Aspirational advertising dominates the luxury marketing world. Such advertisements are equipped with signs of wealth, leisure, and most importantly beauty. As new media expands in front of our very eyes, these images are vitalized through the use of video.

Take for example, this POLO by RALPH LAUREN FALL 2010 Advertisement:

While entering this world is not a personal aspiration of mine, it is clearly perpetuating ideas of exclusivity and wealth. Happiness seems to be secondary in the world of Polo, as the models only give us a smug smirk. But, perhaps they know we'd all be dying to have that Irish Setter by our side?

Inherit Advertising, for lack of a better word, is practiced by companies and brands that do not promote exclusivity (I am not disagreeing with this, as it is probably necessary for the survival of luxury labels) but rather, make products that are "ordinary" humorous, visually appealing, and desirable.

While this Snickers video is not necessarily up to date, it shows how a product regularly overlooked, can alleviate your hunger. A candy bar, though it is far from a hearty meal, surveys its necessity (or lack thereof) and makes a joke out of it.

Is there a way to combine these two forms of advertising? The answer is, yes. With the current economic state we're in, people are looking to combine the exclusivity of luxury, with the prices of the ordinary. The luxury market, which is almost entirely dependant on the fashion industry, is looking to become more accessible. One of the ways they are trying to do this, is to make the industry somewhat "season-less." Business Week touches upon this:

"Its got to be a dynamic business," Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts said in an interview. "So keep being dynamic is going to be a part of our long term success."

Because sales of luxury goods are rising fast in markets like Asia and Latin America "there has to be a large part of the line that's season-less," she added

The New York Times further reiterates the downfall of exclusivity through the subtraction of the runway show. Runway shows, which are run on exclusivity and social hierarchy, are now advertised for everyone to view on the web. Since these events are now becoming a part of the everyday (so to speak), perhaps the exclusivity will only exist within "worlds" like the one depicted in the Polo video. And maybe, in the coming future we will see a coercion between these two types of advertising.