No theory forbids me to say "Ah!" or "Ugh!", but it forbids me the bogus theorization of my "Ah!" and "Ugh!" - the value judgments. - Theodor Julius Geiger (1960)

Sociology of Advertising

Lars Clausen’s 1964 classic Sociology of Advertising

Lars Michael Clausen (1935-2010) was one of Germany’s most distinguished sociologists after World War II. He was known for his intellectual curiosity and ability to make complex sociological theories accessible. Specializing in the sociology of culture, labor, and disasters, Clausen played a crucial role in reviving interest in Ferdinand Tönnies’ work. Clausen received the German Order of Merit twice and the German Society for Sociology’s prize for lifetime achievement.

In his 1964 book about advertising, Clausen doesn’t aim to answer how it pays off or when it is effective. Instead, he analyzes advertising from a sociological perspective, an area largely unexplored at the time. While psychology provides insights into manipulation and persuasion, a sociological approach was needed to address broader societal reactions to advertising.

Advertising is ubiquitous yet controversial, generating both enthusiasm and criticism. Clausen acknowledges the risks of overly abstract analyses, using ideal types to formulate axioms for logical deductions and empirical verification.

The definition of advertising varies widely among economists and often involves implicit justification. Some define it as voluntary persuasion, but Clausen criticizes this for assuming consumer free will without questioning structural influences.

Clausen explores advertising in relation to education, propaganda, and public relations. Two competing sociological frameworks emerge:

  • Advertising facilitates market efficiency, aligns demand with supply, and contributes to economic and social cohesion (Integration perspective).

  • Advertising is a tool of market power, manipulating consumer choices and reinforcing inequalities (Conflict perspective).

Clausen leans toward a conflict-theoretical approach, seeing advertising as an arena of competing interests rather than a harmonizing force. He doesn’t pass moral judgments but uncovers the underlying social dynamics making it a subject of controversy.

The Advertiser as Master of Advertising

A conflict-theoretical approach places advertising within market conflict. Markets arise when individuals or groups lose self-sufficiency and engage in the social division of labor. Advertising bridges supply and demand, making products acceptable and transforming technical production into economic value.

Advertisers act based on economic goals like profit maximization, sustainability, or consumer welfare. These interests are always framed by the advertiser’s perspective rather than the consumer’s. Clausen assumes that suppliers and consumers act independently to maximize their benefits. Advertising exists because market participants rarely reach perfect consensus, leading to persuasion efforts. It becomes unnecessary in monopolies or essential goods markets but aggressive in competitive environments.

Advertising inherently involves persuasion and manipulation of consumer needs. Some economists distinguish between demand guidance (shaping pre-existing needs) and demand creation (generating new needs), but Clausen finds this distinction problematic as it requires subjective judgments about real versus manufactured needs.

Unlike authoritative commands, advertising relies on persuasion disguised as voluntary influence. While often defended as informative, advertising systematically minimizes transparency to maintain consumer interest.

Advertising shares similarities with education by influencing values and behaviors. However, education is framed as neutral knowledge transfer, whereas advertising serves the economic interests of advertisers. This raises the question of whether advertising is a form of commercial education.

Businesses rebrand advertising as public relations to distance themselves from aggressive sales tactics, legitimizing it as socially beneficial. Advertising is ultimately a form of power, shaping consumer behavior within market norms through persuasion, euphemism, and selective information disclosure.

Tendencies in Advertising Strategy

  • Concept appropriation: Using language and techniques from education, public service, and other domains to enhance legitimacy.

  • Minimizing transparency: Limiting the information provided to consumers to maintain an advantage.

  • Encroachment into other domains: Blurring the lines between advertising, education, and public relations.

  • Social optimism and euphemism: Rebranding advertising as a socially beneficial activity to escape criticism.

The Advertiser and the Effects of Advertising

Advertising is shaped by social norms and constraints, limiting market interests and regulating consumer autonomy. Without constraints, advertising would push for market domination at the expense of consumer independence. The principle of advertising efficiency remains flexible, adapting to goals like profit maximization, market expansion, or consumer welfare.

While economic theory suggests advertising should provide objective consumer information, in reality, it manipulates psychological impulses, making lack of transparency a key strategy. Industries coordinate messaging strategies to sustain advertising effectiveness.

Consumer resistance—through skepticism or competing advertisements—forces advertisers to adjust their tactics. The scale of resistance determines advertising aggressiveness, ranging from subtle persuasion to near-coercive techniques.

Advertising maximizes influence over consumers through:

  • Encroaching on education and propaganda.

  • Manipulating language and euphemisms.

  • Minimizing transparency to limit consumer autonomy.

Three key advertising principles are effectiveness, efficiency, and truthfulness. While effectiveness and efficiency align with advertisers’ goals, truthfulness is often a rhetorical device rather than an operational principle, subordinated to market influence.

In socialist economies, truth in advertising aligns consumer behavior with social planning, where the state, as the main advertiser, defines truth for economic control rather than consumer empowerment.

Advertising techniques range from:

  • Subconscious influence (e.g., subliminal messaging).

  • Psychological appeals (e.g., status symbols, emotional associations).

  • Social pressure (e.g., branding, lifestyle marketing).

The difficulty in measuring advertising effectiveness leads advertisers to rely on trial-and-error and industry trends.

The Self-Sustaining Nature of the Advertising Industry

Advertisers depend on specialized agencies, marketing experts, and consumer analysts, limiting their direct control over execution. Advertising firms develop their own interests, shifting from serving manufacturers to ensuring their own market relevance.

This self-preservation leads to:

  • Expanding advertising beyond its original scope (e.g., corporate social responsibility, public relations campaigns).

  • Normalizing advertising as an essential business function.

  • Creating new techniques and justifications to perpetuate demand.

The Broader Societal Impact of Advertising

As advertising becomes autonomous, it influences social and economic structures by:

  • Manipulating consumer needs and values.

  • Reinforcing consumption patterns.

  • Integrating into political and social discourse (e.g., public service campaigns, political branding).

Even in socialist economies, advertising serves ideological and economic functions, reinforcing social norms and consumer behavior.

Advertising and Consumer Culture

Advertising extends beyond transactions, shaping consumer expectations and implicit standards of quality and price. Consumers respond with varying levels of acceptance or resistance:

  • Naïve followers – Easily influenced.

  • Advertising enthusiasts – Seek and enjoy ads.

  • Skeptics and critics – Question intent and authenticity.

  • Informed evaluators – Critically assess ads.

Consumer resistance reshapes advertising, leading to watchdog organizations, ethical demands, and stricter regulations.

Advertising’s Role in Modern Society

Advertising reduces consumer autonomy by shaping desires and lifestyle choices. The rise of internal corporate advertising (e.g., workplace branding) mirrors external consumer marketing, further embedding advertising in daily life.

Despite claims that advertising is unnecessary in socialism, it integrates into consumer guidance and export promotion. The distinction between capitalist and socialist advertising blurs as both serve ideological and economic purposes.

Modern economies engineer consumer behavior, using advertising as a tool for social orientation. With traditional guidance systems (e.g., family, religion) declining, advertising fills the gap with pre-packaged lifestyles and consumption models.

The Future of Advertising: Conflict or Integration?

Two competing models describe advertising’s role:

  1. Game Rules Model: Advertising follows social norms, contributing to economic stability through institutional adaptation.

  2. Cold War Model: Advertising remains a battle between consumers and advertisers, pushing ethical and persuasive boundaries.

The institutionalization of advertising suggests a shift toward the Game Rules model, yet competitive pressures ensure elements of the Cold War model persist.

Conclusion

Advertising has evolved from a sales tool into a powerful social force. It influences behavior, reinforces ideologies, and controls economic flows. As traditional economic models shift, advertising embeds deeper into corporate, political, and cultural structures.

The challenge ahead is balancing market interests with consumer protection and social responsibility. Clausen concludes that advertising has outgrown its original economic function, now operating as a complex system of social and political influence.

Source

Clausen, L. (1964), Elemente einer Soziologie der Wirtschaftswerbung, Köln/Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.