Just Looking ...

I am not sure if this ad fits neatly into any of Baudrillard's three categories. I think it goes somewhere between his second and third categories, the "masks/perverts" and "masks absence of reality" ones. It is like the CK Obsession ad shown in class, except this has a tiny smidge in the bottom right that shows the product. I start to think that these sorts of ads don't actually try to advertise the product, but instead tell us that the corporation remains. I'm not quite sure how to argue this: it was suggested in class that we know companies use sex to sell and we continue to buy things. Perhaps that familiar set of images communicate immutability. I personally don't find this too far fetched. Religious communities often have a markedly distinctive language used by insiders, and this sort of language bubble has an inculating effect. Perhaps the same can be said with images (Barthes' myth?).

But suppose it is the case that ads such as this is about the ontological superiority of the corporation. If we situate this in the context of capitalism, I wonder if it can be said to reflect reality--a reality where money is the essence of life.