Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it
We can learn a lot from the past, and that applies in all areas of our lives. Everything has a history. Today, advertising remains as a paid attempt to persuade, just as it always has been. Also, traditional advertising and media are still used by advertisers; however, times are changing due to technology. The way people shop, gather information, attend events, and purchase has changed immensely. Despite this, having common knowledge of the past can help solve modern issues.
The Peace, Love, and Creative Revolution took place from 1960 to 1972. Advertising was slow to change, but by 1968 it had finally changed in meaningful ways and become self aware. Finally, the industry realized that advertising was about being hip, being cool, and rebellion. The best way to summarize this is to say that the industry finally realized they needed to be in tune with the times and events going on. They needed to be obscene and different in order to stand out, so they started to abandon traditional values in their advertisements. The 70s built upon this. During this time, there were major social shifts that affected advertising and marketing. Women and minorities adopted new roles; the ads of this time took sex even further, were a bit more racially integrated, and used more hard-sell.
I think modern advertising can learn a lot from these two decades. We are in a very progressive and changing time. This means that advertising needs to keep up with the changes happening and find a way to do something with them. Advertising needs to stay as updated as possible and represent the social changes we are seeing today; this is a way that advertising can make sure it appeals to all and its viewers feel like they can relate. Overall, what we as advertisers should take from the past is that as times change, advertising must change as well. We adapt to our audiences and try to relate. A great example of advertising trying to appeal to modern movements was seen in the Audi Super Bowl ad. They attempted to appeal to members of the modern day feminism movement. This is a great example of advertisers trying to appeal to a specific audience. This is something advertisers will always have to do: reach out to specific groups to spark an interest in their product.