Globalization - Disney's Cultural Imperialism

Globalization is the process of increasing interconnectedness among nations, cultures, and people, so as to have an international influence, which is both supported and accelerated by technological advancements.

Globalization is a major aspect of cultural imperialism. As nations become more and more connected, inevitably culture begins to become something that is “exported” and “imported.” Transnational conglomerates dominate this cultural media flow, but this flow is very unequal. Western culture makes up an imbalanced amount of cultural flow, which can cause countries on the receiving end of the flow to lose aspects of local and national cultures, as well as their cultural autonomy and national sovereignty.  Film, music, television, fashion, etc are all a part of this cultural imperialism, which affects other non-Western cultures to varying degrees.

One prominent example of cultural imperialism in media is the Disney brand. A Western conglomerate, Disney however manages to have a strong foothold virtually everywhere in the world. The Disney Channel is present not only in the United States, but in Mexico, South Africa, India, Taiwan, Australia, Pakistan, France, Israel and a myriad of more countries throughout the world. This worldwide expansion of the Disney Channel illustrates the unbalanced media and cultural flow, as no television channel has imprinted itself on American culture the way the U.S.’s Disney Channel has on many other countries on almost every continent.  Disney is one of these transnational conglomerates dominating the global media flow.

The Effect of Pepsi Advertisements

One product that is known for its fun and effective advertising is Pepsi. Pepsi is notorious for using high-status celebrities and coming up with popular images. One of its most interesting advertising campaigns came recently. In 2008, Pepsi began an advertising campaign marketed with the word “refresh.” However, this is not what is most striking about the advertisement. In that same year, Pepsi changed its logo from the classic image usually associated with it to something more modern. What is interesting about this is that it changed shortly after the 2008 presidential election and appears to be remarkably similar to the Obama campaign symbol. It is this aspect of Pepsi that makes their “refresh” commercials particularly powerful. One specific commercial that began airing in early 2009 — after Obama’s inauguration — features upbeat music and words like “optimism” and “joy” (with the Pepsi logo replacing the “o”) and ends with “happy 2009.” This commercial exudes quite a positive message and is certainly persuasive in making consumers want to buy the product. Moreover, the ad is a potent campaign for Obama. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign was based on the idea of change with his slogan “yes we can.” This Pepsi commercial seems to be telling consumers: “Pepsi will refresh you in 2009; Obama will refresh the nation in 2009.”

Some characteristics of this advertising appeal include repetition, which includes repeating an image, word, or phrase many times to influence a consumer; and style, which can include a product or company making hyperbolic claims associated with the product being advertised.

This Pepsi ad features both of these characteristics quite obviously. The most prominently used characteristic is repetition. Throughout the commercial, Pepsi repeats its logo over and over, grabbing the viewers’ attention and holding for the duration of thirty seconds as well as for some time after the commercial ends, as the image tends to remain in one’s mind afterward. Subtler is the style Pepsi uses in this commercial. While it does not make overt fantastic claims, it does make certain implications that have the same effect. The music, images, and words work together to tell the viewer “drinking Pepsi will make you a happier person” and “drinking Pepsi will make you have a great year in 2009.” This implied claim is of course ridiculous, as no soda company can have any great and positive effect on the life of a consumer. Despite this, however, the style works to persuade consumers to buy into this idea and, thus, to buy Pepsi.

In summation: Pepsi has an awesome marketing team.