Change in Kodak Ads

                     As people and their desires change, so does the advertising persuading them to buy products. The first ad was printed in the 1960s while the second ad was made in 2000. The product itself has been altered; back in the ‘60s only the film was being sold and thrown away, whereas now the entire camera can be disposed of after use. The Strasser reading displayed how over the course of time our society has turned away from the “habits of reuse” and towards our throw away mentality (Strasser, 173). As Strasser pointed out with tissue and paper towels, the film and the camera follow the “planned obsolescence” model, meaning that this product is designed to stop working after a brief period of time resulting in much more waste. The company acquires a generous profit because the consumer must rebuy every time the product is thrown away. Companies started to claim that “throwaway packaging was promoted for its convenience and cleanliness” but in reality only encouraged and led to our instinct to dispose of instead of conserve (Strasser, 171). Back in the 60’s one would own their own camera and only replace the film, but now Kodak has made the camera itself into a onetime use item as well not only increasing their profits, but amount of waste as well. The pair of Kodak ads illustrates the same concept she had, that we are becoming a disposable society. Although they are similar products sold by the same company, the marketing techniques are much different. The older advertisements use more text with facts about the product to intrigue customers and persuade them to buy the film. The second ad only has a picture of the camera and the slogan “Naughty or Nice?” which follows the “sex sells” technique that has become common in our day and age in an attempt to draw in buyers. The images themselves also differ greatly. The older advertisement shows a group of people using the product, while the second advertisement simply presents the product and attempts to make it look as modern and hip as possible. This shows that as a society we now tend to not focus on the facts of the product but rather whether the product will be “cool” or not. The change in advertising proves that we have become more concerned with convenience rather than the quality of our products leading us to create an impossible amount of waste.