The ‘romantic’ advertising tricks that give you unrealistic expectations of love
Jones, C.W. 2025. The ‘romantic’ advertising tricks that give you unrealistic expectations of love. The Conversation.
Jones, C.W. 2025. The ‘romantic’ advertising tricks that give you unrealistic expectations of love. The Conversation.
| Title | The ‘romantic’ advertising tricks that give you unrealistic expectations of love |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jones, C.W. |
| Description | The Conversation article; The run up to February 14 is a good time for selling certain products. And alongside the jewellery and flowers, advertisers also try to sell us something broader: a notion of what we should consider romantic. This might involve an idyllic and perfectly filmed holiday destination, or the casting of a glamorous Hollywood star to represent a particular perfume. For research has shown that advertising can shape our expectations of what love should look like – from the perfect partner to the things we should buy for them. It’s become a familiar tactic for all kinds of advertising. And it fits with an idea explored by the French literary theorist Roland Barthes in his 1957 collection of essays, Mythologies: that if a message is repeated enough, it becomes true. Advertisers seem to have embraced this notion, and we see the same kind of messages repeated year after year, telling potential customers what they should aspire to – and invest in – to achieve their best and most romanticised ideals. Whether those ideals are realistic or not is not the goal here. Advertising generates money for brands by creating a commercially driven view of what love should look like. There are various techniques available to advertisers to shape those expectations. Emotional appeals, for example, try to evoke feelings of passion and desire. |
| Year | 2025 |
| Keywords | St Valentine's |
| advertising | |
| film | |
| TV | |
| Publisher | The Conversation |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 13 Feb 2025 |
| File | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Web address (URL) | https://theconversation.com/the-romantic-advertising-tricks-that-give-you-unrealistic-expectations-of-love-249672 |