Culture and advertising. Influence of subcultures in advertising communication

Abstract

Advertising is a cultural phenomenon that draws from all the practices, behaviors, languages, aesthetics, and expressions within the interaction spaces of subcultures, social groups, and individuals. Being disconnected from what happens in cities, the way territory is inhabited, and the inherent dynamism of cultures conditions advertising to produce stereotypical messages that do not relate to the social and cultural realities of the context in which they exist. Therefore, the qualitative approach of the research permeating the strategic planning department of advertising agencies is enabling brands, based on their values and attributes, to become characteristic features of subcultures and engage in scenes of cultural identity, thus achieving closer proximity to people and avoiding being invasive. This article addresses the relationship between culture and advertising, conducting an analysis of the characteristics of urban cultures and their influence and importance in the development of advertising communication. It also employs a qualitative methodology with an ethnographic study on young people in the city of Bogotá to understand the existing relationship between brands and advertising. This text is the result of the research «Urban Practices as Creative Input for Advertising: Phase I and II» carried out by the research group called «Urban» at Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, as well as the doctoral thesis titled «Influence of Urban Tribes on New Advertising Trends: The Case of "Adidas Originals" in the City of Bogotá» from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.