THE CONSTRUCTION OF CONSUMER CULTURE THROUGH CAR COMMERCIALS

Buse IŞIKHAN¹ , Aykut SIĞIN²

The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of commercials over consumption behavior. For this purpose, a qualitative content analysis was carried out on twelve car commercials aired on various television channels. The reason why car commercials were chosen specially is that this sector, which is an indispensable part of technology, advances at a remarkably fast pace and shapes consumption behavior in different manners. In this context, a reading of the commercials in terms of their social manipulations was carried out. The analysis of the commercials was handled through the views of such social theoreticians as Baudrillard, Veblen, Simmel, Featherstone, Fustier and Dichter on consumption. The fact that the consumption factor is foregrounded and the real object of consumption, which in this case is cars, is pushed into the background and then presented to the consumer necessitated a sociological investigation of shopping behaviors. At the end of the study, an analysis of consumption behavior will have been carried out and the effect of mass communication tools, which are crucial elements in the production and distribution of popular culture, will have been evaluated through commercial.

Keywords
Consumption, , the Consumer Culture Theory, the Media, Car Commercials, Hedonism, , Hyperreality,