In the article “The Culture of American Advertising” by Jack
Solomon, he talks about how the American dream is simply a paradox. “The
American dream, in other words, has two faces: the one communally egalitarian
and the other competitively elitist.” Everyone wants to be equal (communally
egalitarian), but everyone also wants to be at the very top (competitively
elitist). In his article, Solomon uses ads
as examples for communally egalitarian and competitively elitist. One pretty
good example he used was whiskey. He named two different whiskeys, Johnnie
Walker and Jack Daniel's. In the article, he says, “a Johnnie Walker ad appeals
to the buyer who wants a mark of aristocratic distinction in is liquor, a Jack Daniel’s
ad emphasizes the down-home, egalitarian folksiness of its product.” Although
one whiskey is meant to make you feel like you live a fancy life and the other
one is just plain ol’ whiskey, whiskey is still whiskey.
Response:
I really enjoyed reading this article. It made me realize that a lot of Americans do want to live equally but also want to be above everyone. I have a pretty good example of it and that would have to be my very own parents. Both my mom and dad don't mind living equally with others but they both also have that competitive side where they want to be at the top. I mean, owning a Cadillac can be very luxurious, but it's still a car. I personally don't really care about being above everyone else. As long as I enjoy living the life I'm living, then I'm completely content.
