Mass media influence on public demand during the O.J. Simpson trial

¶ … Mass Media on Modern American Society

In the immediate aftermath of the infamous trial of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, several events unrelated to the actual murder provided startling evidence of the extent to which mass media influences contemporary American society. Namely, the slow-speed highway chase of Simpson on a Los Angeles freeway system depicted the white Ford Bronco in which Simpson was traveling. News reports covering the crime scene described the white Husky owned by the murder victim and testimony at Simpson's criminal trial included evidence intended to establish that the obscure luxury brand of shoes known to be worn by Simpson were the source of blood-stained shoe prints left at the crime scene.

Almost immediately, sales of Ford Broncos (in white) increased, pet stores sold out of Huskies, and reported that people had simply begun inquiring into purchasing an "O.J. dog," and Bruno Magli, an Italian luxury shoe designer increased its sales from a few dozen pair of men's shoes each month to hundreds, resulting in extensive backorder delays on a product that was virtually unknown previously. What is remarkable is the degree to which even apparent murderers have the ability to influence public demand simply by virtue of their public recognition through mass media. If there had ever been any doubt as to the extent of the influence of mass media on public perception and interest, some of the events surrounding the O.J. Simpson trial removed them.

The Psychological Basis of Media Influence

Most people have a psychological need to be held in high regard by others in society. That is one of the fundamental bases for the modern advertising industry and the financial justification for commercial product manufacturers and service providers to commit such large budgets to advertising in general and to paid celebrity endorsements in particular (Ogilvy, 1983). For decades, commercial advertisements featured product endorsements of motion picture and sports celebrities like (O.J. Simpson) hired as spokespeople. During and shortly after his football playing days, Simpson himself had been a highly-paid product endorser much the same as Tiger Woods was more recently prior to his notorious fall from grace in 2009.

According to psychologists and experts in the psychology of modern advertising media, there are two specific mechanisms responsible for the power of advertising through mass media: first, people simply enjoy being recognized and associated with others who are highly recognized in society; second people trust the expertise of those who have proven themselves to be successful (Ogilvy, 1983). Modern advertisers pay celebrity spokespeople millions of dollars to lend their names to products because they realize that linking virtually any product to a highly recognizable individual is virtually guaranteed to increase public demand for that product (Ogilvy, 1983). In the case of expert testimonials (such as where a famous golfer endorses golf clubs), the basis of the influence is the assumption that there is a correlation between the success of the individual and the use of the product that may transfer to any user of that product. However, the other source of the power of commercial endorsements arises simply from the casual association of recognizable individuals for no other reason than the degree to which ordinary individuals crave virtually any association with famous celebrities (Ogilvy, 1983).

As was the case with the unplanned publicity for Ford, Huskies, and Bruno Magli shoes (Tyre, 1997), the phenomenon is illustrated even better by such happenstance than by carefully orchestrated advertising campaigns. More recent examples would include the original hairstyle debuted by actress Jennifer Anniston in the 1990s that was very widely emulated throughout the nation, despite the fact that it was impractical and inconvenient because it required constant preening to keep locks of hair out of the eyes.

Likewise, a walk down any busy city street today would bear testimony to the explosion of the popularity of eyewear similar to that worn by former Alaska Governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Immediately after she first wore square, black-rimmed glasses during the televised political debates in 2008, that particular style of glasses became highly fashionable. Psychologists would argue that the fact that they may have looked good on her played only a small role in that phenomenon; the more important element was the fact that those glasses became so recognizably associated with a high-profile public figure. People have a natural psychological need to be recognized by others; in modern society, that often manifests itself in the emulation of anything that others recognize, especially in connection with high-profile public figures, precisely as explained by Ogilvy (1983).

The Future of Mass Media and Social Influence

Today, modern media is changing in two fundamental ways: consumers of mass media are gaining increasing control over the formats and schedules in which they choose to consume entertainment, and mass media is rapidly becoming a two-way medium (Carr, Choi, DeAndrea, et al., 2008). Today, the widespread availability of online applications and social media have begun to reshape the way that individuals communicate with others as well as the manner in which they establish their personal identities more generally. Previously, computer applications provided valuable capabilities at work as well as in personal communications. However, the medium is developing so quickly that applications such as Facebook and Twitter have begun to be much more fully incorporated and integrated into personal identity. Expectations in that regard are that soon, there will no longer be any distinction between online and offline life at all, with online media playing a fundamental role in the establishment and maintenance of personal identities (Carr, Choi, DeAndrea, et al., 2008).

While there are undeniably positive aspects of the new two-way nature of mass media, there are also likely to be negative consequences that must be considered as well. For one thing, unlike offline relationships and personal exchanges, online transmissions may be difficult, even impossible, to delete or change once published. As personal web postings and online elements of social relationships are published and become publicly available, some of our most personal exchanges may persist in a very public way, in effect, becoming part of mass media.

Ultimately, the evolution of more interactive two-way uses of media are likely to increase rather than decrease the influence of media on the lives of individuals. In some ways, that may contribute positively; in other ways, it might present dangers and problems that were previously never issues when media communications were exclusively one-way.

Annotated Bibliography:

1. Carr, Caleb; Choi, Scott; DeAndrea, David; Van Der Heide, Brandon; Kim, Jinsuk;

Tong, Stephanie Tom; Walther, Joseph B. (2008) "Interaction of Interpersonal,

Peer, and Media Influence Sources Online: A Research Agenda for Technology

Convergence." Retrieved July 7, 2010 from:

https://www.msu.edu/~carrcale/ICA_Carretal_2008_Convergence.pdf

This source is a peer-reviewed scholarly article authored by researchers affiliated with the Montreal Department of Telecommunication, the Information Studies & Media, the Department of Advertising, Public Relations, & Retailing, and the Department of Communication. It was presented at the annual meeting of the International

Communication Association (ICA) in May, 2008. The article details the changing influence of mass media on contemporary culture, and particularly on the way that individuals have begun establishing an online or virtual element of their personas. The authors suggest that this pattern will continue to increase through the comprehensive integration of various different forms of social media as those technologies grow and more people routinely use virtual media to present themselves publicly.

2. Freedman, Jonathan. (2007). "No real evidence for TV violence causing real violence."

Retrieved July 7, 2010 from:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/commentary.aspx?id=18490

This source is an Internet editorial article published online on April 27, 2007 by Jonathan

Freedman, a Psychology professor and former department chairperson at the University

of Toronto. Professor Freedman has taught previously at Stanford University and Columbia University and has chaired the department at the University of Toronto.

Professor Freedman's central thesis is his fundamental opposition to the position taken in

2007 by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that violence in media is a causal factor in actual aggression and violence in society. According to Professor

Freedman, the FCC relied on inaccurate information on the number of relevant studies, and also failed to distinguish between empirically valid information and anecdotal information in reaching their position on the issue. Professor Freedman also suggests the need to differentiate between depictions of fictionalized and real violence in any such analysis and to factor in other causes for changes in patterns of behavior in society before concluding that a direct causal connection exists between violence in the media and actual aggression and violence in society.

3. Levine, Michael P. And Murnen, Sarah K. "Everybody knows that mass media are/are not [pick one] a cause of eating disorders': A Critical Review of Evidence for a Causal Link between Media, Negative Body Image, and Disordered Eating in Females." Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2009, pp. 9-

42. Retrieved July 7, 2010 from:

http://www.atypon-link.com/GPI/doi/pdf/10.1521/jscp.2009.28.1.9?cookieSet=1

This source is a peer-reviewed journal article literature review that appeared in a 2009

issue of the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, a professional peer-reviewed psychology publication. The authors, Michael P. Levine and Sarah K. Murnen, are

Psychology professors at Kenyon College.

The authors reviewed a comprehensive list of prior research on the topic of the suggested link between media influences and negative body image and eating disorder among females. The authors conclude that there may not necessarily be a direct causal relationship but that for certain individuals predisposed to body image problems and eating disorders, media influences may contribute to and exacerbate any such exiting tendencies.

4. Ogilvy, David. Ogilvy on Advertising. New York: Random House. 1983.

This source is a trade hardcover book originally published in 1983 on the subject of advertising and marketing theory and practice. The author, David Ogilvy, was one of the world's best known and most influential advertising executives in the second half of the

20th century. He worked in new York City on many of the highest profile and most successful advertising campaigns ever launched to date.

5. Tyre, Peg. "Thanks to O.J., Bruno Maglis are really big shoes." CNN Interactive

(1/23/97). Retrieved July 7, 2010 from:

http://www.cnn.com/U.S./9701/23/shoe.sales/

This source is a news article published by CNN Interactive on January 23, 1997. the

news article details the events leading up to the infamous murder trial of O.J. Simpson.

The author, Peg Tyre, is an award-winning journalist and investigative reporter who has worked for Newsweek, the New York Times, O, the Oprah Magazine and the Columbia

Journalism Review. She has also worked as an on-air correspondent for CNN and is the author of a best-selling book, the Trouble With Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our

Sons, Their Problems at School and What Parents & Educators Must Do, published in