All Black Daniel Carter with Rexona Deodorant.
Peter L Berger and Thomas Luckmann, authors of The Social Construction of Reality wrote that “the symbolic universe links men with their successors in a meaningful totality, serving to transcend the finitude of individual existence and bestowing meaning upon the individuals death. All members of society can now conceive of themselves as belonging to a meaningful universe, which was there before they were born and will be there after they die.” (Berger, Luckmann, 1966)
Berger and Luckmann describe their idea of a Symbolic Universe as a fictional reality where by doing something or having something you can belong to something much larger than ones individual self. Looking at the idea of a Symbolic Universe and its relevance in the late 19th century, we can relate it to society today where we can very clearly identify a broad range of symbolic universes relevant to design. A large aspect of today's society for which Symbolic Universes are created is advertising. Advertisers construct these universes, these fictional, almost Utopian worlds, with the goal of selling a product. A great example of a Symbolic Universe in advertising is the All Blacks involvement in the promotion of Rexona deodorant.
Rexona's new TV advert looks at the emotional pregame 'rituals of confidence' of the New Zealand All Blacks, one of which is the use of Rexona Deodorant, the official deodorant of the team. Rugby is an important part of New Zealand at the moment with the country hosting the 2011 world cup and what better way to be part of that hype than to use our teams official deodorant. As ridiculous as it sounds, the deodorant is portrayed in a way that triggers the social need to be included and consumers begin buying Rexona to feel they have a part in World Cup aura. From products like Rexona, to games and movies, we see symbolic universes come to life everywhere through today's advanced use of Media and Design.
Media and design are both major parts of marketing and advertising in our modern world and are therefore have a major influence on the creation and construction of today's symbolic universes. Both design and media are implicated as they are used to enhance these visual perception of these universes. With the constant development of technology and the ability to make things seem real and more beautiful, these symbolic universes are well and truly brought to life.
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Peter L Berger, Thomas Luckmann (1966) The Social Construction of Reality, America: Anchor Books.
Image sourced at http://www.adnews.com.au/campaign/a-ritual-of-confidence
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