Framing

In the area of promotion and advertising, one uses framing to best construe a sentence, picture, or any type of communicative sales device in a way that best displays them or what they are trying to sell in a positive light. For instance, one can take a word that would ordinarily be used in a different context but then frames it in a way to best fit what they are arguing. In terms of psychology, salesman will use trigger words that have proven most effective on the psyche of the consumer which were probably obtained through market research. For example, if their product is large, they might use the word "robust" to describe its size solely because something in that word has been known to best sell units. 

The concept of framing can be extended to the work of the late philosopher and founder of the concept "the Global Village," Marshall McLuan. McLuan concluded that the "medium is the message" or in other words, the medium in which convey your message or product, regardless of its quality, defines whether a product or idea is successful. To be frank, disposable garbage can be consumed by the public if filtered through the correct packaging. This returns to the concept of framing in that the seller frames the product around a medium that is most appealing. This philosophy works all up and down the food chain. I can recall my elementary school days where a teacher would gives us a project that often came with the option to either film a video around a certain concept or take that same concept and write a report on it. While both  assignments essentially convey the same information, the films were always more strongly received because they were told through a medium with a greater immediacy. As depressing as this sounds, McLuan hypothesized that anything be sold to a global audience so long as the medium in which it is being consumed in is effective. I suppose that explains the American Idol phenomenon then. 

Throughout this entire assignment, the Shepard Fairey designed Obama poster "HOPE" has been continuously coming to mind. While many people grossly underestimate the impact this image had on the Obama campaign, I believe it was essentially to securing the youth vote that became the spine of his dominating edge. To many young voters, the ideas of politics is both uncool and full of disillusionment. To many of us, it is screwed up beyond repair and we don't believe in the power of a single vote. That is why so many young people do not typically participate in presidential elections. That is of course until 2008. Obama can be defined as a new president for more than just the obvious reason of being African-American. For one, he is the first to validate the idea of viral campaigning. But that's not really what I'm arguing here. To get back on track, the "HOPE" poster is essentially a beautiful image that if you think about it, means next to nothing. The concept of "hope" is entirely ambiguous and could be said about any candidate without them actually having to back their word considering they aren't exactly promising anything. If you believe all this to be true, I suppose McLuan is correct: The medium is the message.