THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The word “magic” refers to a broad range of beliefs that include the supernatural, superstition, illusion, trickery, miracles, and fantasies. It is also a simple superlative (Davies 2012: 1), and is one of the oldest subjects of discussion and theorizing in anthropology. From time to time, anthropologists, as well as scholars from other disciplines, have suggested that magic is not specific to “primitive” societies, but is alive and well in contemporary industrialised societies―in particular, advertising.

Raymond Williams (1980: 193) was one of the first to make such a critique of what he called “the official art of modern capitalist society”: “The short description of the pattern we have is magic: a highly organized and professional system of magical inducements and satisfactions, functionally very similar to magical systems in simpler societies…” Williams regarded advertising as a “magic system” because it transformed commodities into glamorous signifiers (turning a car into a sign of masculinity, for example, or a perfume into one of enchantment), which present an imaginary, and thus unreal, world in which we conveniently overlook the inhumanity and exploitation of labour in capitalist enterprises. In this respect, Williams traced the formation of modern advertising to the development of new monopoly capitalism and the increasing emphasis on the market as a system of control. He thus aimed to “disenchant” capitalism by showing us how it really works.

More recently Alfie Gell (1988, 1992) has argued that one way human beings distinguish themselves from other species is by their technological capabilities. We use―sometimes simple, sometimes comple―technical means to form a bridge between a set of “given” elements (the body, for instance, or a base material, or environmental feature), and a goal that we want to achieve by making use of these givens (the achievement of beauty, for instance, or the perfection of alchemy, or saving the rainforest).

One of the technologies that we often use is that of enchantment. The technology of enchantment is probably the most sophisticated psychological weapon we use to exert control over the thoughts and actions of other human beings, because it “exploits innate or derived psychological biases so as to enchant the other person and cause him/her to perceive social reality in a way favourable to the social interests of the enchanter” (Gell 1988: 7). Among its manipulations are those of desire, fantasy, and vanity.

Gell adopted a similar view to that of Williams when it came to seeing advertising as a magical system:

The flattering images of commodities purveyed in advertising coincide exactly with the equally flattering images with which magic invests its objects. But just as magical thinking provides the spur to technological development, so also advertising, by inserting commodities in a mythologized universe, in which all kinds of possibilities are open, provides the inspiration for the invention of new consumer items. Advertising does not only serve to entice consumers to buy particular items; in effect, it guides the whole process of design and manufacture from start to finish, since it provides the idealized image to which the finished product must conform. (Gell 1988: 9)

He went on to argue that the “essential alchemy” of art―and I here include advertising, fashion, and beauty in this argumen―is “to make what is not out of what is, and to make what is out of what is not” (1992: 53). Technical virtuosity is the source of the prestige of advertisements, artworks, fashion items, and beauty products, as well as “the source of its efficacy in the domain of social relations” (1992: 56). This it achieves through:

A wide range of imagery which provides a symbolic commentary on the processes and activities which are carried on in the technological domain… The propagandists, image-makers and ideologues of technological culture are its magicians, and if they do not lay claim to supernatural powers, it is only because technology itself has become so powerful that they have no need to do so. (Gell 1988: 9)

In this respect, we can agree with Baudrillard (1996: 266) that advertising is “a logic of fables and of the willingness to along with them. We do not believe in such fables, but we cleave to them nevertheless… Without ‘believing’ in the product… we believe in the advertising that tries to get us to believe in it.”

But why is magic found only in some activities, and not in others? For Malinowski, as for many others, magic is used in “the domain of the unaccountable and adverse influences, as well as the great unearned increment of fortunate coincidence” (Malinowski 1954: 29). In other words, magic accompanies uncertainty (Gell 1992: 57): we do not find it “wherever the pursuit is certain, reliable, and well under the control of rational methods and technological processes” (Malinowski 1954: 140). Malinowski illustrates this proposition by showing how, for Trobriand Islanders, lagoon fishing and open-sea fishing resulted in totally different attitudes towards the interplay between work and magic.

It is most significant that in the lagoon fishing, where man can rely completely upon his knowledge and skill, magic does not exist, while in the open-sea fishing, full of danger and uncertainty, there is extensive magical ritual to secure safety and good results. (Malinowski 1954: 31)

This uncertainty is taken up by John McCreery, who says that his job as creative director in a Japanese advertising agency was to:

Sell ideas to clients whose decisions he cannot control. They in turn must sell their products to consumers who spend their money as they please. All the efforts of marketing science do not determine the outcome. In an effort to shape purchasing decisions, we generate images, chant incantations, and tell each other stories that we hope will appeal to clients’ and ultimately consumers’ emotions. (McCreery 1995: 311-2).

So, where does this take us? Any discussion of magical practices in advertising becomes part of a broader discussion of cultural production, as well as of those spheres of business where uncertainty prevails (for instance, the world of finance). All forms of cultural production are characterised by certain economic properties, one of which is that demand is uncertain (Caves 2000: 4). In other words, until a particular product is placed before a consumer, it is not at all certain how s/he will react to it because it is an “experience good.” Market research can be undertaken, of course, to find out the likelihood of sales, but still success is unpredictable. It is this unpredictability that leads to “technologies of enchantment,” which include rituals surrounding cultural activities (competitive presentations in advertising; six-monthly catwalks shows of fashion collections; the awarding of prizes at film festivals), as all those concerned tend towards trust in the efficacy of magical practices.

Before expanding on this argument, let me first lay out the “system of magic” that characterizes advertising, and then analyse particular examples of beauty advertisements to show how their structure closely approximates those of magical spells used in Sri Lankan healing rituals (Tambiah 1968).

ADVERTISING AS A SYSTEM OF MAGIC

For magic to constitute a system, three elements are required: magicians, magical rites, and magical formulae or representations(Mauss 1972: 18). This tripartite structure of the system of magic was initially made clear by Malinowski (1922: 403):

Magic all the world over… represents three essential aspects. In its performance there enter always some words spoken or chanted, some actions carried out, and there are always the minister or ministers of the ceremony. In analysing the concrete details of magical performances, therefore, we have to distinguish between the formula, the rite, and the condition of the performer.