This study examines advertising of top-selling voice-activated smart speakers in the United States to understand how advertisers are promoting these devices to consumers. The study identifies four representations of technology in smart speaker advertising. This includes technology as human, technology as self-expression and happiness, technology as progress, and technology as productivity. Engaging in semiotic analysis of select advertising, the study reveals deeper meaning, ideology, and myths in smart speaker advertising. Implications for culture and consumption are discussed.
AguadoJ. M.MartinezI. J. (2007). From mobile phones to mobile media: Current developments in mobile phone based cultural consumption. In GogginG.HjorthL. (Eds.), Mobile Media 2007 (pp. 47–57). University of New South Wales.
BajdeD. (2014). Consumer culture theory: Ideology, mythology and meaning in technology consumption. International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation, 6(2), 10–25. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijantti.2014040102
4.
BarthesR. (1972). Mythologies. Harper Collins.
5.
BarthesR. (1977). Image, music, text. Hill & Wang.
6.
BergerA. A. (2021). Ads, fads, and consumer culture: Advertising’s impact on American character and society (6th ed). Rowman & Littlefield.
BristorJ. M.LeeR. G.HuntM. R. (1995). Race and ideology: African-American images in television advertising. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 14(1), 48–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/074391569501400105
CampbellH. A.LaPastinaA. C. (2008). How the iPhone became divine: Bloggers, religion, and intertextuality. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1–14.
DempseyS. (2009). The increasing technological divide: Persistent portrayals of maverick masculinity in US marketing. Feminist Media Studies, 9(1), 37–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680770802619482
15.
DickelS.SchrapeJ.-F. (2017). The renaissance of techno-utopianism as a challenge for responsible innovation. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 4(2), 289–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2017.1310523
16.
DyerG. (1982). Advertising as communication. Routledge.
17.
EagletonT. (1991). Ideology: An introduction. Verso.
KleinH.KleinmanD. L. (2002). The social construction of technology: Structural considerations. Science, Technology, and Human Values, 27(1), 28–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/016224390202700102
29.
KozinetsR. (2008). Technology/ideology: How ideological fields influence consumers’ technology narratives. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(6), 865–881. https://doi.org/10.1086/523289
30.
KozinetsR. (2019). Consuming technocultures: An extended JCR curation. Journal of Consumer Research, 46(3), 620–627. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucz034
31.
LeeK.LeeK. Y.SheehanL. (2020). Hey Alexa! A magic spell of social glue?: Sharing a smart voice assistant speaker and it’s impact on user’s perception of group harmony. Information Systems Frontiers, 22(3), 563–583. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-019-09975-1
32.
LehdonvirtaV. (2010). Online spaces have material culture: Goodbye to digital post-materialism and hello to virtual consumption. Media, Culture & Society, 32(5), 883–889. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443710378559
33.
LeissW.KlineS.JhallyS.BotterillJ. (2005). Advertising consumption in the mediated marketplace (3rd ed). Routledge.
34.
Levi-StraussC. (1966). The savage mind. The University of Chicago Press.
35.
LevitasR. (1990). The concept of Utopia. Philip Allen.
36.
LivingstoneR. (2011). Better at life stuff: Consumption, identity, and class in Apple’s “Get a Mac” campaign. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 35(3), 210–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/0196859911413469
NobleS. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce Racism. NYU Press.
41.
PajnikM.Lesjak-TušekP. (2002). Observing discourses of advertising: Mobitel’s interpellation of potential consumers. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 26(3), 277–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/0196859902026003003
42.
PersaudS.GrauerholzL.AnthonyA. K. (2018). Gendered representations and portrayals in technology advertisements: Exploring variations by age, race and ethnicity. Gender Issues, 35(2), 137–152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-017-9191-z
43.
PfeifleA. (2018). Alexa, what should we do about privacy? Protecting privacy for users of voice-activated devices. Washington Law Review, 93(1), 421–458. https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol93/iss1/9
44.
PollayR. (1986). The distorted mirror: Reflections on the unintended consequences of advertising. Journal of Marketing, 50(5), 18–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298605000202
45.
PorterG. (2010). Work ethic and ethical work: Distortions in the American Dream. Journal of Business Ethics, 96(4), 535–550. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0481-6
46.
SchweitzerF.BelkR.JordanW.OrtnerM. (2019). Servant, friend, or master? The relationships users build with voice-controlled smart devices. Journal of Marketing Management, 35(3), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2019.1596970
47.
SegalH. P. (2012). Utopias: A brief writing from ancient writings to virtual communities. Wiley: Blackwell.
ShieldsR. (2001). The force of Callas’ kiss: The 1997 Apple advertising campaign, “Think Different”. Text and Performance Quarterly, 21(3), 202–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/10462930108616170
51.
ShulevitzJ. (2018, November). Alexa, how will you change us? The Atlantic, 94–104.
52.
SternB. B. (1995). Consumer myths: Frye's taxonomy and the structural analysis of consumption text. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(September),165–185.
53.
TurowJ. (2021). The voice catchers: How marketers listen in to exploit your feelings, your privacy, and your wallet. Yale University Press.
WoodsH. S. (2018). Asking more of Siri and Alexa: Feminine persona in service of surveillance capitalism. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 35(4), 334–349. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2018.1488082
