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Journal of Promotional Communications

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Published

2015-07-07

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Vol. 3 No. 2 (2015): Special Issue on Voice and Representation of Marginal Groups

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Advertising: A Suppressor or a Facilitator of Voice for Those Living with Mental Health Problems

Thomas Rickhuss

Faculty of media & Communication, Bournemouth University

Richard Scullion

Faculty of Media & Communication, Bournemouth University

Abstract

This paper investigates one specific example of long-standing inequalities within the UK, that of mental illness. It remains an important topic for discussion because these inequalities, creating or contributing to individuals and groups being located in the margins, are “fostered through logics of communication that limit the communicative opportunities for participation and voice†(Dutta 2012, p.6). As such, the voice(s) of those with less accumulated stocks of capital and thus marginalised are rarely amplified and heard by society at large. One of the consequences of the ways mental health is mediated (most often known about only through second hand reportage) is a reduction in the likelihood and possibility of the very types of relationships that generate social capital. We argue here that advertising, as part of a communicative culture and within the broad territory of marketised mediation, contributes to lack of meaningful voice for those suffering from mental health issues. It does this primarily by being a communicative force for the status quo, ironically, given the professed role of advertising, aiding the process of maintaining invisibility.  

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