Your Friendly Neighborhood MRI
I was over at Student Health earlier this week, and while waiting, noticed a rather intriguing ad. A Nordic-looking preteen, surrounded by butterflies and colors vaguely reminescent of the Northern Lights, clutches onto a parent's hand while eagerly pointing with the other at a chic-ly designed MRI. The company (can't remember who, but I'll find out) just plainly states its name at the bottom. Somehow, this ad disturbed me. Maybe 'disturb' is a bit strong, but such a portrayal of an MRI interests me. What was in these advertisers heads when they decided to mesh a "modern, New-Age-y, but still family-oriented" vibe with a generally dreaded scientific contraption? Perhaps it has to do with the fact that this particular edition of an MRI actually doens't involve any tight squeezes due to its engineering, making it more appealing to hospital-goers. I might add that I saw this in Good Housekeeping, which again reinforces the family image the makers of this MRI were trying to convey.
What does this ad say about the popular portrayal of science? Audience reaction, intent behind ad design, the actual design and aesthetic; all these are markers of science and its perception in culture. Maybe science is 'scary', and the ad feels it should reassures us with images we'll find calming. But I wasn't calmed; the ad's artificialty created the creepiness it meant to avoid. I've thumbed through Science and the ads in there define concise. You're lucky if you even get a picture of the product. Not that I prefer these ads to the Good Housekeeping MRI one; the dryness of Science's ads only propagate the stereotype of the indifferent and isolated scientist. In today's Chronicle, Randy Olson commented on the "growing gap between scientists and the general public". The MRI illustrates what might be an attempt to bridge that gap, superficially, through advertising.
(for the full article, by Joe Clark, check here:Marine Biologist Asks to Put Stop to Science Speak )
What does this ad say about the popular portrayal of science? Audience reaction, intent behind ad design, the actual design and aesthetic; all these are markers of science and its perception in culture. Maybe science is 'scary', and the ad feels it should reassures us with images we'll find calming. But I wasn't calmed; the ad's artificialty created the creepiness it meant to avoid. I've thumbed through Science and the ads in there define concise. You're lucky if you even get a picture of the product. Not that I prefer these ads to the Good Housekeeping MRI one; the dryness of Science's ads only propagate the stereotype of the indifferent and isolated scientist. In today's Chronicle, Randy Olson commented on the "growing gap between scientists and the general public". The MRI illustrates what might be an attempt to bridge that gap, superficially, through advertising.
(for the full article, by Joe Clark, check here:Marine Biologist Asks to Put Stop to Science Speak )
posted by Katie at 8:16 PM
4 Comments:
Thanks for including this link to the Olson article in today's _Chronicle_; I hadn't seen it. (Sidenote: I was wondering about this quote from his talk: "Science is much more humanized today than it was in the '50s when [scientists] were more like robots." This is kind of strange, isn't it? I wonder why he thinks scientists today have more "humanity").
But, back to MRIs. I really like your analysis of the MRI ad in _Good Housekeeping_, of all places. I have seen MRIs advertised in technical medical journals for radiologists, but never in a popular woman's magazine. Your mention of a "chic-ly" designed machine is interesting too, as if this MRI stands above the rest, according to the company, because of its *style* (rather than function). Maybe it is the style quotient that will appeal to readers?
I feel that because science is advancing at an ever increasing fast pace, there must be attempts made to bridge the gap between scientists and the rest of the public. For example, I am applying to medical schools right now, and more than ever before are medical schools emphasizing the patient physician relationship, ethics, etc. and training future doctors to know more than just medicine. Especially as treatments in medicine become more controversial, such as stem cells, the public will never accept such science until attempts are made to bridge the gap and establish mutual understanding.
i think that part of the creepiness in the advertising comes from the fact that the marketing people probably have no idea about any of the science behind what they are selling at those big companies. i guess its kind of inevitable, but it does seems that the gap is growing more and more.
I'm surprised that the advertisement for the MRI is interpreted as creepy. Primarily, I find it remarkable that science has advanced to where the overall desires of society are being considered in machine design. Sure, an MRI is a complicated, helpful piece of machinery; however, simply creating the device is no longer enough. There is competition in the machinery market -just like all other free markets. In fact, if the MRI is truly more patient friendly, then it could benefit hundreds if not thousands of people. Now I find that reassuring, not scary.
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