Existential advertising in late modernity: Meaningful work in higher education advertisements

Abstract

The ongoing massification of higher education has entailed a changing relationship between higher education providers and students. While scholars have been quick to identify the political implications of the quasi-market model for the student-customer, there has been significantly less focus on the role that advertising plays in facilitating a student-consumer culture. This article uses an analysis of advertisements directed towards potential domestic university students in Australia to explore how the idea of a university ‘experience’ and meaningful work are discursively constructed within late modernity. Many advertisements draw on existential themes of living a meaningful, authentic or exceptional life and finding a fulfilling career, mythologising the role of the university within an idealised social order. This study highlights the need to understand the economic value of higher education as embedded in cultural economy, as well as the value of this framework for researching student experiences and marketing.