Blog Advertising
Galina Rolf
What is advertising
media? Advertising is a word that describes the form of communication in which persuasion
is used to convince a target population or populations to buy goods, products
or services. Advertising can be dated
back to the middle ages but it is hard to believe that civilizations such as
the Egyptians or the Romans as advanced as they were in other areas did not
advertise. I am primarily interested in
advertising in the United States in the last two hundred years because advertising
is so important and so prevalent in modern society that there is both a
positive and a negative effect on modern society.
Consumption of goods and
services is good for a free market society.
If advertising assists in the creation of profits for companies it
ultimately helps the economy.
Advertising has changed our economy and society in many positive ways. First, prior to the twentieth century the
producers or manufacturers drove the buying in the economy. The use of advertising increased a demand
for new products and allowed for the recovery of production costs quickly.
Therefore the economy saw a shift from producer-driven buying to
consumer-driven economy. Second, advertising helped promote technological
advances. Just fifty years ago when new technology was introduced to the public
many consumer felt it was prudent to wait to see if there were adjustments that
needed to be made to the product. The
consumers now want the latest and newest technology has to offer. An example would
be the Samsung Commercial which shows the two men touching phones to exchange
play lists while there are hundreds waiting for the Apple 5 trying to get the
“newest thing”. Cars are not only being
sold by gas mileage and mechanical soundness but by a radio with hands on and
voice activated phone capabilities. The advertising guru’s have done a
wonderful job convincing the population that they need the newest in
technology.
Another type of
advertising that affects American society including its government is political
advertisements. Prior to World War II
the Federal Government bought blocks of advertising space to encourage the US’s
entrance into World War II. Political
advertisements can affect who is leading our country and who is not. I worry that the winner of elections will be
the candidate that has the most money in advertisements. The Political Ad can be slanted to meet the
needs of the candidate paying for them.
You would hope that the Ad’s are true however many are an embellishment
or twisting of the truth. I think that
there should be a bi-partisan committee that checks the reliability of the
Ads. If not our society is being
influenced by the Ad’s that spin the best propaganda.
Another negative result
of advertising is the advertising targeting teenagers and children. We are fighting a health war in our
country. We have many children who are
obese and not active. These children are
targeted by the manufacturers of sugary cereals and snacks. They are targeted by the manufacturers of sedentary
electronic games. They are also targeted
by fast food chains that serve fatty, unhealthy, foods. In the documentary Supersize Me (Spurlock, 2004) children shown the pictures of the
President, Jesus, and Ronald McDonald were overwhelmingly able to identify
Ronald McDonald than a picture of Jesus or the President.
Teenagers and young
adults have also been targeted by companies that manufacture products that pose
a health risk. Alcohol and cigarettes
are two of the products that targeted specific groups even though the health
risks are high. In 1971 under pressure
from Congress and the FCC the cigarette advertisements were banned on
television. The Marlboro man who portrayed
cigarette smokers as a rough, handsome virile man was a thing of the pass. Virginia Slims was a brand that targeted
young independent women. Finally Camel
Joe, even though not on TV, was the spokes camel for the cigarettes camel. He
wore contemporary clothes and was a cartoon character. After a loss in court
against a cigarette manufacturer not only was the plaintiff awarded financial
damages but part of the settlement prohibited cartoons to be cigarette mascots
and marketing could not include free sample give aways or tobacco brand
clothing. This settlement also prohibited outdoor billboard advertisement and
transit advertisement. Globally tobacco
manufacturers have no such restrictions.
Advertising
has forms, from classified ads, business to business, political ads, TV. Radio,
and the newest for of advertising, the internet. The internet is effective and
inexpensive. The internet has the
potential to collect information about target populations that some consider an
invasion of privacy. Social networking
not only provides a new stage for advertising it provides critical information
to companies which can be collected for free.
The internet allows companies to distribute coupon, run mini commercials
and plaster their name in screen after screen.
Ad’s are in email, twitter, even academic research sites. I think that
all will recognize that internet advertising is here to stay. Ads that guides
by giving detailed information to specific items and products. Advertising in
general had had a profound effect on our lives.
It influences even the laws that we pass and the politicians that we
elect. The FCC and congress do have
limited controls over the advertising media.
The question we should ask ourselves is when is protection from abuses
in advertising necessary and when is that protection a violation of our first
amendment rights? When we discover the answer to this question we will solve
many of the negative aspects of advertising media.