As said in The World Is a Text, we see so many advertisements a day. We see advertisements in most of media such as television, magazines, billboards, etc. When I think of advertising, I think of companies who just want to sell a product to make money. But little do the advertising companies know about the negative effect advertisements can have on people’s lives and how they can influence many different people. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that ALL advertising is bad and can have a negative effect on people’s lives, but some does. Advertising wants to make people feel disappointed, and miserable with their lives. Advertisements just want to persuade people to buy products and if people don’t buy the product, then they make it seem like people will be not ok without the product. For example, advertising can have a negative effect on young girls. Advertising can make young girls want to change their life. It can change what they think of themselves and change what they look like. Advertisements can lead young girls to having an eating disorder just because they want to change how their body looks. An Abercombie and Fitch ad is a perfect example of an ad that targets young girls and can have a negative effect on them. An Abercrombie and Fitch ad has a good looking, size 0, long hair, and blue eyed girl. And that Abercombie and Fitch ad targets young girls and may make them want to change their appearance in an unhealthy way. Also, as we saw in the movie “Thank You for Smoking”, cigarettes definitely have a negative effect on people’s lives. However, the advertisers don’t show the negative effects of smoking in their advertisements. It’s like the advertisers don’t care about what cigarettes can really do to a person and they just want to persuade people that smoking is ok. When in reality, cigarettes cause cancer and death. Therefore, not all advertisements can have negative effects but some do; advertisers do not care if the advertisement can have a harmful effect on a person’s life. And advertisers do not show the negative effects products or goods, such as cigarettes and alcohol, can have on people’s lives. Advertisers just want people to buy!
Mary Hannawa
OK, Mary. I think you got the point right at the end of your post. Advertisers do want people to buy their product. And many will do whatever it takes to make that happen. One of the questions I want to raise in class is whether or not advertisers (or lobbyists) should care about promoting a product they know is unhealthy when the consumer of that product already knows that and doesn’t care themselves.