Question:
What is your opinion about advertising effect to society? Discuss both negative and positive sides using your own experience with a brand advertisement.
Answer:
Advertising, with it basic roles to inform about and persuade people to take action on a particular matter, has been making considerable impacts in many aspects of our life. Its effects seems to be more intense than ever when the development of information technology is growing fast, bringing more and more opportunities for a person to approach an advertisement. However, whether advertising has positively or negatively influenced our society, remains a controversial topic.
As a fact, advertising plays a key roles in the economy by its utmost purpose to stimulate demand. By promoting a product’s features that meet with the needs and wants of consumers, an advertisement can persuade them to buy it, which result in increasing the demand for that product. On this aspect, advertising informs and offers instruction about innovative things, technology, or services that facilitates life. For example, Apple showcased the first iPhone in 2007, introduced a smart device that can play music like an iPod, make calls like a mobile phone, connect to the internet and still easy to use. As the result, consumers know a new thing can help them get rid of, for instance, remembering how many devices they should bring on a travel.
Apple - iPhone Keynote 2007
The idea of how convenient life could be with just one friendly smart phone becomes stronger nowadays as almost everybody has one for their own. However, modern multi-function smart phones raise the question whether they were even needed. A survey carried out by American’s Pew Research Center in 2015 stated that 54% of smart phone owners say their phone is not always needed. Critics even claimed that high-price smart phones is not only unnecessary but they also have bad effects on our social skills. All of the above supports the opinion that advertising, by creating demand, creates false needs. Consumer may purchase a product that not really essential. For another example, skin and body-care brands try to convince people to use different types of skin care products to have a perfect skin. In fact, an expensive set of all-day skin care product may not as effective as slices of cucumber and a healthy diet. Nevertheless, people have the right to choose what to buy; advertising, on the other hand, can affect their choices but can not force consumers to buy what they do not want.
The argument goes on with the rise of materialistic consumer culture in the second half of 20th century, which is believed to be lead by advertising. In particular, advertising makes a product more appealing; therefore increase consumers’s expectation and gain their belief that it is the answer for their situation. For instance, if you feel asleep while working at night, you will immediately think of a cup of coffee to keep your mind awake. Actually, all you need is do some exercises, which is not mentioned in coffee advertisements. In contrary, some may say that advertising is just mirroring people needs for a better life. This opinion emphasizes that an appealing advertisement is not the only reason for a consumer to buy a product. Despite the fact that it could make them buy once, if the product was not what they need, they would not buy it again. Smart phones can not exist just because of people’ curiosity of a new technology device but it really benefits them. Consumers, once again, are the ones who give final decisions.
Last but not least, is ads is shaping or mirroring our mind. In the modern time, along with the wants of a convenient life, we are now more aware of our own health, the environment, as well as social issues. Let’s take a look back in 1898, the N.K Fairbank company had on their advertising card an illustration in which a white child asked the black one if her mother did not wash her with their Fairy soap product; or sweater brand named Drummond pointed out that “Men is better than women!” and that women are liked pleasant and only useful indoors. These vintage advertisements that we may now think are offensive and should be banned are not really a big deal at the time they were delivered. Advertising’s messages are interpreted differently in separate contexts. In particular, in late 19th century in Western culture, black people were considered stereotypically as helpless, dependent and even brute. Similarly, women’s role were seen to be child-bearing and taking care of the home without any place in national politics. As a result, the advertisements in this period reflected, and perhaps, strengthened and shaped negative thoughts about diversity, gender inequality and many others social issues.
Vintage advertisements
Advertising nowadays also have many issues about women's rights, sexual appeals,etc. For example, many fashion brand still use the image of women as sex object. Even a fast food brand like Burger King has it controversial sexuality implied poster. Despite the fact that there are still many bad taste ads, advertising today is more aware of human right, health, as well as true social values. Dove's Real Beauty campaign, for example, features the wider definition of women's beauty.
Controversial advertisements of Burger King and D&G
Dove's Real Beauty Campaign
In conclusion, advertising always come along with message which, in different contexts, can be considered either good taste or offensive. However, advertiser nowadays have been more creative and more responsible to society than they were before, result in a more optimistic future positive advertisements.
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