Editorial As Americans we are bombarded with thousands of advertisements daily, advertisements that are solely instituted for the

purpose of maximizing an individuals profit. However the multitude of commodities in competition with one another forces each party to utilize any and all forms of persuasion. Persuasion that are derived from humanities internal desired and aspirations. Advertisements utilize and exploit these inner core emotions. Like a puppeteer, an advertisement aims to pull on just the right string to trigger the response necessary to compel one to buy a certain product. This entwinement of desired connection and material possessions, and societys acceptance of this as reality, perpetuates the addictive cycle, which continuously negates the pure love, connection and happiness that are being blindly replaced with manufactured goods. Once these deceptive fabricated images are not only accepted as truth but hopelessly aspired towards, our world will become exactly that, hopeless. The love and the search for a virtuous connection would become things of the past, only to be continuously replaced with item after item indefinitely, for no sole item or even combination will truly fill the metaphysical void. The unfortunate realization among advertisers of what seems like the endless possibilities affiliated with the psychological persuasion tactics currently employed needs proliferate among our population as a whole. If the awareness is not cultivated this phenomenon will never be recognized as a problem. When an entire population ceases to place priority on these abstract concepts and turns instead to the quick fix displayed across every billboard in America, the result is a continuous binge of false security. This is whats plagued our nation and is expanding imprudently. The growing use of neuropsychological research suggests that digital marketing will increasingly be designed to foster emotional and unconscious choices, rather than reasoned, thoughtful decision making. The prospect of armies of avatars (virtual people), deployed as brand salespersons and programmed to react to the subtlest cues from other online inhabitants, suggests a disturbing move into uncharted territory for consumer-business relationships (Espejo). How then, as a society do we being to address this growing problem effectively? First there needs to be a realization among the masses that this is indeed an injustice and we as a society do not wish to partake any longer. There is a fine line advertisers tip toe on between what they hope to be inferred about the effects of a product and the reality of what is being sold. They are able to get away with it by relaying just enough information so one infers a more alluring message without ever coming right out with it, since advertisers are not held responsible for the interpretation of an advertisement they arent accountable. But how can they not be accountable for something they spend millions of dollars creating? Advertisers are not going to be the ones to first or ever admit to their wrong doings, especially if they are reaping, not consequences, but profit because of their actions. It then becomes societys responsibility to either let it happen or do something about it. This may initially be small individual cases refuting the obviously dishonest advertisements, like the one Calvin Cline posted of the model whose waist was smaller than her head, a physical impossibility. Let the judicial system penalize them where it hurts the most, their wallets. And hopefully with time and social awareness a fundamental shift in the way advertisements come across will ensue they maybe become a little more cut and dry, but harmful, destructive and manipulative, should no longer be what defines advertising. We are living in a catch 22, for the products we buy for happiness will never truly make us happy, but we are told they do through the allusion advertisements create, so we consume hopelessly awaiting the outcome displayed, but when it doesnt the cycle is only renewed, and is

played out indefinitely across America. The need for materials to survive is obvious but when the demand and production reach a point when the rate is such that complete dissipation is calculable, evolution becomes vital.