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Paola Guerrero-Toledo Professor Raleigh Honors 100- Section 104 26 November, 2013 The Effects of Advertising on Society It is everywhere. As you look up, to your left, to your right, all around you, you will always see some form of advertisement: billboards, posters, fliers, and other forms of mass media. When advertising began, it focused on the productits performance, its price, and its advantages. Advertising is used to introduce and inform the public about the existence of a product. However, the way products or events are advertised now is far from how they were advertised before. Now, tactics that are invasive and controlling are used to advertise products. Every advertisement carries a message and influences the way people think about a product, service, or idea. Of course, the main goal is to affect the purchasing decision of the consumer, but should it completely affect the way the consumer thinks and acts? Advertisements are a powerful force in terms of persuading society. They shape and influence the perceptions of the public in a negative way, therefore altering their view of how society is supposed to be. The advancement in technology in the last fifty years has allowed the medias influence to grow. We started with the telegraph. Then we advanced to the radio, the newspaper, magazines, TV, and the most influential onethe internet. The challenge for advertising is to find ways and means to bypass or upset business as usual in the consumers brain and to build an enduring perceptual representation of the brand as one that is acceptable and desirable (Weilbacher 1). The average person usually wakes up, checks the television or newspaper, goes to work or school, returns home, works on homework or paperwork and then relaxes.

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Throughout this daily routine, one does not consciously know that the decisions that are being made throughout the day are based on the information that a person has either taken from the television, the internet, billboards and posters around him/her, or even from people who were influenced by the mass media as well. Advertising is an extremely powerful tool in the marketplace that provides dreams and ideals for people to pursue. If advertising is giving the audience something to pursue, is it really considered to be so bad? In Andrew Gustafsons article called Advertisings Impact on Morality in Society: Influencing Habits and Desires of Consumers, he states that advertisements are similar to art. Art inspires us with fantastic forms of beauty beyond our normal lives. Therefore, according to Gustafson, if advertising is being criticized, then any form of art is being criticized as well. He says that advertising and mass media help us cope with the lives we live by giving us hopes and dreams no matter how unrealistic they may be. However, do these hopes and dreams really allow us to move forward in life? In reality, these constructed dreams disable us from becoming who we want to be. They create a barrier, creating a want and a desire to instead become the person that is being portrayed in the mass media and advertisements; Creating a perfect lifestyle that the viewer can only dream about creates a sense of inferiority, frustration, and the thought that one is not worth anything if one cannot achieve what is being reached for. Another argument that the opposition states, supporting the belief that advertising does not have a negative effect on society but rather a positive one is that advertisements deliver useful information to the public. Stated in Goldie Haykos review, John E. Calfee, a former Trade Commission Economists, believes in this argument. Calfee states that benefits that a

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certain product possesses can be brought to the publics attention by the companies to allow the public to realize the benefits that a certain product has. When public health experts realized a possible prevention to cancer consisted of a diet with more fiber in the 1970s, Kellogg All Bran Campaign used the opportunity to advertise themselves and at the same time create awareness since their cereal contained nine grams of fiber (Hayko 81). Therefore, advertisements can be used to exhibit important information that lets the public to become more educated and aware of certain issues. However, the effect of advertising affects us in a way in which we are not even consciously aware. By the age of forty, it is estimated that we will have seen one million commercials (Pryor & Knupfer 3). These commercials do not go in and out of our minds; we subconsciously take them all in and revert back to them when it comes to making decisions or voicing an opinion (Heath 11). As Heath states in his book, there are times when people multitask, especially while driving: paying attention to the road and having a conversation with the passenger. At the end of the car ride, it is very probable that any of the decisions that were made during the ride will not even be recalled, whereas the conversation that took place will be remembered. This example given by Heath is demonstrating how the advertisements that are seen throughout our lives are mostly forgotten in that instant. As Heath calls it, this is considered to be passive learning. The more people are exposed to these advertisements, the more they will take in, resulting in active learningalso known as central processing. This type of learning leads to a change of attitude that persuades the person and changes his/her attitude in favor of or against the argument. Therefore, Heath claims that under certain circumstances, attitudes can change.

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One of the goals of advertising is to influence the consumers preferences. As Pryor and Knupfer state, it is presumed that changes in preference will involve changes in attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors. This involves the increase of poor habits and an increase in the desire for sin products. Advertising encourages the consumption of these so-called sin products such as tobacco and alcohol as well as promoting bad behaviors and habits like wanting to be a desired size or wanting to have a certain skin tone. For example, women are currently obsessed with losing weight when they are not even obese as a result of such biased advertisements. There are many thin women that want to look like the super models and the thin celebrities that are shown on billboards, TV, and magazine ads. Slowly, without even wanting to, they engage in eating disorders which lead to severe health issues and sometimes even death. What is being projected to the world through advertisements is what is socially acceptable, and therefore people want what is being viewed as perfect. Technology has now advanced to a point where pictures can be altered by using Photoshop. Now, most advertisements are smoothed, wrinkles are being erased, muscles are being enlarged, and waist are being slimmed; this photoshopping allows the norm to be created, a so- called perfection (Swinson 1). There have been conducted studies that have found that one in four people is depressed about their bodyand almost half of girls in a recent survey think the pressure to look good is the worst part of being female (Swinson 1). An example of this photoshopping is presented in Jo Swinsons article where she demonstrates one of the Lancome ads for foundation makeup featuring Julia Roberts:

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This ad was brought to the attention of the Advertising Standards Authority and banned the ad for being misleading. This is only one of the many examples of how advertisements distort our perception of what beauty really is. An advertisement that creates a false or incorrect belief about the product (Olson and Dover 30) and distorts the reality of it is called a deceptive advertisement. Today, the government is being stricter about false advertising and is taking measures by creating laws that regulate this type of advertising to restrict these actions. When looking at the billboards, posters, or the ads on TV, there is little representation of reality (hardly ever does one see an obese person in a commercial). Advertisements show us something we really want; they create a utopia. They set images that idealize certain life circumstances. Our culture is being shaped by these ads, and people are being conditioned to act and look in certain ways (Mooij 26). People in society, in order to fit in and be socially acceptable, will do whatever it takes to become what is being shown. Advertisements also build stereotypes in our society. As stated in Pryors and Knupfers article, women are typically depicted as feminine and showing their beauty, grace, style, and sexuality. These are all the things that the advertisements portray, not necessarily what women in real life identify with. Surely, many women identify themselves with what they see in

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advertisements, but why? It is because they see these portraits of women all over the place. It is not how women really are, but what the marketing aspect of them through media has portrayed them to be. Advertisers like to show women cooking, shopping, being passionate and caring for others, and cleaning. Not only do women have a stereotype of themselves as portrayed through the media but so do men. Men are usually associated with the outdoors, sports, and cars. Those who are not how they are portrayed to be on TV are considered outsiders and not part of the community. Advertising creates an image that people want to see in reality, and when they see something otherwise, it is rejected. However, there has been a positive development in our society due to advertisements. Different types of people are now being projected, not only Caucasians but Mexicans, African Americans, Asians, and other ethnicities as well. This allows the viewer to consistently see something new and accept diversity. Not only is ethnicity being projected but also social issues, such as gay relationships. This can be seen in the reality TV show called Modern Family, which shows a wide range of diverse people. These shows along with many others begin to construct what will eventually become socially acceptable for the next generation. The audience when viewing is not trying to get anything out of it, however, after the viewing experience, subconsciously without even realizing it and the experience being forgotten the effects will appear in the viewers actions (Hayko 80). Furthermore, certain forms of behaviors caused by advertising are more accessible, visible, and socially acceptable. As Gustafson states, the more that society tolerates public sin products in the media through advertising, the less likely it will be that people will feel social pressure to not partake in such activities. Beer and cigarette logos are everywhere. They are on childrens toys, amusement parks and family tourist areas; anywhere that is being regarded,

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advertisement is there. The pressure of drinking and smoking is constantly being presented. It is a decision that consumers make, a choice that is influenced by peer pressure, created through what is advertised as cool. Gustafson mentions in his article that fewer people would drink if alcohol were not glorified and advertised to such a great extent. Overall, it is apparent that with the evidence that has been presented, the way products are advertised through the mass media today has a profound impact on the actions, decisions, thoughts, and behaviors of the consumer. It affects people more than what is realized. Advertising decides what one eat, how one look, and the way one acts. It constructs the community that we live in today and what we think of as socially acceptable, providing us with a pair of lenses in which to view the world through. Even though there are positive aspects to advertising such as allowing the public to become more aware of public issues, social and educational, advertising has surely advanced and has created misleading information and has disrupted what is real. The goal of advertising is of course to affect the purchasing decision of the consumer; however, it should not completely affect the way the consumer thinks and acts. It should not create a perfect world that is impossible to reach. As H.G. Wells has said, Advertising is legalized lying.

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Works Cited Dutta, Antora. "The CEO Insights: Business and Strategy Online Journal." The CEO Insights: Business and Strategy Online Journal. The CEO Insights, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2013. Gustafson, Andrew. "Advertising's Impact On Morality In Society: Influencing Habits And Desires of Consumers." Business & Society Review (2001). Business Source Complete. Web. 19 Oct. 2013. Hayko, Goldie. "Effects of Advertising on Society: A Literary Review." Rev. of Advertising. HOHONU Volume 8 2010: 79-82. Web. Heath, Robert. Seducing the Subconscious: The Psychology of Emotional Influence in Advertising. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Print Mooij, Marieke K. De. Consumer Behavior and Culture: Consequences for Global Marketing and Advertising. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004. Print. Olson, Jerry C., and Philip A. Dover. "Cognitive Effects Of Deceptive Advertising." Journal Of Marketing Research (JMR) 15.1 (1978): 29-38. Business Source Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Pryor, Debra, and Nancy Nelson Knupfer. "Gender Stereotypes And Selling Techniques In Television Advertising: Effects On Society." (1997): ERIC. Web. 19 Oct. 2013. Swinson, Jo. "False Beauty in Advertising and the Pressure to Look 'good'" CNN. Cable News Network, 10 Aug. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2013 Weilbacher, William M. "How Advertising Affects Consumers." Journal Of Advertising Research 43.2 (2003): 230-234. Business Source Complete. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.