The Positives and Negatives of Advertisement
The Positives and Negatives of Advertisement
Advertising is everywhere in modern society, so ordinary, that it fades into the background of our everyday lives. As with anything as complicated and commonplace as advertising, there are both advantages and disadvantages to it. However, all things considered, the positive aspects of advertising outweigh the negatives.
There are many advantages to advertising, both direct and indirect. The direct benefits of advertising are educational and informational, giving information the average person may not otherwise happen to run across. “It informs us about candidates running for office. It tells us about important issues such as the benefits of seatbelt use, the dangers of drugs, and the problem of drunk driving.” (Source Day). These direct benefits are particularly important in the realm of politics, allowing all potential voters access to major political arguments without the voters having to actively seek out the information. An indirect benefit of advertising is demonstrating to consumers the incredible amount of choice they have, and the power of their choices. "Advertisers claim that it is up to the consumer to make moral decisions. The advertisers simply present their products." The cumulative impact of these presentations of choice and the importance of the choices a consumer make empower consumers in our capitalist system.
With the advantages of advertising there are also inarguably some disadvantages. The most obvious of problems is making consumers aware of problems that we didn't know we had shown in source Day, "Advertising tells you what you need. Before advertisers told us to, who worried about dandruff? ...Who knew that houses had to be deodorized?" In addition to making us worried about new problems, advertising can also "reinforce racial, cultural, and sexual stereotypes. It can make us unsatisfied with who we are, greedy for what we don't have, and oblivious to the miseries of millions who haven't a
Advertising is everywhere in modern society, so ordinary, that it fades into the background of our everyday lives. As with anything as complicated and commonplace as advertising, there are both advantages and disadvantages to it. However, all things considered, the positive aspects of advertising outweigh the negatives.
There are many advantages to advertising, both direct and indirect. The direct benefits of advertising are educational and informational, giving information the average person may not otherwise happen to run across. “It informs us about candidates running for office. It tells us about important issues such as the benefits of seatbelt use, the dangers of drugs, and the problem of drunk driving.” (Source Day). These direct benefits are particularly important in the realm of politics, allowing all potential voters access to major political arguments without the voters having to actively seek out the information. An indirect benefit of advertising is demonstrating to consumers the incredible amount of choice they have, and the power of their choices. "Advertisers claim that it is up to the consumer to make moral decisions. The advertisers simply present their products." The cumulative impact of these presentations of choice and the importance of the choices a consumer make empower consumers in our capitalist system.
With the advantages of advertising there are also inarguably some disadvantages. The most obvious of problems is making consumers aware of problems that we didn't know we had shown in source Day, "Advertising tells you what you need. Before advertisers told us to, who worried about dandruff? ...Who knew that houses had to be deodorized?" In addition to making us worried about new problems, advertising can also "reinforce racial, cultural, and sexual stereotypes. It can make us unsatisfied with who we are, greedy for what we don't have, and oblivious to the miseries of millions who haven't a