Advertising Is...

Blog Entry #9: Is Advertising Ethical?... (in 140 characters)

Consumers are tricked into buying lower quality products when ads, unethically, make them look more appealing by false advertisement.

Week 10: The Shock Factor

Every brand, every company, every product wants to be different, wants to be noticed, and wants to be remembered. Nowadays, advertisements can be seen most anywhere; online, on television, in magazines, on the radio, etc, etc.

So what does it take for an advertisement to really stand out? Well, sometimes advertisers use the shock factor to make their product remembered. This is a risky move, which can sometimes be worth it, and other times do noting but bring a product/company down.

Using the shock factor is questionable, because it certainly depends on the topic of the advertisement. I find that almost always, charitable organizations and movements will use the shock factor to try and guilt consumers into following them/donating money. This approach normally works well for companies like these because the outcome is that you can make a difference. Sure, the advertisement may have upset you, but knowing that you can help change it by donating some money, makes consumers more keen on donating.

The shock factor, I believe, can also do much more harm than good to certain brands. When it comes to wanting a consumer's attention, the shock-factor will work very well. However, when it comes to wanting a consumer's money, if the consumer is offended/shocked/upset by your ad, it is very unlikely that they will want to put forth any of their money to the brand.

Sometimes, crossing the line can be beneficial, depending on who the target audience is as well as the goal of the ad in the first place. For example, an advertisement that is Pro-Life is looking for people to be against abortion, and take a stand against it with other Pro-Life activists. In such a case, a shocking ad showing a fetus after being aborted would be beneficial for the companies desires. The goal of the movement is conversation.. and therefor a shocking ad will definitely start conversation.

The difference comes when we talk about everyday brands and products looking to make consumers buy their product. For example, an ad for Sisley showing two girls who appear to be snorting cocaine (however it is really a dress) has nothing but negative connotation. An advertisement that appears to be glorifying drugs, will upset and hurt many people, and there will be many people who find it inappropriate. Companies cannot expect to upset consumers and have that make them buy their products - it just doesn't work that way!

Week 9: Adultery and Advertising

There's no denying that advertising is a large part of the media, and that the media heavily influences our everyday lives. Using the idea of adultery in advertising may sound like a clever and unique... but I believe that in the grand scheme of things, it is actually very wrong and detrimental to our society.

The first example that comes to mind is how our society has become so immune and neutral towards everything sex related. In movies, in commercials, the media uses sex constantly to advertise, or even to entertain us. And it seems as though nowadays it has become completely normal to just hop into bed with someone you've known for 5 minutes (because this is what we see constantly happening in the movies). And I believe that this is truly becoming a more common thing in real life. 

Even songs on the radio are all about sex and partying.. Words such as "bitch" that you would never hear on public radio 10 years ago, are now being played without a problem. Our everyday language and vocabulary has changed, it's more common and normal to hear swear word in everyday conversation.

What I'm saying is this: I feel as though cheating and adultery have already become more common in society today. This is very sad. And I do believe that advertisements are effecting this idea in a very negative way. When we see an ad saying "Leave your old airline for a younger one"... it's meant to be funny, but making light of something that in reality is a horrible and immoral thought, is not right! Making jokes about immoral things most definitely has the potential the make us become neutral to the idea. When the idea is pushed over and over, the likelihood of society starting to see these things as normal becomes even higher.

I do not believe that advertisements should use infidelity as a "clever" marketing trick. Making jokes out of things that are truly immoral, is immoral in itself. Advertisements are things that individuals take in everyday, and have a major impact of our lives. Pushing the idea of infidelity, be it with your spouse or a brand... just does not seem right at all!

Week 7: Subliminal Messages

The point of advertisement is to persuade the audience into buying a product. Sometimes it's hard to say what the limits in advertising should be - or whether or not there should be limits. What is considered taking things too far? What is considered a lie? Manipulate is a harsh word, but the reality is that the goal of any ad is to manipulate the viewer into feeling a certain way.

Subliminal messaging in advertising can be a tricky subject. Many people don't like feeling as through they are being tricked into feeling some way. Consumers like to feel like they are making decisions for themselves, that they are independent thinkers... and I believe that this is why subliminal advertisements do not appeal to everyone.

Personally, for the most part I don't see a problem with subliminal messages in advertising. I find that often times, brands find very creative subliminal ways to promote their product. For instance the Coca Cola "smile" made from the first 3 letters of the logo is a fun and creative ad. I see nothing wrong with the company selling the idea that Coke makes you smile! 

Another creative subliminal ad that comes to mind is the Tostitos logo. If you look carefully, you actually see two people enjoying a bowl of Tostitos with salsa. This is very clever and also very cute. It expresses the idea that you can enjoy Tostitos with friends and family.

Week 5: Advertising & Humour

There are some ads that you remember for years to come... why do you remember? I would say that more often than not, it is because the ad used humour to convey a message, and you remembered the ad because it was that funny. Did it make you run out and buy the product? Maybe not. But it certainly made you think about the product and the specific brand. 

"Audiences like to be entertained, but not pitched. People will pay more attention to a humorous commercial than a factual or serious one, opening themselves up to be influenced." 

- Mark Levitt

This quote does a good job of explaining why humour works so well in advertising. Everyone likes to smile, laugh and be entertained. When an ad is humorous and friendly, the audience receives a positive vibe and doesn't feel threatened or pushed to buy a product — more often than not this will actually make them more inclined to buy the product.

When I see ads for sponsoring children (sick children who are crying while staring into your soul) I am not inclined to call the company and give them my money. I dont want to sound heartless, but come on! These ads just upset me and make me mad because I know that the purpose of the ad is to guilt trip me.

When I see an ad that uses humour, it makes me feel happy and non-threatened. I know deep down that the company wants me to buy their product, however I don't feel like I'm being pushed or begged to buy in.

I believe that advertisements that use humour work really well not only for product sales but for brand recognition. If companies were to stop making funny ads, the world of advertisement would be a very sad and boring place.

Week 4: Does Advertising Have a Role in Making People Obese?

Advertising most definitely has a MAJOR role in making people obese. Be it children or full grown adults, the media and advertisements play a major role in what we think and what we choose to eat. 

This topic is very sensitive to me because I see myself as a very health conscious person. I care a great deal about nutrition and it often upsets me to see how advertisements try and reel consumers into buying products that are making them sick! Advertisements definitely push the envelope as far as making foods appear different than they truly are; This goes for nutritional value, look, taste, pretty much everything. 

The first example that same to mind was Dempster's new vegetable bread. This in reality, this bread has about 1/2 a serving of vegetables for 2 slices. In the commercial for this bread, it shows one slender model unhappy because she's eating a salad. It then shows another slender model come in eating a sandwich. The ad implies that eating their bread is just as beneficial to your health as eating a salad. Sure, there is some sort of benefit to eating bread that has 1/2 a serving of veggies in it, but only compared to normal bread. Food advertisements are constantly trying to push the limits and over glorify the healthiness of their food.

Children in particular are in a seriously dangerous place when it comes to food advertisements. 

"Research has found strong associations between increases in advertising for non-nutritious foods and rates of childhood obesity. Most children under age 6 cannot distinguish between programming and advertising and children under age 8 do not understand the persuasive intent of advertising."- American Psychological Association

If children weren't enough, the fact remains that many people don't think too hard while watching advertisements. There are many people who are desperate to lose weight and the media uses this against them. Millions of ads try and make the consumer believe that they have the simply, quick, easy answer to weight loss, when in reality their products are over-exaggerated and over-glorified.

I make my food choices based on the following statement:

"If there is a commercial for it, don't eat it."

And I truly believe that with all of the sly, dishonest, envelope-pushing food commercials today, this is probably the best choice I could make for my health.