Does Turkey need regulation - Essay Example

It is a delicate balancing act to be sure, and one that Turkey should consider tackling. The article discussed here presents multiple ways that society can work to counter the so-called ‘advertising effect’. Discussed in this paper will be three of those options that were recently mentioned. One possibility that can be explored is the banning of advertising in public spaces. Many cities in Turkey, in particular Istanbul, are heavily populated with millions of people. This makes the area a prime target for companies to lure consumers into purchasing their product.

As a result, massive advertising takes place in nearly all public spaces, creating not only an eye-sore, but creating a form of ‘visual pollution’ (Gannon and Lawson 16). One proposal is to ban all forms of outdoor advertising. This would include ads on taxis and buses, and particularly billboards – effectively eliminating them. Other major cities, such as Sao Paulo, Brazil, have implemented such measures, and it has been met with cleaner streets and most positive comments made by members of society.

There are some critics, however, that argue this goes too far in limiting companies effectively reaching the consumer. They argue for legislation targeted on advertising that is not aesthetically pleasing to the eye. In other words, punish the advertising polluting companies in the city, but allow those that produce visually appealing promotional pieces to continue. This is an interesting concept, but would be a nightmare to police. Another recommendation is to begin taxing the very nature of advertising.

This proposal stems from the idea that countless millions of pieces of advertising material are printed everyday, just to go unread and serve to pollute the environment. Because such forms of advertising are largely unregulated, and the printing of basic flyers is relatively cheap in comparison to other forms of advertising, companies continue to produce such material in the hope that even a few consumers will be lured in. As a result, needless pollution is occurring, particularly in Turkey where these massive advertising efforts appear to be in full effect.

The proposal is to begin to tax such advertisements in an effort to get companies to pay up and clean up their act, or to stop the needless advertising all together. This is a unique proposal and one that is similar to other taxing efforts designed to clean up areas of the environment. This could gain traction in the coming years if massive advertising efforts continue. One other proposal worth mentioning is to establish statutory regulation of the advertising industry as a whole. As it is currently, the industry in largely unregulated.

In America and the United Kingdom, there are regulations in place, and even the outright ban of certain types of advertising in some localities. Turkey lags far behind in this area, so the introduction of such standards could help matters immensely. This can begin by asking Parliament to strengthen existing local powers and allow them to restrict certain forms of outdoor advertising. In addition, there should be a legal process whereby consumers can ask for proof of certain claims made by advertisers or charities in their comments on television commercial or infomercials.

This will force advertisers and such