Reading response - Book Report/Review Example

Download file to see previous pages e impact of advertising on children, its manipulative nature, as well as, its offensiveness and deception arise from the consumer’s fear of persuasion. Chiefly, the article points out that most people do not remember the benefits of advertising. It provides a breakdown of the importance of advertising to the consumer. It explains that advertising has informational and educational value for the consumer. Secondly, advertising facilitates competition. Thirdly, advertising promotes the welfare of the consumer by promoting the media. This is achieved through subsidizing entertainment and news creation.
In the text, Thierer uses the phrase “fear of persuasion” as aptly dubbed by John Calfee of the American Enterprise institute. I totally agree with the phrase. This phrase describes the concerns that consumers have in regard to the impacts of advertising. Consumers are afraid of being supposedly manipulated, deceived or offended by advertisements. They feel that advertisements are an unnecessary force in society. However, I strongly believe that consumers are simply afraid that an advertisement such as testimonials or TV ads will convince them to purchase a product. Therefore, I agree that regulation authorities act in response to the consumers’ “fear of persuasion” and not concerns.
From the article, I believe that people are highly prone to conformity. According to the article, consumers are largely afraid of being persuaded. They are afraid that their children will be influenced by advertisements. This means that they are aware of how easy it is to conform to group beliefs. If a popular cartoon character is used in a toy advertisement, then every child wants the toy. The constant fear of persuasion and the increased interest in regulating advertising shows that people are conscious about their vulnerability to bending to social pressure.
The general argument of this essay is that regulation on advertising and marketing must be increased. The writer, ...Download file to see next pagesRead More