Lies and Exaggerations in Advertising - Admission/Application Essay Example

6th December Advertising Introduction In the contemporary world, lying has been seen to pervadehuman life. In our efforts to bring a different picture of who we are as students or ordinary residents, we lie by omission, as well as engaging in non-verbal deception. For example, when we need to get some assistance from our friends or attract the opposite sex some of us may use makeup, hairpieces, cosmetic surgery, clothing, and artificial fragrance to misrepresent the odors of our bodies. The most interesting reason as to why individuals use lies is because it works. It is worth to note that we are good at lying to ourselves thus making ourselves to be so good at lying at others. Lying is directed towards a certain agenda, for example, a lady may be told that she is the sexiest in a party but the agenda of her admirer is to have her that night. Similarly, we falsify out resumes to get jobs or plagiarize our papers to boost our marks (David 4). Due to competition advertisement has been used as a tool to market products and services using different ways. For example the use of social by students and other individuals is not only used as a social tool to communicate to others but advertise products and services. The online services that are used to advertise and later engage customers to buy the products online have also made competition to be stiff among companies. Currently advertisement is used by companies to attract the customers and create awareness of the products that are available. Advertisement is expensive and if a company does not have the required resources, then the possibility of competing with other companies will be lowered. The use of television and newspapers are common in marketing that is used by different companies since not all individuals will use the digital way of advertising. The paper seeks to discuss whether certain kinds of ads be banned in the interest of health/ morality/ annoyance alcohol, cigarettes, and medical prescription among other vices. Exaggeration is commonly applied while different brands are being advertised. Likewise it will happen when an individual meets with a stranger. It is obvious that when a student or any other individual meets with a stranger and start conversing, chances of lying are likely to occur. In the University of Massachusetts, after a videotaped student talk was analyzed, it was noted that at least the student had lied once during a 10 minute conversation. The reason behind this deception is to provide survival advantage. Likewise, this survival strategy is the one sought in the case of advertisement for different brands in the market. For survival means and competition advantage then deception must occur , incase for other creatures apart from human being deployment of deceptive is equally applied. For example, when a harmless hog-nosed snake is threatened by a predator it flattens the head; it will spread out to act like cobra, hissing menacingly pretending that it wants to strike the predator. This maniacal aggression is used so that it survives from the predator since failure to pretend or apply the deceptive strategy will mean that it will be attacked. Human beings are born naturally to be liars though they refer the ability of lying to be a social gamesmanship. The best deceivers who are able to play their game well reap advantages comparing with honest or less competent individuals. Lying increases interactions, manipulate others and make individuals to make friends for example the best deceiver will use all the means possible to make sure that he will win a girl by telling her that she is the sexiest woman at the party. But the only thing he wants is to make sure that he will go home with the lady. The liar want the advantage of having the lady before others, whenever a lady or a suitor feelings are hurt and she or he want to talk about the situation she may force herself to cry so that the other partner will pay attention. The agenda is to take her to lavishing evening which will make the other partner to forgive and settle the dispute together thereby curbing any problem that may occur again. Other individuals lie of happiness, for example, when an individual has set the goals to be achieved academically and the goals fail. To maintain mental health so as to avoid depression there is need to lie to oneself since another chance is there and one can improve. Likewise, this experienced in the case of products and services ads which cause negative effects on individual body. Advertisements will be made taking assumption of cigarette is not killing an individual slowly, a product which is harmful to an individual. The aim is to make profit from ads and the product to be used by individuals as much as possible. Alcohol consumption is harmful to human being but in the ads it is regarded as a product that will boost one and make him or her acquire energy. This is not true since the moment an individual becomes addicted to the substance intake, it will mean that life will be ruined. This is a lie for happiness since the only benefit from alcohol consumption is happiness that an individual acquires. Others will consume alcohol so that they can satisfy curiosity and they want to know what happens when an individual consumes alcohol or other substances. Advertisement of alcohol brands should be banned completely though it is a source of revenue to the government. (Sabine et al, 36). Exaggeration which is used by breweries should be banned from public, For example, some alcohol brands such as Guinness indicates that once you consume it, you gets extra energy and become lively while in the actual sense you get drunk and feel sleepy even to a point of not identifying anyone. Other ads indicate how smoking certain brand of cigarette makes one to be a gentleman. These ads have lured young individuals into alcohol consumption and usage of cigarette which has a negative implication on the body of individual taking the products. Individuals fool themselves by lying to others they are good at lying themselves. For instance, an individual will accuse another person due to deceiving but still one is not honest. This is the reason why advertisements of alcohol brands will be done without any problem but the role models do not want young individuals to engage on alcohol consumption this is fooling ourselves. The only solution to stop fooling ourselves is making sure that ads of alcohol and other substance abuse are banned from the public. If advertisement will have to be done then late at night when young individuals are asleep can be negotiable time. The social media which is used by young individuals should be under strict monitoring so that access to advertisement of substance abuse will not be available. YouTube and other online media that are used by companies to advertise their products should be monitored so that individuals will not lie to potential consumers. Different strategies are used by organization to make sure that advertising is effective. The purpose of advertising is to introduce a new product in the market for example in selling happiness a great man who is in a television series transforms the operation of a mechanical device. The strategy used is powerful and has an emotional experience to all the clients mobilizing them to consume the product safely. Advertising is a powerful means which convinces the customers to use the product without doubt that the product is great and consumable. Relating to how cigarettes are advertised in the media, that smoking of cigarettes is harmful to individuals though the same media will advertise that smoking certain brand of cigarette makes one to be a gentleman. This has lured young generation to smoking which in return will cause health problem like cancer and asthma among others. Advertising creates an emotional appeal to the customers for example, a media philosopher Marshall McLuhan, in his work on how he understood media as an advertising tool indicated that “the continuous pressure is to create ads more and more in the image of audience motives and desires”. Since individual has tendency of lying themselves and they are easily manipulated, the media has a deeper lying desires this is based on the fact advertisers have the best chance of arresting attention and affecting communication. The immediate goal of advertising is to capture the attention and arrest them through communication. For the interest of health ads for alcohol and cigarettes among other substance abuse should be banned from advertisement is the media has the capability of manipulating individuals (UK 2014 Advertising Standards Authority). Advertisers over the years in America have felt their way around the underside of American psyche where they are able to enter the market. Advertisement communicates through the use of specially selected image. The media will use supine female celebrity, men and child which they stimulate and entice the customers. Through the emotional apple that is contained in the artwork it communicates better and suits more primal levels of the brain. The viewer of the ads has a motive that the advertiser wants to portray to the public and if it will be sufficiently fashioned to capture the attention of the viewer then the possibility of the viewer to be hooked is high. When advertising in the media two orders of content is attained. First is the appeal to deep-running drives in the minds of consumers which is exaggerated a lot so that the consumer will be convinced that the brand is the best for his or her health (Jib 11). And this is the reason why media will advertise consumption of alcohol to be energy additive in the body of the consumer. Great individuals are associated with consumption of Guinness that causes problems later to the individual since it is advertised in an exaggerated manner. The media has that powerful and effective strategy of convincing individuals to consume a product which is has emerged by using different strategies like the use of images. Then at the end to make sure that the customer will opt to get it they may include a statement like “if you have this need, then this product will help and satisfy you” (Jib 5). The second content that is embraced by the media is information regarding the good or the service being sold. The product will be mentioned by its name, the manufacture is listed, and picture or the image of the product, the packaging of the product must be listed in different sizes to cater for different levels of customers. This depends on the income each and every consumer has. The objective or the attribute of the product must be mentioned to the public and lastly the functions of the product. This is exaggerated to make sure that lying will fit in the ads so that the product and services will be used by many individuals as possible. Morality will not be considered to the general public when matters to do with advertisement are used by the media. Morally consumption of alcohol is not allowed by the religion since it is associated with evil deeds. For the purpose of the health interest it is not allowed but the ads are made in such a way that the different brands consumed by individuals are fit to human being. Advertisement is a tool that will appeal for sex this is based on the impression for example, whenever blouse-less female astride a similarly clad male is clearly an appeal to the audience which shows desires for sexual drive. When advertising product sexual imagery is used, that works better on men and women. The reason to use sexual based appeal is based on the fact that sex tends to be tricky appeal to be used. This is because of likelihood of human beings to fetch the need for affectionate human contact. For young individual they will like to be associated with a lying advertisement as long as it will sex drive appeal. Advertisement also appeal for affiliation since individuals does not like to be alone in the society will are living today. Individuals will like to be associated with others for the purpose of companionship. Likewise for individuals they will like to be associated with products which are widely invoked in advertising since it is the most prevalent appeal. All the products and services are sold by linking the products to unfulfilled desires to be in a company that individual will fit to. According to Henry Murray, affiliation consists of desires that “will draw near and enjoyable cooperate or reciprocate with another, to please and win affection of another, to adhere and remain loyal to a friend” (Jib 8). This is the reason why individuals will like to be associated with a product which is in the social media. The product is advertised in way that it is lying to the public since they want individuals to get in touch with a sense of affiliation. For example, in a party where a beautiful lady will be told that she is the sexiest lady in the party. The agenda is to make sure that he will go home with her tonight. This indicates how the media uses different strategies and exaggeration to convince consumers about a product which is a new entrant in the market. Additionally, a product which the manufacturer wants it to make high sales will use advertisement so that consumers can accept the product which is introduced in the market. Advertisement also appeals the need for guidance, for example a product that is emerging in the market consumers need to be guided on how to use it. For example, use of drugs which needs instructions may be advertised to promote awareness for the general public. There is need to nurture a product so that it will be acceptable in the market. Advertisement appeals for the need to aggress; this creates a real world that has strong retaliatory feelings in every functioning of human being (Bhatia 34). Competition is stiff in the organizations and thus aggression will boost the product to be accepted in the market. Through advertisement target market is created for low income earners and high income earners. Though different strategies that are used lying is used to make sure that the product will be accepted in the market. For example, brand like Coca Cola which make individual mind to refresh his or her mind and add energy to the body. Exaggeration is used by the use of imagery in the television and in the online media which will make individual to use the coca cola brand. Individual will like to be associated with product so that they will be energetic in return. Advertisement also appeals for the need to achieve, the products and services objective is to dominate in the market venture. This is the reason why the advertisers use all the means possible like deception to make sure that the product will remain in the market and dominate in the market. Failure to use deception will mean that the product will not be accepted in the market. Conclusion Lying must occur in advertising so as to make sure that the product will dominate in the market. For the new entrant products deception will be used to make sure that the product is accepted in the market. However, the discussion as indicated by the paper stands at the position that certain kinds of ads should be banned in the interest of health/ morality/ annoyance alcohol and cigarettes so that young individuals are lured in the vices as well as for the purpose of local and global economic prosperity. Works Cited Bhatia, K. Advertising in Rural India: Language, Marketing Communication, and Consumerism. Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign, 2001.Print. David, S. Natural born liars. New York, St. Martins Press, 2004. Print. Jib, F. Advertising Fifteen Basic Appeals. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1998.Print. Sabine, K., Harley, K and Homburg, C. Marketing Management - A Contemporary Perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print. UK 2014. Advertising Standards Authority. Available from http://www.asa.org.uk/ Read More