Advertising is the King of Commerce - Essay Example

Advertising is the King of Commerce America has a love-hate relationship with advertising. We wince at the unseemly methods advertisers use to hawk their products while we stare fixedly at the latest Calvin Klein ad. We complain that the airwaves are saturated with advertising and anxiously await the super bowl half time advertising extravaganza. Chester L. Posey, advertising executive, once remarked that advertising was a "$10 billion misunderstanding" (cited in Richards 2004). Advertising informs us.

Advertising torments us. Advertising is the glue that binds the producer to the consumer. Critics contend that advertisers take unfair advantage of the market by exploiting human vulnerabilities. Still, we would be economically challenged without it. Advertising introduces us to new products, stimulates research and development, and lubricates our consumer driven economy. When you get that annoying flyer on your windshield touting the latest Mexican restaurant while you parked in the campus parking lot, that's advertising.

Just before tossing it in the nearest dumpster you notice a coupon that includes an offer you can't refuse. Stopping on your way home, you find that the people are friendly and the food is fast, delicious, and affordable. A year later you are still patronizing the newly expanded family owned enterprise. Without advertising, that restaurant would have closed in bankruptcy and you would still be searching for a good Mexican taqueria. Advertising serves the consumer by informing them and alerting them to the new products that become available.

Without the ability to inform the public of a new product, business would be reluctant to develop anything new and innovative. Long before a product ever gets off the drawing board, market research is already busy locating consumers and devising ways to communicate with them. Without some reassurance that the market can be reached through advertising, firms would be reluctant to invest in a new product. Viagra, which is everywhere in print and broadcast advertising, would have never been developed without the aid of advertising (Napoli 1999).

How many health and safety products would have been left on the drawing board if we did not have advertising No one knows for sure, but we do know that we have the most innovative and productive society in history. These marvelous inventions have been stimulated by the power of advertising. We are a consumer driven society and we love our products. Advertising is where we shop before we ever go to the store. Our advertising outlets are the biggest malls in the world. We can see the product and examine its merits.

Companies are forced to compete on price and quality. We can evaluate the features and look at the style while we watch TV. Advertising is the connection that we have to the product and the producer. It presents us with an image and a reputation. In the sea of available options, it helps us decide what is right for us. Advertising weds the consumer to the product. In short, advertisers love consumers and consumers love products. The world of advertising offers us choices that we otherwise would never know existed.

It opens our minds to new possibilities and opens the market to greater innovation. We learn from advertising as we focus our attention on the multitude of products available. It helps us limit our choices before we ever leave home. Advertising informs, entertains, and makes our consumer society possible. It's easy to understand why we love our advertising and easy to see why some people seem to be married to their Ipod. References Napoli, M. (1999). Bob Dole, pitchman for erectile dysfunction.

Healthfacts. Retrieved February 24, 2007, from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0815/is_1999_Marchpnum=2&opg=54753537 Richards, J. I. (2004). Advertising Quotes. Retrieved February 24, 2007, from http://advertising.utexas.edu/research/quotes/Q100.html#Budgeting