Advertising Disrupts the Objective of Rational Choice - Essay Example

Advertising Disrupts the Objective of Rational Choice The topic of advertising has also been controversial. The basic purpose of advertisements is to give out information about a new product, or an existing product, to the consumers which would aid them in making a reasonable choice when deciding between similar products. However, advertising today is not just about providing information. Companies, in order to differentiate themselves, use manipulative tactics to make their products appear superior than they actually are. This essay will discuss how advertisements affect the rational decision making process of the customers by manipulating them and causing them to believe something that is not there. The Manipulation Process Many advertisements contain subliminal messages. These are hidden, indirect messages that are not visible to the customers when they see the ad, but they reach into the subconscious mind of the viewer and affect the decision making of the individual. It might be possible that the customer might simply ignore these ads the first couple of times that he or she sees them, but repeated exposure to such ads ends up affecting the thinking cycle of the consumers and influences their buying habits. (Levinson, n.d.) On an average, an American views about 1500 advertisements every day (Butler, 2001). Most of these advertisements promote materialism. They introduce a product in a way that makes the customers feel as if they need it. This results in building dissatisfaction in the mind of the customer and makes him want to buy that product. These advertisements aim to eliminate the difference between needs and wants, and use the very influential source, media, to make the customers feel the need for those products, even when they do not really need it at all. By portraying that through the use of a certain product, a fancy lifestyle, or an ideal life could be achieved, they give a false perception of happiness and tricks the customers into buying the wrong products. (Butler, 2001) There are various examples of such manipulation present in our society. Consider for example a brand new BMW car being advertised. There is no logical justification of the car being priced at more than ten times the price of an ordinary sedan. Nonetheless, the ideal, happy life depicted through the advertisements convinces the consumers that the car really is worth the price tag, and forces them to make the illogical decision of buying the car. (ScienceDaily, 2007) Manipulation Tools As already discussed, advertisers use tactics like subliminal messages and promoting ideal lifestyles in the advertisements to manipulate consumers into buying what they do not need. The tools that are used by advertisers to promote such lifestyles are as follows: Children and Families There are numerous examples of advertisements using cute, attractive children in advertisements as watching them gets the customers emotionally attached to the advertisements resulting in a higher brand recall and more chances of them purchasing the product. Using children in advertisements is a manipulative strategy that is also considered unethical (Clay, 2000). Moreover, advertisements also show perfectly happy families that are portrayed to be so because they use a certain product. This makes the customers believe that in order to achieve that kind of a life, he or she must also use the same product. Celebrity Endorsements All around the world, people look up to famous celebrities and desire to be like them in every possible way. This is the reason why, today, celebrity endorsements are so widely used by advertisers and celebrities from various different fields are being paid a great amount of money by companies to endorse their brands. Naturally, when an individual sees his or her favorite celebrity endorsing a particular product, he or she is bound to at least consider buying the product. Music Music is known to create moods, and that is exactly how advertisers use it to influence customers into buying the products. Taglines Taglines also play an important role in the manipulation. They basically sum the entire advert into one line so it is easier for the customer to remember and recall. For example, the line “because you deserve it” gives the customers a feeling of being loved and makes them want to buy the product. (Raylight, 2007) Opposing Arguments and Why They Are Wrong People who support advertising as not being manipulative say that it is merely an attempt by the advertiser to form a connection between the company’s offerings and the customers. They say that advertisers use human nature and culture to create advertisements that promote familiarity amongst the customers and the products so as to make them realize how the product or service could benefit them. They support these arguments by saying that human beings possess cognition and have the ability to tell between what is right for them and what is not. The job of advertisers is just to build a bridge between the demands of the customers and the offerings of the manufacturer. However, these people fail to acknowledge the fact that the same human beings are prone to peer-pressure and manipulation. The reasoning and decision making capabilities that they say humans have are also influenced by culture, society, media, and so on. An individual’s mind is trained through what is seen and observed by that individual. And if what he or she sees is the manipulative strategies used by the advertisers, then after a certain point, he or she is going to start believing and following what he sees. Conclusion The basic idea behind advertisements was to inform the customers about new or existing products so that the customer is aware of what options he or she has. However, advertisements today have gone way beyond simple information on product features and quality, perhaps, due to the severe competition present in today’s world. In order to differentiate their otherwise similar products, companies use manipulation in their advertisements to attract the customers and influence them into choosing their product over the competitors’. Needless to say, this is unfair for the customers. Being human beings, we are all influenced by things around us and it is unethical of advertisers to make use of this weakness to their advantage. Works Cited Butler, S. R. (2001, April 6). subliminal advertising: return of the hidden persuaders . Retrieved March 4, 2010, from Disinformation: http://old.disinfo.com/archive/pages/dossier/id321/pg1/index.html Clay, R. A. (2000, September). Advertising to children: Is it ethical? Monitor on Psychology , 31, p. 52. Levinson, J. C. (n.d.). Guerrilla Marketing Articles. Retrieved March 4, 2010, from Guerrilla Marketing: http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/read/52/360_Degree_Marketing.html Raylight. (2007, January 11). How can adverts manipulate us. Retrieved March 4, 2010, from Bizcovering: http://bizcovering.com/marketing-and-advertising/how-can-adverts-manipulate-us/ ScienceDaily. (2007, March 9). Subliminal Advertising Leaves Its Mark On The Brain. Retrieved March 4, 2010, from Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070308121938.htm Read More