How does Advertising Impact the Current Society - Research Paper Example

Introduction: This report aims to identify the positive and negative impacts of advertisements on society and the impact of these advertisements on people’s choices and behaviors. The debate on the impact of advertisement on people’s lives, behaviors, choices and living standards is broad and extensive. This paper examines different researches and aims to identify the positive and negative impacts of advertisements on people’s individual and social life. The paper is also designed to investigate how advertisements affect current society. The reason for conducting this research is to examine the claims and their validity that advertisements do affect the society, people’s behaviors and choices. In order to achieve the aim of this paper researches, articles, news reports and other relevant data is analyzed and properly incorporated with the flow of the paper. All data and research material used is collected from credible resources. Personal views and knowledge is used properly to reach the conclusion. This paper is structured by dividing the information into different sections. The division of the paper in sections makes it easily comprehensible and readable. The introduction section provides a brief intro about the structure of the paper and its aims. The next section aims to clarify the research question and its importance to the reader. The next section provides a literature review which incorporates a number of studies and research results to support the claims made. The paper then moves to define the research method followed and its significance and shortcomings. The research data is then analyzed and synthesized. The next section clearly provides the findings of the paper and produces the results. The final section draws a conclusion based on the results and provides personal views about the research topic. The systematic flow of information and carefully designed structure allows the readers understand the topic and carefully examined the necessary information provided. Key Definitions: Advertising: We will consider 2 definitions of advertising in this paper. The first one is proposed in “Advertising: Mother of graphic design “by Steven Heller in the book “Looking closer: critical writings on graphic design”. Steven asserts that ‘Advertising is the tool of capitalism, a con that persuades an unwitting public to consume and consume again’ (Bierut et al., 1997 p. 112). The second definition states that “To Communicate, to Persuade, to Influence and to Lead to some action is what advertising is all about.” (Concepts of Advertising) Society: “There is no such thing as society, separate from us. It is our relationship with each other, which is vitally affected by what we are, which creates that society and what happens in that society (Krishna, 1995) Section 2: Research Question: Advertisements leave some impression on the viewers and this impression leads them to consume a product, use the specific service or change their choices. These effects of advertisements affect the society both in positive and negative way. The study conducted by Surlin (1974) suggests that the three groups (i.e. advertising executives, business executives and general public) are quite knowledgeable about the negative effects of advertising. The study involves surveys and interviews and concludes that advertisement is directly or indirectly harming the society. Another study suggests that although there are certain negative impacts of advertisements it provides some benefits to the individuals and society as a whole. Advertisements encourage competition and in turn help in the promotion of more reliable and good quality products for the consumers (Luis et al., 1998 pp. 103-126). Advertising helps in the provision and promotions of higher living standards among the general public. Advertising also provides the viewers and readers with the necessary information about products, services and commodities and also create awareness among them about political, social and cultural issues (O'Guinn, Allen, & Semenik, 2008). However, advertising has some ethical issues concerning the advertisements targeting younger population. A number of studies suggest that advertisements are contributing towards the negative growth or aggressive behaviors of the younger generation (Chan & McNeal, 2003). The advertisements promoting firearm, alcohol, tobacco, fast food, drugs, sensual exposure etc. are criticized greatly as these are contributing towards increased crime rates, accidents, obesity, drug dependence and other social and cultural issues (Armstrong. P. 230). The above arguments led to the research questions “Does advertising really affect the social behaviors, choices and consumption patterns of people? If so, is this effect positive or negative?” The question is answered and supported by the identification of the severely affected group of individuals by these advertisements. Section 3 Literature Review: Advertising is the tool to promote and gain success in business for the businessmen. The relationship between sales and advertising is analyzed by many researchers. However, successful advertising is not a simple task. It is more than simply displaying a product or introducing a service. An advertisement, these days, requires creativity, humor, eye-catching and memorable events and attractive slogans (Sutherland and Sylvester, 2000 pp. 207-230). Some argue that advertising is correlated with the consumption patterns i.e. decreased advertising leads to reduced consumption levels and vice versa (Saffer, 1996). Another argument that clearly indicates the existence of a relationship between advertisement and consumption rates is the reduction in consumption levels on implementation of advertisement bans (Hae-Kyong, 1998). An experimental research conducted by Harris, Bargh and Brownell (2009) suggests that children and adolescents are more influenced by advertisements than adults. Authors carried out two experiments to evaluate the behaviors of both children and adults after watching television advertisements. The eating behaviors were analyzed and the results concluded that children’s junk food intake increased by 45% after advertisements. On the other hand, adults were more motivated to take healthy meals rather than junk food (Harris, et al., 2009). The group that is badly affected by media exposure, television programs and advertising campaigns are youngsters. Many researches and surveys are conducted to understand the effects of food, alcohol, smoking and general advertisements on children and their behaviors. The food advertisements lead to a great change in children’s food choices and intake (Hastings et al., 2003; IOM, 2006; Story & French, 2004). Other studies examining the correlation and quasi-experiments reveal that more exposure to media leads to greater consumption of unhealthy dietary habits among children (IOM, 2006). Health authorities are concerned with the increased rate of unhealthy food consumption due to high exposure of these unhealthful food stuffs in advertisements (Brownell & Horgen, 2004; IOM, 2006). World Health Organization (2003) reveals that obesity is contributing towards the increasing chronic, psychological and physical disease. George A. Hacker’s research about the impact of alcohol advertisement on youngsters is a complete piece of information for those who are a little or not at all aware of this issue. The music, unrealistic ideas about friendship and animals etc used in the beer advertisement attracts the young generation who live in fantasies and get motivated to take alcoholic drinks (Hacker, 2002). It has also been exposed by Drug Rehab and Treatment Centres, a part of nonprofit social betterment organization, that in the U.S., every young individual is exposed to more than 1000 advertisements related to alcohol, wine and many other events that motivate drinking on television. More than 15 million citizens of America are reliant on alcohol. 5 million of this population is aged between 9 and 12. The liquor industry spends around 2 billion USD on advertising and motivates the consumers to consume alcoholic beverages. Approximately 90 billion USD are spent annually on alcohol by Americans. Moreover, 56 percent of students reported that alcohol advertisements catch their attention and motivate them to drink (Drug Rehabs, 2002). Pierce, Lee & Gulpin (1994) analyzed data presented by National Health Interview Surveys and revealed that the smoking rates among adolescent girls increased after the introduction cigarette advertisements targeting women and girls (Pierce et al., 1994). Media, which may give fame or may defame any particular group, thing, sport, news or place, has apparently underrepresented the participation of females in business, sports or other events. More and more advertisements of male sporting events, business success stories and academic achievements have been broadcasted. However, less or no consideration to female athletes, high achieving students or business champions have cut off the interest of sponsors, viewers and general population. This shows the discriminated portrayal of women in media and advertisements. If we use sports as a field where women are discriminated, a claim which may be helpful is the fact that less advertisements and support is provided to women sporting events. Women are not only facing difficulties in proving their distinct identity in the sports world but the media misrepresentation is also putting their actual image at a great risk (Bartsch et al., 2000). They are represented as young, slim and sexy women instead of making them known for their professional athletic qualities. Portraying them in their swimming costumes (instead of their sports uniform) and interviewing them about their marriages and personal issues make it more difficult for women to prove their existence in the sports world as great athletes. Media represents them as a symbol of fashion or beauty. Their image is spoiled by making scandals in the context of drugs involving their husbands (International Herald Tribune). Although sexual discrimination has been reduced on the official level, yet the society does not accept women equivalent to men. Sports still is taken as a field for men. This view may be a result of media representation of female athletes as a part of gossip, fashion and glamour. The portrayal of women in media is creating chaos and dissatisfaction among women. The persistent and enticing advertisements that portray women as beautiful, elegant, thin-bodied and stunning appearances are creating early sexual desires in young males on one hand and creating frustration and depression in women and young girls’ on the other. The advertisements contain content that instigate ladies to change their dietary habits, lose weight, remain fit and work out on regular basis. The advertisements involve language and statements that promotes a desire in women to look slim, beautiful and attractive (Coltrane et al., 2000). Advertisers clearly use their knowledge about women psychology by portraying slim ladies as happy, satisfied and loveable by their children, parents, husbands and other relatives. Women are becoming more and more conscious about their physical appearance and try every possible way to catch the attention of others. The advertisements and whole media are responsible for this changing attitude of women towards their image. The effect of such advertisements is no longer limited to females but the choices and likes of men are also shifting. Even the young preadolescent girls are also involved in this race of losing weight and making their appearance more attractive to get attention from the opposite gender, friends or family members (Clark & Tiggemann, 2006). They like what they see the most on television, banners and internet. Such attitudes impose certain beauty standards on women which they are then compelled to follow to be a part of the society and to enlarge their social circle. All these factors are specially creating profits for the businesses which are aimed to produce and sell weight loss tablets, food supplements and other dietary products (BBC News, 2003). However, it has been observed that all these products result in temporary weight loss and approximately 90 to 95 percent population using it regains the weight once they stop using the product. This further increases the frustration and leads to psychological and emotional distress among women. Approximately 90 percent of normal bodied females believe that they are either overweight or have some problem with their appearance i.e. they remain dissatisfied in one way or the other (CWHN). Nowadays, the importance of media in our lives cannot be ignored. Media is somehow responsible for the changes in society. Children are more likely to adopt the behaviors and fashions shown in the television programs. “It is clear that heavy exposure to media violence causes an increase in the likelihood of future aggressive and violent behavior” (Chaves, 2008 p. 148). It is a scientific concept that media is not the only cause of aggressive behaviors and violence however, it is proved that heavy exposure to media violence increases the chance of future aggressive and violent behaviors. Media exposure and advertisement of unhealthy food on television, internet and outdoor mediums is contributing to increased probability of child obesity. Children desire to eat what is being advertised in an attractive way on television, internet and videogames. They even try to get access to that food stuff which they find in their favorite movie or video game. They also try to consume the most popular brands to show their prestige and high living standards. Advertisements provide choices and quality products to the customer. Advertisement strategies of businesses are carefully designed and implemented to capture a greater share of the market. Advertisement is a major tool for marketers and is beneficial for the shareholders of the firms. However, these advertisements are affecting social, psychological, financial and cultural views of individuals. Advertising may be a tool to promote learning, education and motivation but may also be used to destroy, worsen and spoil the younger generation. The art is to be creative but not be destructive. The impact of society on advertisement is also important. Study suggests that not all advertisements achieve success in all societies. For instance, diet coke is called as Light coke in Japan because Japanese do not consider dieting as well regarded. Similarly the Red Circle did not gain much popularity in Asia as a trademark because of its resemblance with the Japanese flag. Moreover, the advertisements of alcohol are prohibited in the Muslim countries. Section 4 Research Method In order to get credible data, a number of research articles, websites and news reports are being analyzed. Important points from each document are stored and used. Every important point is supported by evidence. Online libraries helped in finding journal articles which are properly used to support the claims. Moreover, personal knowledge and insight helped in developing a more appropriate content of the paper. Information from various authors is used about advertisements, smoking, alcohol consumption, children behavior, women psychology and reactions and business affairs. Section 5 Analysis: Media plays an important role in developing the culture and educating the society. Media has the power of transforming the choices and attitudes of the whole society by merely portraying things in a manner they wish to. People believe in media and somehow take inspiration from the characters on TV, actors in movies, models in magazines, authors of magazines or anchors of Radio. An estimation reveals that on average, Americans probably watch television for 1550 hours, spend approximately 1160 hours in listening to radio programs and nearly 290 hours are spent in reading newspapers, magazines and blogs (Eastman, 2003). This level of interaction with media confirms the reliance of the audience on the information provided on these mediums. Knowing the fact that media is, in some way, inseparable part of people’s life businessmen have started using it as a tool of marketing. It has become much easier for the marketers to capture the attention of a large population. He older means of marketing (i.e. telemarketing, newsletters or face-to-face communication) were not as successful and inexpensive as the new technique. Internet, TV, newspapers and magazines are the most common and successful marketing mediums. Fashion magazines help in making cosmetics, costumes, beauty products and other stuff familiar to the consumers. Advertisers use creative ideas to make their advertisement prominent and attractive to the audience. Newspapers help I promoting educational institutes, charities and other services. Television and internet cover almost everything and are one of the best ways to promote any product, service or thing. Television and internet are most commonly used media around the globe. These mediums are widely used by all age groups, culturally diverse people and are popular among both genders. The easy and cheap availability of these mediums have made it possible for people from lower financial groups to get access to them. Hence, we may say that almost 100% population comes across advertisement via one medium or the other. The impacts of these advertisements are further discussed below. Increased brand consumption by people It has been observed during the research that people are more willing to pay for branded products. The image of brands is largely dependent on its publicity and popularity among the consumers. People make branded objects their choice to make a better social reputation and influence other counterparts of the society. The advertisements lead to capture this type of reputation conscious people. Advertising helps in making the brand name popular in public. People using the products of certain brands can then easily expose their financial stability and excellent choice (Krahmer, . A well-known and well-advertised product or service increases the chances of its success as there is a quality conscious group which is not much concerned about the prices but is more concerned to get a high quality product. The rest of people who use expensive brands are trying to participate in the battle of today’s capitalist society. Whichever group is being targeted, advertising is a tool of capturing the attention of the consumers and which successfully builds the brand name. Brand names attract people and increase the consumption of such products which are high regarded in a particular region, culture or society. Hence we may say that advertisements are somehow important to build brand names and increased consumption of distinct brands. Increased alcohol, tobacco and food consumption. The results of a number of studies and experiments conducted in regards to find out the role of media in increasing smoking habits in adolescents. The advertisement on television, magazines, video games and internet grabs the attention of children and acts as a strong motivational force for them to light a cigarette. They get fascinated to the glamorous way in which the advertisements are made. Television and movies are supposed to have a great impact on alcohol consumption in adolescents. Children, who watch more television, are likely to have increased chances of alcohol consumption. Regardless of the grade of movie, media is continuously exposing alcoholic beverages as a source of fun and fashion. Advertisements during children programs are not carefully designed and contain aggressive behavior, exposure to alcohol and smoking etc. Advertisements today contain sensual messages and images which are contributing to the likelihood of early sexual initiation in adolescents. Advertisements are influencing the psychosocial environment by sexual exposure on television, music videos, internet and movies. It has been observed by the study that children’s eating behaviors are much changed than adults because of advertisements. The increased exposure of alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy food on television, magazines, internet and other advertising mediums are affecting children’s dietary habits. It has been observed that advertisers have made it a policy to target younger generation for increased sales and profits. On average children watch tens of thousands of television advertisements annually. This total involves a great number of commercials for unhealthy food stuff (AAP, 2009). Moreover, children watch around 2 thousand beer, wine and alcoholic beverage commercials annually (Strasburger, 2002). It is evident that advertisements do not give a balanced and true picture about the healthy lifestyles and nutritional information but whatever they portray is assumed to be true by the children. Violent Behaviors among children Children who watch aggressive and violent movies are likely to behave aggressively and choose violent games to play than those who do not watch television or violent shows. The advertisements nowadays are targeting young generations and are using different characters as powerful objects and promoting their products by portraying them as a source of energy and supremacy (Chaves, 2008). The characters of children’s favorite movies, cartoons and games are portrayed with a cigarette, wine bottle or involvement of that character in some sexual activity also affect the children’s perceptions and thoughts. The aggressive behaviors of action animated characters (like superman, batman, power-puff girls etc.) also increase the probability of their future aggressive behaviors. Advertisements involve these characters to attract young consumers and indirectly affect their behaviors. Children get a lot of information from television and believe what they watch. They trust their favorite characters beating the monsters and so called ‘bad guys’ after having an energy drink or milk or some other product. They perceive it all to be true and are more likely to consume that particular product and imitate those characters in every possible manner. Such portrayals are of course not true and advertisements are exaggerating the energy and effects of products. They target children because children are easily influenced by such fantasies. Discrimination and biased portrayal of genders There is a wide range of studies that suggest that media portrays men and women differently and it in turn is affecting the society. Many steps have been taken to stop this discrimination and biased environment. It is commonly seen in the advertisements that thin, beautiful and physically attractive women are featured to attract people. Women who are fat, obese or even slightly overweight are being insulted in some way. They are normally featured in comic shows or beauty products advertisement as a disgrace or failing part of the society (Fouts and Burgraff, 2000). Such depictions are a source of negative thoughts among the women. Male counterparts are normally depicted as strong, busy and successful businessmen or lively, perfect and happy husbands. Women are more often portrayed as sex objects. The society contains individual and such portrayals are affecting the individualistic approach of people. Women are now more worried about their physical appearance and opt to use the dietary products and diet food supplements. The effects of such products are limited and the weight regain takes them to great grief and depression. The advertisements and the whole media are responsible for creating this image of women and the depression and tension that persists in their minds. Advertisement as a marketing tool Regardless of the negative impacts of advertisements it is difficult to stop advertising because advertisements capture a great market share and helps the companies to increase their sales and profits. As compared to the firms producing the same product in all manners, the company that has a good marketing policy is more profitable. The reason is the attention and concern that people give to that product due to continuous advertisements. People are easily attracted to a product which has a sound publicity policy. People are more motivated to try the product after watching its advertisements everywhere. Changing choices Advertisements help people in making the right choice. People get information about the products from the advertisements and are encouraged to use them. There are a lot of homogenous products in the market but to make a distinct identity of a product advertising plays an important role. The advertisements help in making a change in the choices of the consumers. The brand image helps consumers making the right choice. The reputation of the products or services is not completely dependent on advertisements but is largely dependent on them for continued success and running of the business. The new and improved products attract consumers and the changes in the products if exposed properly may help in retaining the existing consumers and attracting the new ones. Section 6 Synthesis: Advertisements play a major role in today’s society. The globalization has brought many substitutes available for each local product. The main theme of advertisements according to the point of view of businesses is to promote the product, build brand image and create long term success of the product. The advertisements make the product known to the consumers and help exposing the distinct features it contains. It was a very difficult task to build a distinct image of a product or service without using media as a tool of marketing. The use of telemarketing, face to face advertising techniques and other historic efforts were much expensive and did not have long lasting effect on consumers. The advertisement through latest media has brought a great change in the marketing policies and made it easier and cheaper for them to promote a product or service and build a stronger brand image. Businessmen are now able to communicate the improvements and changes in their products and services to the consumers directly. They can easily attract consumers by creative advertisements. Almost everyone comes across some type of media hence it becomes easier to catch the attention of people by implementing a good advertising policy. The promoters of the businesses are well aware of the importance given to advertising and try to use the most common medium for better results. As described above, advertisements are not only beneficial for the businesses but also help consumers in making the right choice. However, critics suggest some drawbacks of advertisements. These drawbacks involve unnecessary expenditure on acquiring branded products, biased environment in the society, discrimination and dissatisfaction among people with low income and harmful effects of advertisements on children’s diet and behavior. To make the advertisements attractive and eye-catching the advertisers use various techniques to capture the targeted group. For instance, if the targeted group is children, the advertisers use colors, toys, animated characters and other symbols that are of particular interest to children. Similarly if the product is some diet tablet for women, the advertisers involve slim, goodlooking and well-dressed female to show how their product works and helps women, however, if we consider the truth behind these advertisements. The advertisers overstate the reality. They portray such results that touch the boundary of deception in their portrayal. It may not be too wrong to say that advertisers are actually deceiving the public. The overstating of the effects of a product harms children more than adults. Children live in their fantasy world and believe everything they watch or are told of. They perceive the effects of products as are exposed and try to use the brand that their favorite cartoon character or hero uses in the advertisements. The irony is the fact that they imitate the action of those characters which more often result in aggressive behaviors and leave long lasting effects on their behaviors. All these effects that are harming the society must be considered when designing an advertising campaign. The more aggression and biased is shown, the more are the negative impacts on the society. Children, who are the greatest asset of our world, are being harmed for such careless attitudes of advertisers. The aggressive behaviors, early drinking and smoking habits and brand consciousness among children are creating problems for themselves and for the people associated with them. The whole society is suffering for the mistakes of a few people and their benefits. Section 7 Research Results: Groups affected: Possible effects: Children Promotion of violent behaviors Increased chances of early drinking habits Increased risks of early sexual desires Increase in early smoking habits Increased obesity Increased ability to take decisions Women Increased sexual discrimination in advertisements leading women to feel uncomfortable and insecure. Making them more weight and appearance conscious Leading to psychological distress Making them brand conscious Men Leading them to assume women as sex objects Making them brand conscious High exposure to alcoholic beverages leading toward a greater alcohol consumption habits Businesses Easier way to publicize products and services Increased product/service life-cycle Long lasting effects on consumers mind More sales leading to higher profits Help achieving excellent brand image Section 8 Conclusion Media plays an important role in today’s era. It can be used as a tool to help the society and may also be used to harm the existence of peace and happiness in the society. Media is supporting the problems of smoking, alcohol consumption; violent and aggressive behaviors are severe and need attention to be solved. Media is harming the social, psychological and ethnical condition of adolescents. Media must be used as a helpful technique to stop health compromising habits like smoking, drinking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity etc. (Douglas Evans, 2008). The movies, cartoons and programs which are more likely to be viewed by children are followed by advertisements that create a desire to start smoking, drinking or some sensual messages. Advertisements are also motivating children to change their eating habits by adding snacks, fastfood, chocolate, biscuits and other food stuff in their daily meals. Such diets are high in fats and lack of physical activity among the US adolescents leads to increased obesity rates. The attractive advertisements of junk food encourages the desire to take them and further changes their food choices from vegetables and fruits towards snacks, carbonated drinks, chocolates, shakes, fries and other unhealthy products. The advertisements are beneficial for the businesses which provide facilities and products to the consumers. The society is benefiting from the variety of goods available to them. However, the advertisements of these goods are designed in such ways that harm the individualistic identity of people. The sexual discrimination portrayed in advertisements and gender biases explained are harming the well-being of certain groups. Women, especially, are used as sex objects and are used in all advertisements to attract viewers. Men are portrayed as strong, decent and successful individuals on the other hand. These kinds of advertisements lead to confusion, insecurity and dissatisfaction among women. In conclusion, we can say that advertisements are important to make the products and services known to the public still there are some great drawbacks attached to them. The advertisements promoting alcohol, junk foods and tobacco must be adhered to some strict rules. Advertisers must be guided properly not to show any kind of discrimination. 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