Commercial advertising uses the negative side of human nature as a pervasive weapon that is aimed at capturing the attentions of America?s youth for their own financial gain. Advertising is a destructive role model for children. The Center of the Study of Commercialism list the dangerous effects of advertising to include perpetuation of gender stereotypes, higher product costs and taxes, an overemphasis on appearance, and an undermining of family values.
America is a spoiled capitalist nation that has placed undue importance on personal pleasure and capital gain regardless of the outcome. The majority of capital in America is originated from businesses, and those businesses rely on the advertising industry to survive. Without advertising, businesses could not attract customers; without customers businesses could not operate and would be forced to close.
Before critizing television advertising we must first understand what advertising is and the role it plays in our society. Advertising is a method used for commercializing a product or service.
An 1890s advertisement showing model Hilda Clark i...
"Get fat on Lorings Fat-ten-u and corpula foods"; ...
AdvertisingAdvertising is mainly used to influence the audience, to convince the viewer that the advertised product is the best on the market. We must understand that advertising is a method that allows people to become aware of a product and in turn gives the viewer the right to choose whether or not to use the product.
Americans cannot escape being affected by these ads, research shows that more than 90% of all American families own at least one television, and the average person views over 7 hundred advertisements each week alone. We are constantly surrounded with the media. Businesses have no choice but to take advantage of this resource in order to survive, but at what cost to us? Although, most television commercials contain some logical fallacies it is readily apparent which businesses still hold moral ethics in high regard.