The Merciless Workings of Advertising: An essay examing an alcohol ad and how it appeals to the public

Essay by tld007High School, 12th grade December 2004

download word file, 4 pages 4.0 2 reviews

Downloaded 41 times

The Merciless Workings of Advertising

In these days of technological prosperity, it is nearly impossible to escape advertising. Advertisers have used the advancements in technology to find new ways to bombard us with images of their useless product. Ads are everywhere. Alarm clock radios used to wake people up are approximately one-third advertisements. Along the road to work are many large billboard advertisements. Newspapers and news programs are riddled with advertisements. Junk mail is 100% pure advertising. Advertisements are incorporated into music and movies. But even more diabolical than those examples above are the advertisements on clothing. Not only do the advertisers not have to pay for the "air time" of the ad, they get paid for it. Advertisers are a moral less bunch whose only concern is selling their product, no matter what the means. They are not above using people's personal problems and fears as a tool to sell their product.

This sort of manipulation should be illegal.

This ad is a good example of the advertisement world's lack of morals. In a red room sits a man. His clean-shaven face is leaning just out of the picture, hands gesturing along with his conversation, presumably about his success. His suit is nice yet casual, wrinkle free except at his gesturing elbow and his leaning waist. His top collar button is undone, free of a bow or a tie. He is sitting on what seems to be a blue sofa, but this piece of furniture lacks almost all detail. The table to the man's right, however, is very distinct. A nicely shined dark hardwood holds the product, a bottle of B&B Cognac, which is the "focus" of the picture in two ways. The colors of the picture are soft and blend easily with their neighbors. The cognac liquid is...