advertising effects on consumers
There are many ways that both the media and advertisers can influence the masses through deceptive means. A main target of the deception is the college student population. College students spend 10's of billions of dollars every year on everything from toothpaste to automobiles. They make their purchasing decisions based on false logic implanted into their brains by mass media, which focuses on a certain style and image. These moneys that are spent by students far outweigh the still astronomical amount spent by advertisers and marketers. However, those in the marketing industry spend their funds wisely. They get into the psyche of the student mind and play on the images and thoughts we have. They utilize techniques such as inference, false analogy, and sometimes even truth. Utilizing a recent copy of FSView to find advertisements, it does not take long to find the first deceptive advertisement. It is an ad for a new apartment complex, which claims: You can have it all!. This is clearly an example of post hoc, or doubtful cause. Post hoc refers to a situation of linking events as cause and effect. Whereas if you move into this apartment complex you can have it all. Only through hard work can you quote "have it all", not b
As consumers we have created a monster by allowing it to get as far as it has, we should not be fooled by what advertisers project. Advertisers are people themselves and realize our weaknesses and prey upon them. Consumers as a whole have allowed deception by advertisers to weaken our national economy, as we purchase more, our personal debt skyrockets. As a result we attempt to find extra work more to pay of these debts only to find that extra work is not available. People have to declare bankruptcy because the have fallen so into debt. They were convinced by deceptive advertising that they need the new car, and the Tommy Hilfigure jeans, the expensive jewelry. We as consumers must realize that there is only perceived need for such spending. If we could just be happier with the 10 year old Ford Escort, and the Levi jeans, and a Timex watch, but even still humans have only four basic needs: food, water, shelter and clothing. Everything else is completely unnecessary. We can survive with the bare essentials. The abutting advertisement to the above is yet another ad for an apartment complex. In this particular ad it uses inference. The advertisement simply lists common features of the apartments and other amenities: that there is a computer lab and racquet ball courts. The makers of this advertisement are inferring that because the apartments in fact have these great features that these apartments are just what you need. The advertiser is using simple facts about the apartments to illicit a decision.
Some common words found in the essay are:
, Escort Levi, Toyota Corollas, Jon Public, Tommy Hilfigure, false analogy, laser hair removal, hair removal, apartment complex, laser hair, post hoc, advertising little, ad apartment, ad apartment complex, beautiful woman, product placement, advertisement ad, advertisement ad apartment,
Approximate Word count = 1338
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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