ADVERTISING AND YOUR LIFE

Advertising as a political and social message:

Advertising is a controversial subject in American life. Advertising is most prominent in a free market economy. Advertising also uses social images and appeals to people's psychological and physical needs. It ranges from content that sells a product to content that persuades people to adopt specific lifestyles. Given this type of impact, some individuals think certain types of advertising should be banned because of the influence of well-produced messages.

Politics has also changed with advertising, particularly as political managers learned to master television. What is the effect of political advertising on a democratic society?

Meanwhile, Internet advertising is just emerging. This raises questions about how advertising will fare with new media technologies, and about the implications for old media. Think about your own reactions to the ads you see, read and hear. Here's an opportunity to weigh in with your opinion, and to check the opinions of other site visitors on the following issues:


Advertising in a Free Market Economy
Economists disagree about how advertising affects the price consumers pay for goods. Some argue that advertising increases prices because the money companies spend on advertisements is tacked onto the price of the goods. Other economists argue that advertising reduces the cost of goods by increasing demand, which increases production. If more cans of soup are produced, it will cost less to make each can. The average cost of almost all goods decreases as the number of units increases, up to the capacity of a production plant. Economists call this the savings from producing large quantities economies of scale. (For more information, see page 462 in The Media In Your Life.)

Social Images and Impacts of Advertising
Even though advertising serves the legitimate functions of bringing buyers and sellers together, some advertising is not designed to do more than provide information. Many ads aim to manipulate people's behavior, sometimes getting them to buy unneeded goods and services. Advertising aimed at children is of particular concern.. Children do not develop rational thinking abilities until the age of twelve. Without rational cognitive processes, children have trouble understanding the nature and purpose of advertising. (For more information, see page 463 in The Media In Your Life.)

Politics and Advertising
Every four years, candidates spend huge amounts of money on advertising. In high profile elections, such as president and governor, most of the money goes to television. Many of these ads avoid providing information about the issues of a campaign and instead appeal to voters' emotions about topics that generate fear. Images of crime and violence contribute little to the marketplace of ideas, but they do arouse concerns in voters. These ads are intended to identify a candidate's opponent with a negative image, and not to provide information for making a decision. Scholars and critics are concerned that such advertising emphasizes trivial problems and plays down issues that are most urgent. Even the heads of large advertising agencies question the advertising's usefulness to the political process. (For more information, see page 477 in The Media In Your Life.)

Internet Advertising
Online advertising takes two basic forms. Ads can be seen either on online services such as America Online, or on the World Wide Web. In 1995, advertising spending on the Web was about $30 million, but half of the money was for computer and Internet-related companies. Some analysts were optimistic, predicting that advertising would be more than $1 billion a year by the end of the decade. (For more information, see pages 477-478 in The Media In Your Life.)


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