Advertising is a form of mass communication with the public. It is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade the potential customers to purchase or consume more of a particular brand of product/services. We could separate advertising in two categories. Giving information through advertising about a product is the first category that is innocent when facing the costumers. The second category has a manipulative effect on people. Thus, People exposed to specific advertisements are led to buy goods and services or do things that don’t actually want to do.
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And in order to attract audiences, some advertisers use different extreme technique that does more damage on the consumer’s life then with helping him. Therefore, we can say that advertising is based on manipulation and thus should be limited because it harmful. To start with, advertising reaches the mind of people and is dangerous when it is not real especially on children and youth. By unreal advertising we mean a shallow advertising that focuses on the desire and wants of people so the firms producing this product achieves sales and high profits.
Young children are unable to understand advertising messages and the information given by these advertisements, therefore, children may consider these advertisements as the truth and the real world thus it will affect their behavior. According to the Washington post and their researches, “Federal regulators should restrict television advertising aimed at children 8 and younger because research shows youngsters lack the skills to question a commercial’s claims as anything but fact, the American Psychological Association said yesterday”. (Washington post article).
Moreover, children will be affected by cartoons, kids’ shows… Thus, manipulation is being forced on children by using the popular faces in cartoons like Hannah Montana, Dora… For instance, during my childhood, there was a chocolate commercial for Disney (picture of the product) and the same chocolate bar was next to it. The price range was very apart since the chocolate by Disney was a brand name. And as a Disney fan I cried and begged for the chocolate bar that was by Disney. Thus, we can see here that manipulation in advertising is being implemented through the mind of children and is affecting their behavior.
