EDITORIAL: The truth about advertising

 

Advertising is part and parcel of the daily world we live in. In recognition of our insatiable appetites for information and entertainment, advertisers have been continually expanding into these arenas in order to get more visibility for their products. As a result, advertising now pervades all of our lives, and its presence continues to grow. In fact, it is said that the average adult is now exposed to about 3 500 pieces of advertising information each day. We accept this barrage on our daily senses because we assume that we can tune out what we don’t want to see or hear. However, with all the various techniques used by advertisers, and because of the sheer volume of ads we are confronted with, it is virtually impossible to successfully tune out everything without them leaving some footprint on our subconscious, whether good or bad.
 
Critics of advertising purport that the footprint that is left is a negative one and that advertisers are invading our privacy and practising behavioural targeting. Behavioural targeting allows advertisers to track where a person surfs on the web and then delivers  ‘relevant ads’ as per the person’s web surfing history to that individual. This technique of targeted advertising just hit home for many of us recently, when we were confronted while trying to utilise WhatsApp with an agreement form. In essence, this form asks its users to agree to share WhatsApp data with Facebook. The purpose, to ensure that Facebook can send WhatsApp users ads targeted to their specific interests. Millions of users would have just hit agree without even reading the form in its entirety. 
 
It is claimed that ads manipulate the public into wasting scarce resources on unnecessary products by creating desires for them rather than allowing consumers to spend those scarce resources on basic needs. Adversaries of advertising have claimed that it causes materialism and creates, or perpetuates self-destructive behaviours. There was in fact a recent clash between health officials and a company earlier this year purporting that the company’s advertisement was perpetuating this same self-destructive behaviour critics have referred to. The organisation’s social responsibility was called into question over billboards advertising cheap smokes. The corporation was called upon to remove the offending billboards pending legislation to ban this type of ‘substance abuse’. 
 
Advertisers have long attempted to counteract critics by stating that advertising is only a mirror of society. They contend further that the tone of ads follow whichever way the wind is blowing and if the imagery used in ads didn’t sell the products, then different imagery would be used that would sell these products.
 
One point that can be garnered from these criticisms of advertising is that one cannot deny that advertisers indeed wield a great amount of power. That power, however, can and is also used in many positive ways in society. Advertising, while providing useful information about products to consumers, also creates an economic chain reaction, generating both direct and indirect revenue with ripple effects, which play a part in stimulating economic growth.
 
Besides these benefits that ‘product advertising’ creates, advertising plays a very important role in public service messages as well. The intention of these messages are to change the society’s culture as they focus awareness on specific issues that impact the public. Great strides have been made in public service messages, for e.g. the anti-drunk driving, anti-texting while driving, anti-bullying messages, as well as anti-child abuse messages such as: ‘Child abuse is a secret you should never keep’. As technology has become a part of life, so advertising will always be. Since the influence is so pervasive, it is important that advertisers must always be aware that, in the pursuit of improving their bottom line, they must also uphold a high level of corporate responsibility.

Barbados Advocate

Mailing Address:
Advocate Publishers (2000) Inc
Fontabelle, St. Michael, Barbados

Phone: (246) 467-2000
Fax: (246) 434-2020 / (246) 434-1000