Effective communication is a process through which the sender conveys a message that the receiver readily receives and understands. It is a two-way process instead of a one-way process.
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The phenomenon of communication is the natural desire of human beings to express their feelings and the ideas of others. The basic purpose of communication is to bring about changes in the behaviour of the receiver. Its aim is to inform, educate and entertain people.
Given this definition, should advertisers be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please? What are some of the considerations or issues surrounding this question?
Read more: Definition of Effective Communication Skills | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5459110_definition-effective-communication-skills.html#ixzz265GbZBjp
Given this definition, should advertisers be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please? What are some of the considerations or issues surrounding this question?
Advertisers use persuasive communication to market goods and services and to encourage viewers, readers or listeners or a specific group to take some kind of action. They should be allowed to communicate their message as long as they do not offend or lie to any potential receivers of their message.
ReplyDeleteThe ethical issue if truth can be exemplified by the infamous 1991 Volvo commercial incident where a monster truck drives over a line of cars leaving the Volvo as the only car uncrushed. To make the ad however, the film company needed to do multiple takes. They reinforced the car to stand repeated abuse. When the ad was released, Volvo was pilloried, their ad agency was fired, fined and ultimately went out of business. However they did show the truth that if a monster truck runs over you once, you're safer in the Volvo. If ad agencies decided to give the raw truth and not distinguish between branding and informational ads there would be a major uproar against companies such as Always, Pampers, Huggies, Stay Free and Kotex using the real deal instead of the blue liquid currently utilised.
Modern day Old Spice ads as ridiculous as they may be, do in fact relate the truth to their audience that they will smell better and “manlier” whilst entertaining, informing, generating interest in their product and fundamentally persuading viewers into buying their products. However the actor asserts that “anything is possible with Old Spice” as diamonds flow from his hands but, no one would buy the product expecting to receive diamonds. The Old Spice campaign is branding based and not informational. To distinguish informational advertising from branding is to ask whether consumers are supposed to ask whether the claims are true. In the case of the Old Spice body wash TV spot, there’s no question. Branding ads are neither true nor false, you enjoy them or not without worrying about whether it could really happen as with a movie. They sometimes use a strategy known as puffery. Puffery is a technical term in the advertising world. It signifies expressed views that are clearly subjective exaggerations or product slogans, and not meant to be taken literally. That exact line “anything is possible with Old Spice” can be viewed as puffery but is actually an ironic joke about ads which utilise it. Although mostly harmless, puffery gives the consumer the burden of being wary of such claims. Informational ads sell hard facts to consumers. For example if one product claims to be cheaper than the next and turns out not to be, then it can be viewed as being deceitful. For as long as false claims are not made, facts are not concealed or made ambiguous and puffery is not employed advertisers can get their message across however they choose.
Kean Moses
808012038
A advertiser is an individual who makes public announcements stating the qualities and advantages of a product or business to increase sales. I personally believe that an advertiser should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe leeway should be provided so advertisers can be innovative with their advertisement so to provide entertaining ads that will capture the consumers’ eye. However, advertisers should ensure not to blatantly incorporate lies that can be detrimental or affect the consumer in anyway. Moreover, viewers must be able to discern obvious exaggeration from reality. Notable advertisers with highly exaggerated advertisements include Geico. Notable phrases like ‘so easy a caveman can do it’ hints to how easy the process of setting up insurance at the company should be. However in reality there is no possible way a caveman could every set up his own insurance far less need any. Hence, the owness should be on the viewer to be able to discern the real from the unreal rather than limiting the advertisers’ creativity. This is why certain countries such as Australia in the Australian consumer law allow for the use of ‘puffery’ as mentioned by Kean Moses in his above post. Puffery refers to wildly exaggerated, fanciful or vague claims for a product that nobody could possibly treat seriously and that nobody could reasonable be misled by. For instance: “freshest taste ever.’
Despite the allowance for puffery advertisers should ensure not to practice false advertising as it is a criminal act and can lead to loss of credibility in a company’s name or numerous other complications. Also, an advertiser should always ensure that his/ he products is result guaranteed.
Samuel Hytmiah
811000554
I will have to disagree in that i don't think advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way please since ethics, moral standards and the law is of great concern. As you mentioned the phrase ‘so easy a caveman can do it’ is clearly an example of false advertisement which is unethical to the audience/customers and one may not be able 'discern the real from the unreal'. Advertisers should keep in their minds the demographic segmentation in which they are targeting.
DeleteSharmila Ganpat
809002681
In some instances the manner in which the advertisers chose to use a particular means to advertise became unethical or even illegal. A form of advertising is the pricing based method which inculcates hidden fees and surcharges and the misuse of phrases and words such as "free" for example. In most cases, the fees are hidden in fine print. This is unethical and in most cases illegal. The Digicel UWI students 4G package, as another example, has a pamphlet which advertises a lowered price of certain cellular phones that fall within the 4G package with further details in very fine print at the bottom. The large print says that there is a monthly payment of $199 with a 20% discount on particular cellular phones within the package. The fine print has the terms and conditions which applies, however the details are extremely difficult to see and read and may easily be bypassed by the general audience. Considering this and in light of the definition above, which states that the aim of communication “is to inform, educate and entertain people” advertisers should not use means available to them to coerce persons through concealed prices in fine prints, which some members of the public may not be able to see or even read before purchasing the item.
ReplyDeleteSurrogate advertising is another medium used by advertisers in instances where products are against the law in certain countries, for example, cigarettes. The approach is to promote products with the same brand or other similarities with illegal items, with the intention of reminding persons that such a product exist, so that they would go out and buy it. This I do not agree with and as a result I do not agree with the idea that “advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please” since some means can become harmful to members of society.
In addition, there is another form of advertising known as guerrilla marketing which, though referred to by Jonathan Margolis as “a type of marketing that reaches consumers in an engaging and unexpected way”, may constitute some actions illegal in some areas, such as graffiti, sticker bombing and flash mobs (Wikipedia). Therefore again, I do not agree that advertisers should be allowed to use generally any type of advertising that they wish unless this is being used within the law and the ethical boundaries that the country allows.
Jenelle Nicome
810002151
Advertising, based on attraction and information. Advertisers should not be allowed to use what ever means necessary to get their message across. From an economic perspective it prevents new businesses from entering an industry as they may not have the resources to fund and advertising campaign, leaving them vulnerable to attacks from the bigger or leading organisations in that industry. The thought of a new telecommunication service in Trinidad alone explains this point.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason for limiting advertisers use of material is to prevent ethical issues in a society. Trinidad and Tobago, and extensively the Caribbean, where multicultural societies exist, advertisers must seek effective and comprehensive communication methods to broadcast, and not staying within a safe boundary may create conflict with individuals in one culture or ethnic background and the advertiser, leading to losses to that campaign instead of profits.
the consequences of not using what ever means necessary is simple, it prevents risks of bad publicity and builds credibility to a business for good advertising techniques. This proves to be beneficial because a good long term record attracts new and existing stake holders in business. A most popular example is the alcohol beverage industry, where their years in existence, for wines and scotch whiskies, shows prestige to interest buyers.
Deon Yearwood
811000450
Yes, advertising acts to inform, persuade, disarm, alarm and reassure the public. In order to persuade a target audience one must be confident in the effectiveness of how satisfying his or her product or service can be once used correctly. The advertiser must know the advantages and/or disadvantages of his product or services over others in the same industry; he or she must also be well knowledgeable and familiar with the product.
ReplyDeleteOne believes that effective advertising includes innovation allowing the advertiser to communicate his messages in any way they please in order to be effective. Comparing the TTBS Trinidad and Tobago Bureau Standards of 1997 with the Advertising laws of the United States of America It’s clearly seen that advertising in Trinidad and Tobago limits how far an advertiser can go to inform his target group and by such puts the customer at a disadvantage.
E.g. we always see on cable television where US based advertisements such as certain health promoters of products critique others by informing the viewers of some side effects caused by other products which can lead to death. In Trinidad and Tobago, according to the TTBS it is prohibited to do such. The advantage of this is that the general public who looks at the television will be aware of side effects which the original producers of that product may not have discovered in their research as yet.
It’s clearly seen in the USA that companies in the same industry research both their products and other products in order to present sufficient facts during their advertisements. This is by all means going the distance in order to persuade viewers. The advantage of such actions are that one can state it is not safe to use company X’s product or they can also inform people not to purchase company Y’s product all because they have done their research. On the other hand it would simply be unfair to put so much effort into gathering information on the ill effects of the product of the competitor and not be able to share this information with the public.
Given these reasons one can clearly see why advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please, because by doing so the public gets full awareness and will be able to make better choices for allocation of their finance for better value.
References
http://caribbeanresumes.com/company/ttbs
http://www.hg.org/advert.html#1
Kerry Jones
811002090
When it comes to the issue of should advertisers be allowed to publicize as they please it can be argued, although there are rules against such. Let us start with a definition of advertise. The English oxford dictionary states that “to advertise is to describe or draw attention to (a product, service, or event) in a public medium in order to promote sales or attendance.”
ReplyDeleteAdvertising is a form of communication and by definition effective communication is when the sender sends a message to receivers and it is understood as the sender intended. With that being said many persons would see it as being fit for advertisers to do as they please ones the intended message is delivered. It is said that the main purpose of communication is to change the behaviors of the receiver. For many that would also clearly state advertisers should communicate their messages as they wish.
Looking at this from another point of view an advertiser communicating his or her message as he or she feels could run them into being part of what is called false advertising. False advertising is any type of advertising that deceives consumers, also advertising that has the potential to be misunderstood by customers. Owing to many instances of false advertising, there is a regulatory body, US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that steps in to put an end to any potentially misleading or deceptive claims.
The fact that there are rules against false advertising clearly states that advertisers cannot advertise as they please and should therefore work within the advertising rules in order to prevent being taken to the US FTC and charges laid against them.
Persons that see it fit for advertisers to do as they please should greatly consider that there are persons that can not make proper decisions on there own and his type of advertising could land them into purchasing items that may harm them in one way or another instead of doing as is perceived.
JACKIE CHANDLER
810001807
Advertising can be defined as an persuasive act of calling public attention to one's product,service, need etc. Should advertisers be allowed to communicate messages in anyway they please? My answer to this question is no. When communicating a particular message advertisers usually target a particular audience. While advertisers may think that their message is being carried out effectively, there are some viewers who may take offence. Two factors that a commonly being associated with advertising are race and religon. While some advertisers may have become more sensitive and intelligent towards the matter, others are still quite happy to play into fears and stereotypes associated with race and religon.
ReplyDeleteFor example, in 2007 Intel launched a national campaign that was being accused of racist advertising. In the advertisement a white manager stands over six athletes all of African Descent who bow in perfect symmetry before him. Now some may argue that this is depicting powerful slave imagery whilst others may argue its 100% innocent. Over the years,advertising trends have changed dramatically. Thanks to youtube, blogs, facebook, and even basic email, people spend less time watching television commercials and printing ad.Even though advertisers may have a target audience, they need to take into consideration that there are other people who are able to view whatever message they're trying to communicate. They should now consider that certain statements or suggestion may offend certain groups. while the aim of communication is to inform educate and entertain people, advertisers need to take into consideration that it can also lead to conflict between certain groups.
Reference
http://www.adsavvy.org/25-most-racist-advertisements-and-commercials/
Shivani Sinanan
810001322
An advertiser is a person, organization or company that places advertisements in order to target customers. They produce information for promoting the sale of commercial products or services via public notices which are designed to inform and motivate. Their objective is to change the thinking pattern (or buying behavior) of the recipient, so that he or she is persuaded to take the action desired by the advertiser which is to purchase the commodity. According to the Canadian-US advertising pioneer, John E. Kennedy (1864-1928), an advertisement is "salesmanship in print." Therefore, I believe that advertisers should be allowed to communicate their messages in any way they please, as to further increase their sales and profits.
ReplyDeleteThis highlights one of advertisings' most important functions as making the products of industry visible to the public. It is the most visible activity of business, its show window. By presentation of their products, producers are making claims for them, but also they are inviting public criticism and attack if their products do not live up to their promised benefits. For this reason, proponents say it is safer to buy advertised products than unadvertised competing products. The makers of the advertised product put their brand names and reputations on the line. They will try harder than others to fulfill their claims and maintain their good reputations, thus inevitably preventing false advertising.
Advertising is an indispensable part of the marketing strategy of any product or service. A proper advertisement has a great impact on the sales of the product and which is why companies spend huge amounts of money to make effective advertisements. Needless to say, there are many advantages of advertisements. Firstly, it informs people about different products and services, their utilities, cost and other requirements, and helps us in making better purchases. Moreover, advertisements of non-commercial issues like AIDS and Polio can help in educating people and notifying them of events and programs related to them. For advertisers, advertisements can help in attracting huge numbers of potential customers and make positive impacts about their products and services. Advertisements also create a brand name for the product being promoted, thus people can recognize the products from the "catchy" advertisements they see and thus sales are also improved.
Finally, advertising can lead to direct feedback from customers. It has been seen that a lot of opinions are received by advertisers on their product/service, which helps in improving the said product/service. To conclude, although the cost of advertising is quite high, the benefits in the long run balance the high cost associated to it. Consequently, advertisers should concentrate on advertising as an imperative medium using whatsoever means essential to get their message across, due to the immeasurable number of advantages associated with it.
REFERENCE:
http://www.crvp.org/book/Series05/V-4/chapter_vi.htm
SHANYSE TAYLOR
811000107
An advertiser is a person, organization or company that places advertisements in order to target customers. They produce information for promoting the sale of commercial products or services via public notices which are designed to inform and motivate. Their objective is to change the thinking pattern (or buying behavior) of the recipient, so that he or she is persuaded to take the action desired by the advertiser which is to purchase the commodity. According to the Canadian-US advertising pioneer, John E. Kennedy (1864-1928), an advertisement is "salesmanship in print." Therefore, I believe that advertisers should be allowed to communicate their messages in any way they please, as to further increase their sales and profits.
ReplyDeleteThis highlights one of advertisings' most important functions as making the products of industry visible to the public. It is the most visible activity of business, its show window. By presentation of their products, producers are making claims for them, but also they are inviting public criticism and attack if their products do not live up to their promised benefits. For this reason, proponents say it is safer to buy advertised products than unadvertised competing products. The makers of the advertised product put their brand names and reputations on the line. They will try harder than others to fulfill their claims and maintain their good reputations, thus inevitably preventing false advertising.
Advertising is an indispensable part of the marketing strategy of any product or service. A proper advertisement has a great impact on the sales of the product and which is why companies spend huge amounts of money to make effective advertisements. Needless to say, there are many advantages of advertisements. Firstly, it informs people about different products and services, their utilities, cost and other requirements, and helps us in making better purchases. Moreover, advertisements of non-commercial issues like AIDS and Polio can help in educating people and notifying them of events and programs related to them. For advertisers, advertisements can help in attracting huge numbers of potential customers and make positive impacts about their products and services. Advertisements also create a brand name for the product being promoted, thus people can recognize the products from the "catchy" advertisements they see and thus sales are also improved.
Finally, advertising can lead to direct feedback from customers. It has been seen that a lot of opinions are received by advertisers on their product/service, which helps in improving the said product/service. To conclude, although the cost of advertising is quite high, the benefits in the long run balance the high cost associated to it. Consequently, advertisers should concentrate on advertising as an imperative medium using whatsoever means essential to get their message across, due to the immeasurable number of advantages associated with it.
REFERENCE:
http://www.crvp.org/book/Series05/V-4/chapter_vi.htm
SHANYSE TAYLOR
811000107
An advertiser is a person, organization or company that places advertisements in order to target customers. They produce information for promoting the sale of commercial products or services via public notices which are designed to inform and motivate. Their objective is to change the thinking pattern (or buying behavior) of the recipient, so that he or she is persuaded to take the action desired by the advertiser which is to purchase the commodity. According to the Canadian-US advertising pioneer, John E. Kennedy (1864-1928), an advertisement is "salesmanship in print." Therefore, I believe that advertisers should be allowed to communicate their messages in any way they please, as to further increase their sales and profits.
ReplyDeleteThis highlights one of advertisings' most important functions as making the products of industry visible to the public. It is the most visible activity of business, its show window. By presentation of their products, producers are making claims for them, but also they are inviting public criticism and attack if their products do not live up to their promised benefits. For this reason, proponents say it is safer to buy advertised products than unadvertised competing products. The makers of the advertised product put their brand names and reputations on the line. They will try harder than others to fulfill their claims and maintain their good reputations, thus inevitably preventing false advertising.
Advertising is an indispensable part of the marketing strategy of any product or service. A proper advertisement has a great impact on the sales of the product and which is why companies spend huge amounts of money to make effective advertisements. Needless to say, there are many advantages of advertisements. Firstly, it informs people about different products and services, their utilities, cost and other requirements, and helps us in making better purchases. Moreover, advertisements of non-commercial issues like AIDS and Polio can help in educating people and notifying them of events and programs related to them. For advertisers, advertisements can help in attracting huge numbers of potential customers and make positive impacts about their products and services. Advertisements also create a brand name for the product being promoted, thus people can recognize the products from the "catchy" advertisements they see and thus sales are also improved.
Finally, advertising can lead to direct feedback from customers. It has been seen that a lot of opinions are received by advertisers on their product/service, which helps in improving the said product/service. To conclude, although the cost of advertising is quite high, the benefits in the long run balance the high cost associated to it. Consequently, advertisers should concentrate on advertising as an imperative medium using whatsoever means essential to get their message across, due to the immeasurable number of advantages associated with it.
REFERENCE:
http://www.crvp.org/book/Series05/V-4/chapter_vi.htm
SHANYSE TAYLOR
811000107
An advertiser is a person, organization or company that places advertisements in order to target customers. They produce information for promoting the sale of commercial products or services via public notices which are designed to inform and motivate. Their objective is to change the thinking pattern (or buying behavior) of the recipient, so that he or she is persuaded to take the action desired by the advertiser which is to purchase the commodity. According to the Canadian-US advertising pioneer, John E. Kennedy (1864-1928), an advertisement is "salesmanship in print." Therefore, I believe that advertisers should be allowed to communicate their messages in any way they please, as to further increase their sales and profits.
ReplyDeleteThis highlights one of advertisings' most important functions as making the products of industry visible to the public. It is the most visible activity of business, its show window. By presentation of their products, producers are making claims for them, but also they are inviting public criticism and attack if their products do not live up to their promised benefits. For this reason, proponents say it is safer to buy advertised products than unadvertised competing products. The makers of the advertised product put their brand names and reputations on the line. They will try harder than others to fulfill their claims and maintain their good reputations, thus inevitably preventing false advertising.
Advertising is an indispensable part of the marketing strategy of any product or service. A proper advertisement has a great impact on the sales of the product and which is why companies spend huge amounts of money to make effective advertisements. Needless to say, there are many advantages of advertisements. Firstly, it informs people about different products and services, their utilities, cost and other requirements, and helps us in making better purchases. Moreover, advertisements of non-commercial issues like AIDS and Polio can help in educating people and notifying them of events and programs related to them. For advertisers, advertisements can help in attracting huge numbers of potential customers and make positive impacts about their products and services. Advertisements also create a brand name for the product being promoted, thus people can recognize the products from the "catchy" advertisements they see and thus sales are also improved.
Finally, advertising can lead to direct feedback from customers. It has been seen that a lot of opinions are received by advertisers on their product/service, which helps in improving the said product/service. To conclude, although the cost of advertising is quite high, the benefits in the long run balance the high cost associated to it. Consequently, advertisers should concentrate on advertising as an imperative medium using whatsoever means essential to get their message across, due to the immeasurable number of advantages associated with it.
REFERENCE:
http://www.crvp.org/book/Series05/V-4/chapter_vi.htm
SHANYSE TAYLOR
811000107
Advertisers should be allowed to communicate their messages but with restrictions on the content being advertised,therefore, with respect to the question it won't be 100% "as they please".Yes the purpose is to inform,educate and entertain but if the message is twisted in a way that the content is violent,has over exposure,involves the use animals being treated inhumanely,gives the wrong interpretation of the intended message or encourages illegal activities then advertisers should not advertise as they please.It is by far 'entertaining' to think that for example,product A is not synthetic and made from real fur or feather.That said,advertisers have their say in what is being promoted whether said,shown or implied but to give them the privilege to say what they want is over stepping it when they focus on only selling the product and leave out the minor details such as 'may cause swelling.If this continues,immediately visit a doctor'.In some sense it would be false advertising by leaving out what needs to be said.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the advertisers having their choice of any channel to send their message,if everyone had access to the same channels for any amount of time,any day, based on how much they pay,there will be an overflow of 'ads' in the media.This will get the message out there but at the same time no one wants to only see and hear advertisements across every media.In the end those channels can only loose viewers and listeners.The question at hand was not specific,that is, if it was referring to advertisers being allowed to communicate their message based on the contents of the message or the channels used by advertisers for broadcasting.There cannot be a definite yes or no to the question because advertisers pay for their product to be advertised as they want but they cannot have full control over the media and must send their message appropriately.
Beena Ramkissoon
810003839
An advertiser is a person, organization or company that places advertisements in order to target customers. They produce information for promoting the sale of commercial products or services via public notices which are designed to inform and motivate. Their objective is to change the thinking pattern (or buying behavior) of the recipient, so that he or she is persuaded to take the action desired by the advertiser which is to purchase the
ReplyDeletecommodity. According to the Canadian-US advertising pioneer, John E. Kennedy (1864-1928), an advertisement is "salesmanship in print." Therefore, I believe that advertisers should be allowed to communicate their messages in any way they please, as to further increase their sales and profits.
This highlights one of advertisings' most important functions as making the products of industry visible to the public. It is the most visible activity of business, its show window. By presentation of their products, producers are making claims for them, but also they are inviting public criticism and attack if their products do not live up to their promised benefits. For this reason, proponents say it is safer to buy advertised products than unadvertised competing products. The makers of the advertised product put their brand names and reputations on the line. They will try harder than others to fulfill their claims and maintain their good reputations, thus inevitably preventing false advertising.
Advertising is an indispensable part of the marketing strategy of any product or service. A proper advertisement has a great impact on the sales of the product and which is why companies spend huge amounts of money to make effective advertisements. Needless to say, there are many advantages of advertisements. Firstly, it informs people about different products and services, their utilities, cost and other requirements, and helps us in making better purchases. Moreover, advertisements of non-commercial issues like AIDS and Polio can help in educating people and notifying them of events and programs related to them. For advertisers, advertisements can help in attracting huge numbers of potential customers and make positive impacts about their products and services. Advertisements
also create a brand name for the product being promoted, thus people can recognize the products from the "catchy" advertisements they see and thus sales are also improved.
Finally, advertising can lead to direct feedback from customers. It has been seen that a lot of opinions are received by advertisers on their product/service, which helps in improving the said product/service. To conclude, although the cost of advertising is quite high, the benefits in the long run balance the high cost associated to it. Consequently, advertisers should concentrate on advertising as an imperative medium using whatsoever means essential to get their message across, due to the immeasurable number of advantages associated with it.
REFERENCE:
http://www.crvp.org/book/Series05/V-4/chapter_vi.htm
SHANYSE TAYLOR
811000107
An advertiser is a person, organization or company that places advertisements in order to target customers. They produce information for promoting the sale of commercial products or services via public notices which are designed to inform and motivate. Their objective is to change the thinking pattern (or buying behavior) of the recipient, so that he or she is persuaded to take the action desired by the advertiser which is to purchase the
ReplyDeletecommodity. According to the Canadian-US advertising pioneer, John E. Kennedy (1864-1928), an advertisement is "salesmanship in print." Therefore, I believe that advertisers should be allowed to communicate their messages in any way they please, as to further increase their sales and profits.
This highlights one of advertisings' most important functions as making the products of industry visible to the public. It is the most visible activity of business, its show window. By presentation of their products, producers are making claims for them, but also they are inviting public criticism and attack if their products do not live up to their promised benefits. For this reason, proponents say it is safer to buy advertised products than unadvertised competing products. The makers of the advertised product put their brand names and reputations on the line. They will try harder than others to fulfill their claims and maintain their good reputations, thus inevitably preventing false advertising.
Advertising is an indispensable part of the marketing strategy of any product or service. A proper advertisement has a great impact on the sales of the product and which is why companies spend huge amounts of money to make effective advertisements. Needless to say, there are many advantages of advertisements. Firstly, it informs people about different products and services, their utilities, cost and other requirements, and helps us in making better purchases. Moreover, advertisements of non-commercial issues like AIDS and Polio can help in educating people and notifying them of events and programs related to them. For advertisers, advertisements can help in attracting huge numbers of potential customers and make positive impacts about their products and services. Advertisements
also create a brand name for the product being promoted, thus people can recognize the products from the "catchy" advertisements they see and thus sales are also improved.
Finally, advertising can lead to direct feedback from customers. It has been seen that a lot of opinions are received by advertisers on their product/service, which helps in improving the said product/service. To conclude, although the cost of advertising is quite high, the benefits in the long run balance the high cost associated to it. Consequently, advertisers should concentrate on advertising as an imperative medium using whatsoever means essential to get their message across, due to the immeasurable number of advantages associated with it.
REFERENCE:
http://www.crvp.org/book/Series05/V-4/chapter_vi.htm
SHANYSE TAYLOR
811000107
(Verderber 2010) states that, communication is the process of creating or sharing meaning in an informal conversation, group interaction or public speaking. The purpose of communication is to inform, persuade and entertain. Advertising is also a form of communication that is used to encourage and change the opinions of its audience. Its language is highly persuasive.
ReplyDeleteThroughout history we have seen different types of advertising and it has certainly evolved. Advertisers communicate to buyers through different mediums such as billboards, television and internet. While it is necessary that they get their message across, they should not be allowed to communicate in any way they please since their messages are directed to a mass audience which include children. It should also be avoided since individuals decode texts differently and what is acceptable for one may not be so for the other. There are many issues that need to be taken into consideration when advertising.
One of the major issues is advertising is aimed at children. It is often argued that these ads create materialistic non-thinkers who are easily manipulated by the ads and as such feel the need for parents to buy what is advertised. There is also the issue of indecent and obscene language and behaviour penetrated in ads and this represents the majority of modern day ads. Advertisers are often criticized for misleading the public. Of course the Committee of Advertising Practice is responsible for laying down rules but it is often manipulated or ignored.
Reference
Verderber, Kathleen. Communicate!. Canada: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2010
Kervelle Liverpool
808012462
Advertising is a form of communication that is used by businesses, companies and other organizations to promote,inform,persuade,educate and encourage an audience, listener or receiver about their goods and services they are offering."Advertising says to people, 'Here's what we've got. Here's what it will do for you. Here's how to get it'."
ReplyDeleteTo a certain extent I believe that advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please as long as they do not create a false impression over the product or service they are offering. In order to effectively communicate messages, the advertiser must be able to inform the audience by explaining how the product or service works, building an image, reducing the buyer's fear etc. He must also be able to persuade the target audience by persuading them to buy now, encouraging them to switch to their brand and by changing the consumer perceptions of product attributes etc. He must also remind customers that the product may be needed in the near future and where it can be readily available.
There may be issues surrounding this question, where sometimes advertisements do not turn out to be what the advertiser expects but its just a lie to get customers to buy their product or service. For example have you ever looked at a product and noticed a stamp or seal which proclaimed that the item in your hand was endorsed or approved by some agency you've never heard of? That's probably because that agency doesn't really exist. Companies will often create their own agencies to endorse their products, giving consumers the false impression that the product has been given the thumbs up by an authority on the issue. For instance, there's the "Smart Choice Made Easy" seal found on various food products in supermarkets across the US. This seal and its implied health endorsement was created by one of the largest food manufacturers in the world, and was designed to make consumers think that those products were, well "smart" choices than other products which did not have that seal. However the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) realized that brands were applying the seal and the brought the hammer down. According to Kean Moses, as long as false claims are not made, advertisers can get their message across however they choose.
References
http://www.spike.com/articles/kz1i3g/the-top-seven-ways-advertisers-lie-to-you
http://www.hi.com.au/engproj/pdf/HEPAdvert.pdf
KEIRAN BRIDGLAL
810001787
Advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please. Advertising is used as a medium of communication. At times it may be effective and sometimes they are not. There are may ways of ensuring such effectiveness such as planning, presenting, delivering and monitoring, evaluation and follow up.
ReplyDeleteIn recent times advertising mainly for money has simply become a new trend whereby in some cases it creates an ethical issue of bending the truth, for example, in some medicinal advertisements, every company wants to make their product look good so they highlight the positive sides which is then repeated throughout the entire advertisement, then coming to the end the side effects is stated once at a very fast pace. This shows that YES the truth is told but it is done in such a way that the mass audience already believes that the product will work and there is not a negative effect of using such product.
Another issue is the ability of the advertiser to persuade mass audiences as well as they do. One big problem which can be found around the world is obesity and unhealthy eating. They see this as a method in which they can exploit because according to the world, an ideal body is slender women and males with incredibly large muscles. For example, Masses are persuaded to believe that Coke Zero has little to no calories and can help to lose weight faster while still being able to enjoy the beverage. This is a creative task as it tries to maintain their average number of sales while "promoting" the problem of unhealthy eating.
During historical times, as revolution was beginning to make a wave in Western societies, the number of advertisements viewed was very small. However,in today's society there is a large number of advertisements because of competition on the open market. Each company tries their best to sway the masses to buy their products and because of this if advertisers were allowed to deliver their messages in any way that they pleased then there would be a major problem. This is because of the desire by these businesses for sales that some companies would do 'anything' for their products to be sold.
Therefore it is believed that advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way that they please and such advertisements are to be restricted and limited because of the problems of ethical issues, persuasion and that companies would get a fair chance to advertise products. It is of this view which ensures the safety and that the general audience would not be exploited simply because an organisation generally wants to make money.
References
1. http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/3001 - Ethics in Advertising
2.http://www.waset.org/journals/ijhss/v2/v2-6-53.pdf - The Issues of Effectiveness of Advertisement
Communication Process:
A Case Study of Lithuania Consumers
Kadienne Henry
811000072
I agree with the statement you made about advertisements in recent times being particularly focused on making money. This in iteself, is a clear indication whereby advertisers will do anything possible to promote the product/ service at hand, with little or no consideration paid to ethics and moral standards. I would just like to add to your point about medicinal advertisements. Yes, they do state the side effects very quickly as you mentioned however because it is done at the end, the audience may have already been pursuaded. Another technique which is used in medicinal advertisements is that od dramatization. This causes the audience to believe that the product will deliver similar results in the real life scenario however, when this is not so, the question of creditability of the source arises.
DeleteAmanda Rampersad
809100063
Advertising is a form of communication for making a product or service known to a consumer or to persuade an audience to take some sort of action because of it.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers should use any means possible to appeal to an audience, as long as it isn't illegal or causes an uproar or offends any particular group in society. It should be the audiences duty to decide what is real and what is not in the advertisements.The consumer can simply choose to look away from the television or turn off the radio or what have you if the advertisement is unacceptable to them.
For example: In the Pepsi ad, the advertiser uses our senses of sight, sound, taste, smell to appeal to us. The sound of the ice falling into the glass, the Pepsi being poured into the glass and the bubbles filling up causes one to feel the urge to indulge in an ice cold Pepsi. However in the ad the crowd rushing to get a Pepsi runs crazily to obtain one. In reality the consumer would not behave in such a manner to get a Pepsi. So in this ad the advertiser uses any means possible to entice the audience and now it is the audience decision to choose the reality of the ad as compared to the fictional/ comical parts of the ad.
References: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/6414/Advertising-Effects.html
http://www.englishforums.com/English/AdvertiseeVsAdvertiser/vlzcr/post.htm
MAHESHAWARIE MAHARAJ
810001384
In Today’s volatile economy, advertising has become an important and necessary part of society; it plays a powerful role on the growth and stimulation of an economy. According to the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) (tutor2u, n. d., para. 1), “advertising is the means of providing the most persuasive possible selling message to the right prospects at the lowest possible cost.” Furthermore Philip Kotler (2000, 548) purports that, “advertising can be viewed as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services through mass media such as newspapers, magazines, television or radio by an identified sponsor.” In essence one may define advertising as an art of persuasion. However, advertising can be negative it can have ramifications in hurting an individual physically, emotionally or mentally or the society as a whole for instance the objectifying and sexualizing of blonde women or the Indian advertisement for the beauty cream “fair and lovely” which focused on a “fairer girl getting the boy”, this implies that the “fairer” woman would get the boy over the darker skinned woman. This advertisement sparked widespread condemnation for its implications of insulting the darker skinned populace. Therefore it is very vital that advertising professionals be responsible and observes high ethical standards with regard to truthfulness and social responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteAdvertising generally has few legal and ethical restrictions with the exception of advertising to children where self-regulating organizations like the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) that evaluates child-directed advertising and promotional material in all media to advance truthfulness, accuracy and consistency. Burger King, McDonald’s and NBC have taken active measures to eliminate advertising that can be harmful to children, particularly in the area of junk food. The fact is that advertisers should be truthful and responsible in the measures they adopt to sell their products, however, the level of truthfulness is sometimes blurred for example the case of the Volvo commercial where they asserted that a monster truck could drive over the Volvo car and it would be left uncrushed. This was a novel idea but the fact was that the commercial’s car had to be reinforced with steel beams so that it could withstand the weight of the monster truck multiple times since the car has to be shot at different angles. When the advertisement was released the company pilloried and the advertising agency was eventually fired. But the truth was that you are safer in a Volvo if a monster truck runs you over once. The issue arising is whether advertisers can safely simulate to illustrate the truth, but to answer this one will have to ask if brands like Huggies and Stayfree used the real stuff instead of the blue water would the higher purpose be served.
Furthermore researchers have found that viewers tend to respond better to socially responsible companies such as Johnson and Johnson who have always advocated for environmentally friendly products that are safe for the consumer and the environment.
In conclusion advertising is an important element in any society and can play a constructive role in the stimulation of economic growth. However, advertisers need to be socially responsible and ethical in the measures they adopt to inform, persuade and remind the consumers of their products.
Bibliographic Reference:
Chris Moore. “Ethics in Advertising.”
Advertising Educational Foundation, 2004
http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/3001
Elearn Portal. “Advertising Course”
http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/business/advertising/advertising-introduction
Martha Shaw. “Can advertising be ethical?”
Ethical Markets, 2012
http://www.ethicalmarkets.com/2008/10/17/can-advertising-be-ethical/
Cristal Bassaw
04734327
Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade an audience(viewers,readers or sometimes a specific group)to continue or take some new action.
ReplyDeleteI think advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please as long as they don't lie or its illegal.Advertising plays an important part in the functioning of modern market economies.Advertising can be a useful tool for sustaining honest and ethically responsible competition that contributes to economic growth.It does this by informing people about available of rationally desirable new products and services and improvements in existing ones.It also help them make informed prudent consumer decisions contributing to efficiency, the lowering of prices and stimulating economic progress through the expansion of business and trade.
Advertising can also be used for harm by misrepresentation and by with holding relevant facts.I don't approve of this because this can convince people to act in a certain ways by certain products or services and this is where particular abuses can occur.It may also attempt to move people to act on the basis of irrational motives(Brand loyalty,status fashion,sex appeal, etc.)instead of presenting different in product quality and price as bases for rational choice.
References
http://www.englishforums.com/English/AdvertiseeVsAdvertiser/vlzcr/post.htm
EARLE JOHN
809003547
Advertising is a skillful method of persuasion which uses a sophisticated blueprint of human psychology. Its main focus is to captivate its consumers and extract their money, by doing so; advertisements use very little facts and often over exaggerate the effects of products.
ReplyDeletePersuasion is such a powerful tool that advertisers should not be granted the authority to convey their messages as they so desire. The main goal of advertisers is not to educate the public but to create market demands and manipulate consumers into choosing their products over other similar brands.
Harry Hollingworth one of the first psychologists to link psychology with advertising, believed that advertising had to accomplish four things: it must attract a consumer’s attention, focus the attention on the message, make the consumer remember the message and cause the consumer to take the desired action.
Whether this may have a negative or positive impact on consumers, it is by far the least concern for advertisers. For example, advertisements pertaining to weight loss often target a particular group of consumers. Images used of ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots of models are often photo shopped creating the illusion that appeals to the consumers’ desires, despite the fact that the particular product may have side effects detrimental to health, it is often ignored because the image of looking slimmer and shedding pounds has already been imprinted in the minds of the target group.
As mentioned before by another colleague, advertisers use puffery to persuade consumers. More often than not it is used to compare similar products, giving the advantages of their product and using the disadvantages of the other product as means to entice the consumer to purchase the particular item. For example some detergents may advertise that you get more loads per bottle than the leading brands and some medications may advertise that you have less complication and reactions than other brands. By natural instinct, a consumer will feel compelled to purchase a product where they can get more for their money but the reality is these items or no different from the other brands that they claim to be better than.
Therefore advertisers should not be giving the privilege to communicate messages as they deem necessary because of the discrepancies often omitted that can be have a negative impact on consumers.
References
psychcentral.com/thepsychology-of-advertising
Shanice Murray
410001400
The field of advertising is very broad and diverse. There are eight (8) major ways in advertising: television, radio, print, online, billboard, in-store, word of mouth and endorsements (Gentry, 2010). All of these have an important commonality, which is the purpose of promoting goods and services to the public. The various ways of advertising targets an array of audiences which can be based on different factors (gender, age etc).
ReplyDeleteOn cable television, which is mostly US based advertising, there are many advertisements which in my opinion are deemed unsuitable for certain audiences e.g. minors (any person below the age of 16). For example in the fashion industry, most of the advertisements developed include half naked persons both men and women promoting the product. Even the perfume and cologne ads have similar content. These in my opinion are quite vulgar and far from the purpose the product is meant to serve. Advertisements of this nature tend to be quite misleading and inappropriate for certain audiences. This brings up the issue of scheduling, where it is thought that these ads should be shown when the majority of minors are not looking at television; particularly after hours.
Also in the US, the advertising industry is extremely competitive due to the intense amount of companies, products etc. Therefore, a common technique used is that of comparison whereby in promoting a product its advantages are highlighted and compared to another brand of the same product, particularly emphasizing on the disadvantages of the other product. This is done to encourage viewers of the public to instantly choose the product with the “better portfolio.” However, this technique has some flaws in that not everything being advertised is true. Some information conveyed may be misleading and false, raising concerns of the creditability of the course. Also everyone is entitled to their own opinion therefore, what may seem bad for one may be good for another depending on personal preference.
With this being said, I strongly believe that advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please. I think there should be better implementations of restrictions on advertisements. This will ensure that all advertisements will be tasteful and in conformity with morals and standards making the issue of scheduling nonexistent. This will allow the advertisement to be shown to at all times, with maximum air time and promotion of the product.
References:
http://suite101.com/article/types-of-advertising-a183934
http://www.myprofessionaladvertising.com/Legal%20Issues%20in%20Advertising1.htm
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_22021997_ethics-in-ad_en.html
Amanda Rampersad
809100063
i agree strongly on the point of presenting products because of brands when some of the information are not entirely true in an effort to persuade views to buy their products. credibility is very important to a consumer as this will increase the customers buying, also if a product does not do what it says it is misleading and wrong.
DeleteAdvertising is a vastly visible business activity in no doubt that it entices all of us in a number of ways. Basically, it is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Even though one has freedom of speech, in some occurrences the means in which advertisers promote their product is either unethical or illegal.
ReplyDeleteOne major question asked is “do companies have the requirement to tell the truth or does the goal of marketing the product override such ethical concerns?” In my opinion, advertisers should tell the truth otherwise false advertisement would be profound. One main example of false advertisement is that of Skechers USA Inc, which were determined to be unsubstantiated associated to advertisements that claimed Shape-ups would help people lose weight, toughen and tone their buttocks, legs and abdominal muscles. The advertisement which aired during the 2011 Super Bowl showed that the newest way to burn calories, tone and strengthen muscles was to tie their Shape-ups shoe laces. Obviously, the message is that you do not need to work out if you wear Shape-ups, which turns out to be precisely untrue.
Surrogate advertising is somewhat a form of illegal advertising in which it is seen in cases where advertising a particular product is banned by law. Advertisements for products such as cigarettes or alcohol which are detrimental to health are forbidden by law in several countries. Michigan is one named state where cigarettes are prohibited. Corporations arise with numerous different products that have the same product or brand name and indirectly recap people of the cigarettes or alcohol of the same brand by advertising the other products. This should not be since harm is done to one’s own body and may result in death.
Another illegal example is a tactic being placed for an item of remarkable value. Upon reaching the store the customers finds the item is “no longer available” and hence is directed to a similar item, that while was not as good a bargain closely matches what they came in for.
With these points being of major concern, it is prominent that advertising is an important element in today’s society however; it can also do and often does great harm to individuals and to the common good.
References:
http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2012/06/18/skechers-to-pay-40-million-for-false-advertising/id=25586/
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:0nKujLpwhooJ:smallbusiness.chron.com/list-ethical-legal-issues-advertising-11466.html+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=tt
Sharmila Ganpat
809002681
Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and is used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, listeners or readers; sometimes a specific group, to continue or take some new actions. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is common. The purpose of advertising may also be to reassure employees and shareholders that a company is viable or successful.
ReplyDeleteIn today’s society advertising is the most important tool in the marketing of products and services. Advertising assist companies by informing their audience about the different products and services that the companies have to offer. Advertisers should be allowed to use whatever means necessary to get their message across so that there product or service can be fully expose and recognize by their consumers and it is a costly. Advertisers should also be given free will to advertise their product and services due to the competitive business world, and with authorities restricting certain rites from these advertisers some of their products are not fully exposed to the consumers. These advertisers are not controlling the mind of individuals who purchase their product, they are free to buy or leave the product.
There are key issues which advertisers face when advertising. Some of these issues are Alcohol, Children, Food and Body image. Advertisers are restricted by various organizations to freely advertise due to these four issues. Also in the advertising world there are consequences that are faced. These are the Hidden cost which is the cost that advertisers have to pay for their advertisement and Conditioning and Fake trend setting which is the way advertisers hypnotizes the mass population by creating trends that consumers will follow.
Also in advertising there are benefits. Some of these benefits are Information to the customer which is advertisement about new products which keeps the customer informed about the new developments in the industry, Improves the sale of Product which is the way advertising facilitates a noticeable increase in sale of the product, and lastly Alters the attitude of people which is an effectual advertisement results in a swift change in the attitudes and habits of people.
It can be concluded that advertisers should be allowed to use whatever means necessary to get their message across due to the heavily competitive business world and with the advertisers given the privilege to free advertise there can get to successfully expose their product to their consumers.
Bibliography
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2352485
http://www.adassoc.org.uk/Advertising-Issues
http://www.realcool.biz/articles/The_Negative_Effects_of_Advertising_a34_f0.html
http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-advertising/
Dareem Moore
811003089
According to Presidia Creative, “Advertising is one of the few industries that is not afraid to push the boundaries of acceptability, and is not afraid to offend in order to convey a message.” For example, advertisements highlighting sensitive and widespread issues about substance abuse, smoking, crime etc. push their limits to grab the attention of their target audience and connect with them. In cases like these, in my opinion, advertisers should be allowed to use “whatever means necessary” to get their message across because extreme content at times can target the minds of most individuals especially when they see what adverse effects of smoking can do to the lungs, effects of drunken driving, obesity, cancer and homeless children. Issues like these assist in bringing forth awareness to members in society causing them to reflect and possibly change their lifestyle habits. By pushing their boundaries, advertisers are then fulfilling their roles to educate, inform and instruct the receivers of their message. In contrast, good advertisers should know when to use their discretion depending on the category of their audience in which they wish to target effectively. For example, when targeting children, advertisers should review their strategies carefully because children are members in society that have fragile minds and are easily influenced by what they see, hear and repeat. Yes they may be the sophisticated receptors of advertisements; however, they are not in the position to make consumer decisions on their own. In the US for example, advertising is considered a freedom of speech and opinion therefore, any attempt made to restrict and band advertising is considered to be an attack on fundamental rights. On the other hand in Trinidad, advertisers are not allowed to push their limits when it comes to advertising which in turn can reap both advantages and disadvantages because advertisers can both go to extremes and take advantage of cost, influence on consumers, stereotyping (like in the US) or due to restrictions are forced to utilize limited resources effectively or if not given proper thought can waste resources (like in Trinidad). In my opinion, once advertisers are most importantly, connecting with its audience, creating ads. that are memorable and easily recalled, provide information quickly and sufficiently, don’t confuse the viewer or make them hunt for pertinent information and call the viewer to action using “whatever means necessary” should be given the “go ahead”. On the contrary, advertisers who choose to fulfil these same roles following ethical rules and regulations should be given the “go ahead” as well.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
1) http://www.agamaadvertising.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=95&Itemid=140
2)http://www.presidiacreative.com/60-extreme-advertisements-that-push-boundaries-and-buttons/
3)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_advertising
SHANIECE MITCHELL
811000364
Question: Should advertisers be allowed to use “what means necessary” to get their message across?
ReplyDeleteAdvertisements are defined as a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade and audience to continue or take some action. This form of communication is design to target the public spending power. One of the main objectives of advertising is to target different sectors of the society and develop campaigns to persuade them towards these products or services. These stimuli are to appeal to the senses of their targets since persuasion works only to products and services people have heard about. According to Lowery and DeFleur 1995, it is said that people were assumed to be uniformly controlled by their biologically based instincts and what they react more or less uniformly to whatever stimuli came along. For centuries marketing sectors have studied their targets and used many strategies to enhance their marketing skills to present products making it appealing to the eye. The hypodermic needle approach is said to inject its message straight into the passive audience. Croteau, Haynes 1997.
Human kind has been misused by marketing companies in their quest to sell whatever inventions they intend to place on the market. When a target is said to be studied and information concerning their fears, drives and ambitions is determined, this data is then carefully analyzed as to determine the course of action into the marketing and advertising of such services or products mainly to receive optimal yield of sales. If such devices have to be used to execute the way forward for these companies it can be said to be manipulation. It has been documented the negative effects some advertisements have on some buyers and users of the information. For example many advertisements use slim physically attractive women to sell many products, while many are tailored to the senses of men yet these same advertisements are seen as using subliminal messages geared towards persons whose physical structures which are not accepted by society to make choices which can become hazardous to their health. In a society where physical appearances are paramount to many young women especially teenager excessive advertising with the goal of only selling a product can have repercussions. To be socially acceptable with the norms these advertisements form can increase the development of many psychological disorders in the quest to fit in with the so called acceptable. Some housewives are noted by testimonials to purchase excess household items with no intention of ever using them and become distracted by these well put together compelling advertisements.
I too can identify with this distractions when all these intended messages of the ads conveys, that adding this one extra device can make my house a home. Are these strategies meant to lead the unaware recipients in arriving at state of bankruptcy as a result of stimuli used? Without a doubt marketing companies are justified in doing studies and using some level of strategies to accomplish their objectives and goal but using extensive persuasion and whatever means necessary to convey the message to buyers can be a form of manipulation and cannot be accepted.
Name: Shirlan Rameau
Student ID# 811005616
In advertisement, the burden of responsibility does not fall with the receiver or the sender. Any message can be mistakenly decoded, making it impossible to validate the regulation of advertisements.
ReplyDeleteThe issues of ethical advertising depend entirely on the spoken and unspoken rules of the society in which it is being employed. What is considered normal in Holland or Denmark may be taboo, for example, in Dubai. This was observed in the recent change to the Starbucks logo in the Arab Emirates. Where laws can be enforced or companies can be pushed into regulating the way in which communication is delivered, but these take place under the inherent assumption that all members in a society think, act and respond in the same way.
Though there may be offense to some for any number of reasons, the freedoms of the rights of the general population to access and decode a message as they see fit must be respected. An advertising campaign like Stag’s recent one, for example, can be perceived as sexist by some. Its campaign slogan, “It’s a Man’s World, You Wouldn’t Understand,” can potentially be interpreted as sexist, blatantly chauvinistic and condescending, but it is up to the recipient of the message to see it as such. A feminist may view it as a vulgar, blatant assault on the collective intelligence of Trinidad & Tobago’s women, but a middle-aged man with a wife and two children may see it as playfully clever.
There are, however, potential issues of moral or ethical improprieties: advertisement campaigns have at their disposal the ability to manipulate the personal feelings, insecurities and general mind-sets of intended or unintended audiences. Advertisements offering weight loss or fitness supplements may include photographs edited in such a way as to deliver the visual message of a “perfect” body size, intended directly to play on the innate human desire to be attractive to others in their social groups. This though, once again, depends entirely on the method and/or results of the recipient’s decoding.
In conclusion, to regulate advertisement would be, in essence, to regulate the ability and freedoms of the public to interpret a message as they see fit. This is a travesty of justice, and should at all costs be avoided.
References:
http://www.andfaraway.net/blog/2011/01/06/new-starbucks-logo-in-saudi-arabia/
http://www.stagamansworld.com/
http://www.freedieting.com/body_image.htm
Dana-Marie K. Dhanpath
04789205
Question: Should advertisers be allowed to use “what means necessary” to get their message across?
ReplyDeleteAdvertisements are defined as a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade and audience to continue or take some action. This form of communication is design to target the public spending power. One of the main objectives of advertising is to target different sectors of the society and develop campaigns to persuade them towards these products or services. These stimuli are to appeal to the senses of their targets since persuasion works only to products and services people have heard about. According to Lowery and DeFleur 1995, it is said that people were assumed to be uniformly controlled by their biologically based instincts and what they react more or less uniformly to whatever stimuli came along. For centuries marketing sectors have studied their targets and used many strategies to enhance their marketing skills to present products making it appealing to the eye. The hypodermic needle approach is said to inject its message straight into the passive audience. Croteau, Haynes 1997.
Human kind has been misused by marketing companies in their quest to sell whatever inventions they intend to place on the market. When a target is said to be studied and information concerning their fears, drives and ambitions is determined, this data is then carefully analyzed as to determine the course of action into the marketing and advertising of such services or products mainly to receive optimal yield of sales. If such devices have to be used to execute the way forward for these companies it can be said to be manipulation. It has been documented the negative effects some advertisements have on some buyers and users of the information. For example many advertisements use slim physically attractive women to sell many products, while many are tailored to the senses of men yet these same advertisements are seen as using subliminal messages geared towards persons whose physical structures which are not accepted by society to make choices which can become hazardous to their health. In a society where physical appearances are paramount to many young women especially teenager excessive advertising with the goal of only selling a product can have repercussions. To be socially acceptable with the norms these advertisements form can increase the development of many psychological disorders in the quest to fit in with the so called acceptable. Some housewives are noted by testimonials to purchase excess household items with no intention of ever using them and become distracted by these well put together compelling advertisements.
I too can identify with this distraction when all the messages of these ads conveys, that adding this one extra device can make my house a home. Are these strategies meant to lead the unaware recipients in arriving at state of bankruptcy as a result of stimuli used? Without a doubt marketing companies are justified in doing studies and using some level of strategies to accomplish their objectives and goal but using extensive persuasion and whatever means necessary to convey the message to buyers can be a form of manipulation and cannot be accepted.
Name: Shirlan Rameau
Student ID# 811005616
References:
En.wikipedia.org/wiki Advertising
Dictionary. Reference.com
Advertising and persuasion. Unrestrictedarea.com/esl/advertising
Advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in whatever manner they choose. Advertising sometimes requires exaggeration, irony, euphemisms and other advertising tactics. However, there are limits and the use of morals and ethics should be utilized. An example is advertisements that attempt to persuade persons to purchase medication or some other form of medical device/product. The advertisement is quite appealing and successful at persuasion. The possible side effects however are either rattled off at the end of the commercial or written in fine print at the bottom of the television screen. For whose eyes to see and read within the limited time allotted for the sometimes lengthy list? As is seen on television, there have been several instances in the US where the 'medications' have been recalled and lawsuits filed against the company due to side effects incurred for the product's use. These side effects in some cases included lifelong suffering, death and/or medical complications. The public should not have been duped into purchasing and using the product at all.
ReplyDeleteOne can argue that the use of puffery in advertising is completely acceptable as persons would be able to differentiate between the truths, lies and the other tactics employed by advertisers. However, not everyone has the mental capacity to determine whether what they see and/or hear is true or untrue.
Advertisements aimed at persuading the public to buy a particular product need to be effective so as to yield the desired result - increased profit, new costumers, etc. It is a business so therefore, its goal is to generate profits, this cannot be argued. Nevertheless, when ads are used solely to increase revenue and profit, caution should be taken with respect to strategies used as the ads may appeal to persons outside of the target audience and the result may negatively outweigh the benefits.
Therefore, advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Drug Recalls. 09 11, 2012. http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/DrugRecalls/default.htm (accessed 09 15, 2012).
Annisa Phillip
810003225
Everything in life surrounds the concept of big business and for a business to be successful, advertising is key. Advertises use the ever present medium of mass communication. Mass communication is the vehicle through which shared meaning is created via the media to an audience. However in a country where there is a considerate belief that speech and expression is free, it is my belief that with mass advertising, there must be a level of responsibility.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers should move away from the archaic plastic figures that are used in commercials, billboards etc. Marketing firms have lost touch with the ‘everyman’. There is a tradition of using slim, fair skinned individuals to sell a product. But how much of the population does that represent? This form of advertising has brought about a culture of self-consciousness with respect to the way we look and feel.
Advertisements must also be conscious of time and place. A male enhancement commercial should not be placed during family prime whereas a condom billboard has no place next to a schoolyard. While the right to advertise should be exercised, companies must always remember who their targeted audience is. An empty time slot or billboard is no excuse to carelessly solicit a product.
Finally advertisers should show respect to their audience. People want to see themselves in advertisements because it means nothing when taken out of the context of humanity. Advertisers should not use humour as a means to belittle the audience. While Trinidad and Tobago thrives on the use of ‘bacchanal’ to portray a point, it should not be forgotten that society is becoming more educated.
In retrospect while it is prudent to keep the spirit of advertising and commercialism alive. Like every great tool, it must be used responsibly so that it can be used effectively.
SIDDHI SANKAR
811001163
According to Media Studies theorist, Sut Jhally, It is often difficult to allocate the origin of our most cherished values and opinions as we currently live in a consumer society and most of have done so for most of our lives. In short, the Media impresses a stamp upon all of us, thus telling us what to think about while selling us notions of success, love, sexuality and even spirituality. As such, we as a society have become unable to pick apart the communicative elements of effective marketing strategies and campaigns nicely packaged by experienced advertisers and as a result there exists a wholehearted acceptance of representations made through the channel of the mass media. No longer are we able to decipher the craft of expensive ad campaigns. In essence, it can be deduced that advertisers do get away with communicating messages as they see fit without severe ramifications and legal wrangling. Cigarette companies continue to show the 'cool aspect' of smoking once they flash an almost invisible disclaimer to the bottom of the screen, clothing & perfume lines and even environmental campaigns continue to objectify women's body for the purpose of selling a product or advancing a cause, while men are almost always portrayed as hyper-sexualized and dominant in an effort to sell notions of sex and success. The roles displayed through the media have become so normalized that we as a society are not conscious that the advertisers have already gotten away with communicating any message for profit as they see fit. Consequently, media advocacy sites and forums are now playing ‘ketch-up’ while the state explores legal constraints to keep citizens safe by imploring them to resist the pull of consumerism masked as re-presentations of love, friendship and self fulfillment.
ReplyDeleteReference: Sut Jhally , Advertising and the End of the World
Da Rosa Bigford
810003179
The aim of advertisers is to persuade consumers into buying their products and utilizing their services.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion,advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please simply because they need to advertise in ways that would catch the consumer's attention and they should have the freedom to do so.
Yes, there are a number of things to take into consideration if advertisers are to advertise their products and services in whatever way they please, but I personally feel that they should be allowed to do what ever it takes to catch the consumer's attention.
Of course in order for these advertisers to have this freedom a few things should be taken into consideration.
Lying to the public is one thing that they should stay away from because this would be taking advantage of their freedom. There is also need for them to be ethical in that their methods of advertising and communicating their advertisements should not be offensive to the public and certainly should not be illegal.
Advertisers should be innovative with their advertisements once they don't abuse this freedom. They should use it constructively and productively.
Vijaya Singh
811002001
Communication is the ‘transfer of information from one person to another, whether or not it elicits confidence. But the information transferred must be understandable to the receiver’ – G.G. Brown. Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group) to continue or take some new action. It has been the bone of content over many years.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the definition, advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please especially with regards to unconventional methods because it will certainly bring about a change in behaviour to the target audience. This may be seen in Public Service Announcements. Sensitive health topics such as smoking and abortion put this definition into practice. Advertisers show grotesque pictures which are sometimes illegal and unethical to get the point across of the consequences of smoking. For instance the commercial with persons who have throat cancer due to many years of smoking will hit the audience in a personal way and change their behaviour and therefore response rather than an infomercial with a health specialist speaking about the effects smoking has on the body. With regards to the issue of abortion the airing of the actual process of an abortion on a website is seen as unethical but the audience is sure to be informed by the video. It is also important to note that advertisements are transmitted through various media such as mass media such as newspaper, magazines, television commercial, radio advertisement, outdoor advertising or direct mail; or new media such as blogs, websites or text messages.
On the other hand, advertisements that are primarily set up for marketing purposes of a specific product communication should be monitored as many advertisers are not afraid to push limits and boundaries in order to sell the mentioned product or service. There is a difference between pushing the truth and making false claims. Stores in particular use many tactics which falsely advertise. A very noticeable tactic is the ‘Bait and Switch’. A store advertises a product on sale to get you to come to the store and when you get to the store the salesclerk talks down the sale product and tells you how much better the expensive version is. The sale item in the advertisement acts as the bait to get you to come into the store. This is unethical practices seeing that they use the item to get you into the store.
Therefore, advertisers should only be allowed to communicate their messages in any way possible under certain circumstances such as personal sensitive matters but matter of marketing a product advertising regulations should be fully enforced.
References
http://dca.lacounty.gov/tsfalseadvertising.htm
Kishalla Floyd
811000301
As a female in today’s society, the role media plays within our daily lives is as influential as the air we breathe. From, printed media to social media it seems that almost every minute we are bombarded with sexual charged products and reasons why we should buy them. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube and the average number of advisements seen within one day is 5000. However some advertisers take it too far, such as the anorexic super model selling diet pills or the uncontrollable happiness we are brainwashed to expect when we bite into a meal at McDonalds. Should there be a limit to the extent to which these marketing wizards are allowed to go? I most definitely think so. Nowhere is miracle advertisement more prominent than in the cosmetic / self-improvement business. Female bodily insecurities are preyed on by the media. With pictures, movies, TV shows all portraying that modern beauty as anorexic glamazons with fake big boobs, fake hair, fake tans and fake noses. Whether you’re overweight, underweight, flat chested, unhappy with you face to battling depression, there seems to be an artificial fix for any and every bodily issues we face. In 2011 alone more than 1.570,079 cosmetic procedures were done, 307,180 being breast implants. These figures are astounding but what’s more astounding is the thought that most of these procedures wouldn’t even exist if wasn’t for the immense pressure to be physically perfect by the media. What advertisers fail to glamourize are the risks, complications and psychological diseases related and associated with cosmetic improvements. Although body dysmorphic disorder is not directly linked to cosmetic surgery, the over sexualised portrayal of females by the media influences the minds of the young and vulnerable. What effect do you think; the voluptuous Kim Kardashian has on a slim 17 year old who is depressed because her butt is too flat? How far do you think a dark shinned female would go to become light skinned when all the people considered to be beautiful resemble snow white? How far would you go to fill out you bikini or purchase that 100% human hair from God knows where and to what point must we reach before we demand to truly think for ourselves? Sorcia D'Arceuil 809001858
ReplyDeleteAdvertising is the art of arresting the human intelligence just long enough to get money from it.The issue of having 'advertising liberties'to promote a product without having any defined rules, is considered a controversial matter among advertising agencies and the general public.Over the years the advertisement industry has evolved into a marketing phenomenon.For it is one of the engines driving the business sector and by large the global economy.The are the pros and cons of both sides of the issue which are seen by exploring the important physical and ethical aspects.
ReplyDeleteThe physical aspect entails advertisement via social media like the radio,magazine,newspaper,television or the internet.This communication is widespread and effective.Websites such as Facebook can be used to reach a target audience by the advertiser and agent-client networking can occur. This can build credibility and notoriety of the advertiser.In spite of these benefits, advertisements, having mass communication power, tend to influence the public mind. This can change attitudes to socially acceptable behaviors,for example cigarette smoking ads.This in its self is quite disastrous!
From an ethical perspective,advertisers have the support of the Freedom of Expression Act, which allows the expression of opinions.This allows them to share detailed information of their products with clients.A better relationship with customers can be nurtured.By having the opportunity to advertise by any means possible the advertiser is enabled to justify the benefit of purchasing their product.However, due this grand privilege customers tend to be victimized by questionable products of inferior quality.Also in some political advertisements there have been concerns about the truth and accuracy of the messages as some have been found to be fabricated!
Advertisement tactics will always be of great concern in the public eye, because the sale and purchase of items is a necessity to daily living. So whether or not advertisers should be allowed to pursue any means to accomplish their goal,society must become alert. Therefore to avoid becoming entrapped, awareness should be increased about the delusions of the advertising industry.
References
Global Issues Political Economical and Environmental that affects us all.2012."Mainstream Media." Accessed September 13,2012.http://www.globalissues.org
Media and Society.2012."Comunication Power." Accessed September 13,2012.http://www.bloomsburyacaddemic.com
Political and Election Advertising.2010."Truth in Politcal Advertising." Accessed September 15,2012.http://www.adstandards.com.au
NAME:Donalee Pierre
STUDENT ID#:810002489
Communication is the act of conveying information for the purpose of creating a shared understanding. It’s something that humans do every day. The word “communication” comes from the Latin “communis,” meaning “to share,” and includes verbal, non-verbal and electronic means of human interaction.
ReplyDeleteThe Merriam-Webster dictionary defines advertising as "the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements"
The question then whether advertisers should be allowed to freely advertise is first controverted by the fact that there exist numerous advertising laws in the U.S., Europe and internationally to guide and thus prevent false advertising. In consideration of advertising it is communicating with a particular intent on the part of the advertisers to induce a particular behaviour from the receiver. Through the annals of time from Socrates to Plato to Aristotle channels of communicating/advertising for profit via various agendas was practised thus its no new phenomenon. Generally when influenced by power, money, status and having all these to gain some will stop at nothing to gain. Considering these facts we now see advertising as a tool used everyday to persuade whether in the political, social, environmental and commercial arenas. In all these facets of life laws exists to govern the unlawful and protect the vulnerable.
Since it is proven that the brain responds to stimuli one has only to have access to such information and the messages can be sent subliminally thus changing the thought pattern forever. Many advertisements have done this working on the subconscious leaving messages which can be awakened at a later date when triggered.
This is known by the minority but could be used if left unchecked. It is the responsibility of the governing bodies first nationally, regionally and internationally to check such influences that can be damaging not just to the person(s) but the country and economy in general after all bad spending decisions can cripple an economy.
People sometimes wonder why they do the things they do, purchase a particular brand of footwear, clothing style, food etcetera. It is because they were influenced in some way or the other and while this may be thought as me having this particular taste is me showing my individuality it honestly is not ours as individuals but we were conditioned by advertising. These form has grown from the early days of speech, writing on stone and other forms to present day social media and networks, the influences are reaching farther and faster to their intended and unintended audiences. My one example is The Nazi leader Adolf Hitlar who advertised racial hygiene thus leading to the famous holocaust. This was a concept advertised but the minds of the people was worked upon.Control measures are critical and have always been critical to keep order that's why I believe advertisers should not be allowed to advertise freely but should do so within the confines of those laws specified after all its our present decisions that shape tomorrow.
http://www.communicationstudies.com/what-is-communication
http://www.lawpublish.com/12-key-advertising-related-laws-you-should-know.html
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advertising
Name: Ronald Williams
ID: 810005195
Given the basic concepts of the communication process it can be said that advertisers should not be allowed to communicate massages in any way they please. This is so as communication is a two way process involving several processes and elements that should be taken into consideration. The term communication can be described as the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another; it involves a sender transmitting an idea, information, or feeling to a receiver (U.S. Army, 1983). Factors such as the sender, receiver, message and feedback are key elements in trying to convey a message and they should be considered. As a result advertisers should assess what message they are attempting to portray to its potential customers.
ReplyDeleteThey should fully establish who the sender is and the encoding process (ie. the idea that they want to convey). The message should also be encoded in a manner where the sender is fully aware of who their message is intended for. For example, a company advertising for baby products would have a different approach in advertising its product than a company advertising shoes. Next, they should select the appropriate medium necessary for conveying the message. This is dependent on several factors such as: the audience, the context of the message, establishing their rationale, their aims and objectives etc.
Based on these factors advertisers should choose a medium that enhances the message and conveys it effectively to their audience. For example, in the case of advertising products that interests youth they may choose to advertise via social media (Facebook, twitter, tumblr etc.) as opposed to flyers mainly because it reaches a large amount of youths in next no time. They should be mindful of avoiding any ‘noise’ possible as this is a barrier to effective communication. Their advertisements should be simple, concise, straight to the point as well as persuasive.
The receiver should be able to receive advertisers’ messages effectively once it was done coherently. As such some common ground must be set between the advertisers and the receivers. This may be from their communication level, social systems, attitude levels, cultural context etc. Once the message is received efficiently the receiver can give a feedback which will determine whether or not the sender was successful. As such advertisers are at risk if they communicate in any way that they choose. Effective communication requires planning, presenting, delivering and monitoring, evaluation and follow up. Once these are applied advertisers would reach their target audience.
References:
http://www4.uwm.edu/cuts/bench/commun.htm
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/components-of-communication-process.htm
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcom.html
Morissa Rodney
811000467
I agree with the comment made by Samuel Hytmiah where he stated that advertisers should advertise freely but shouldn`t lie to the public. I do understand that its their job to be as persuasive as they can and to produce some piece of work that would grab the attention of the viewers very quickly but lying to the target audience is wrong.
ReplyDeleteFirst of, lying is morally wrong; not a practice of good ethics.Everyone is taught that lying to whomever is not a good act.
Advertisers when trying to promote their product,will look for the most common insecurity or problem faced by the public or other target audience to appeal to.
One example of using such a measure is dealing with weight lost among individuals.
There was a weight lost advertisement; the Ab King Pro, that was aimed at getting people to buy their product by saying that they will get flat abs and flattern their stomach within days. The advertisers here have tried their hardest to be as persuasive as possible by using a time limit for the appearence of results by using their product and even faulting at other excerise equiptments.To ensure that the message sent was as effective as possible, men and women struggling to loose weight and those who had the well shaped bodies were featured. As stated by John Davenport, ` no ab machine can get you flat abs. It is impossible because of the way our stomach is built in layers`.( Davenport, 2011). So, for one, it is not likely to get flattened stomach and loose a huge amount of weight within several days. Hence, it can be said that the advertisers were not as trueful to their target audience in promoting their product.
A lot of people, because of their insecurities and they wanting to overcome them will readily purchase these products and at the end they will normally conclude that their money was wasted on such products.
Hence, I would conclude by reemphasising that i think that advertisers should promote their porducts by any means necessary as long as thhey don`t lie about the benefits their products can and cannot provide for the target audience.
Name: Shavana Rajkumar
ID#:811001352
Reference:
1. `Ab king Pro Review- Does it work`. Last modified October 18th, 2011. http://expertscolumn.com
2. `Ab king pro commercial english`. www.youtube.com
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comment made by Samuel Hytmiah where he stated that advertisers should advertise freely but shouldn`t lie to the public. I do understand that its their job to be as persuasive as they can and to produce some piece of work that would grab the attention of the viewers very quickly but lying to the target audience is wrong.
First of, lying is morally wrong; not a practice of good ethics.Everyone is taught that lying to whomever is not a good act.
Advertisers when trying to promote their product,will look for the most common insecurity or problem faced by the public or other target audience to appeal to.
One example of using such a measure is dealing with weight lost among individuals.
There was a weight lost advertisement; the Ab King Pro, that was aimed at getting people to buy their product by saying that they will get flat abs and flattern their stomach within days. The advertisers here have tried their hardest to be as persuasive as possible by using a time limit for the appearence of results by using their product and even faulting at other excerise equiptments.To ensure that the message sent was as effective as possible, men and women struggling to loose weight and those who had the well shaped bodies were featured. As stated by John Davenport, ` no ab machine can get you flat abs. It is impossible because of the way our stomach is built in layers`.( Davenport, 2011). So, for one, it is not likely to get flattened stomach and loose a huge amount of weight within several days. Hence, it can be said that the advertisers were not as trueful to their target audience in promoting their product.
A lot of people, because of their insecurities and they wanting to overcome them will readily purchase these products and at the end they will normally conclude that their money was wasted on such products.
Hence, I would conclude by reemphasising that i think that advertisers should promote their porducts by any means necessary as long as thhey don`t lie about the benefits their products can and cannot provide for the target audience.
Name: Shavana Rajkumar
ID#:811001352
Reference:
1. `Ab king Pro Review- Does it work`. Last modified October 18th, 2011. http://expertscolumn.com
2. `Ab king pro commercial english`. www.youtube.com
I do agree that lying should not be used as a strategy in advertising, but what about the other immoral consequences of free advertising such as the use of sex symbols, stereotyping and over-exaggerated claims? Free-willed advertising is advertising that has no boundaries, thus leading the subsequent advertisers to use "any means necessary" including unscrupulous behavior like those mentioned above to encourage consumer indulgence in their products and or services.
DeleteAdvertising has developed and progressed over the centuries to a form that can be greatly misused and exacerbated if not controlled and censored not only by the leaders of a country, but also by the advertisers themselves, as well as the citizens of a country.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, advertisers should be able to use “whatever means necessary” to get their message across since it compliments that freedom of expression is the cornerstone of democratic rights and freedoms. In fact, in 1946, in its very first session, before any human rights declarations or treaties were forged, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 59 (I), which states, "Freedom of information is a fundamental human right and ... the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated."
However, advertisers must ensure that they do not cross the line of the law or what is truly in the best interest of the consumer and should they do this. A case to consider is the Tobacco Act in Canada which the government has enforced so as to preserve the health and well-being of its citizens, “no person shall promote a tobacco product by means of an advertisement that depicts, in whole or in part, a tobacco product, its package or a brand element of one or that evokes a tobacco product or a brand element”. This ban shows that although advertising agencies have a large window with which to get across their message, it all comes down to the personal will and determination of the citizens of a country to preserve their state of mind and principles to ensure that advertisers remain grounded in the way that they go about depicting their messages.
This Canadian case is thus, great evidence of political willpower and shows how there can be an acceptable balance between freedom of expression and the pursuit and protection of public health. As with anything in life, it all comes down to being selective and tactful to ensure that advertising fulfills its true purpose-which is to ensure that consumers are made aware of all aspects of the products that they choose to buy i.e. the good, the bad and the ugly- and the give the producer an idea of the needs, desires and preferences of the consumer.
Nathan Maharaj
810002242
I do like some of your points and references especially that which talks about the "Freedom of Information." It supports your argument that advertisers should indeed use any means necessary to communicate their messages. However, by later stating that the law and other social factors can reject some unhealthy advertisements such as those tobacco products in Canada would contradict your stance and your point since the advertisers are no longer free to do as they please and their actions are regulated.
Deletethank you for the feedback-Nathan Maharaj
DeleteAdvertising is considered as being an important means of communication, we encounter ads on a daily basis whether we like it or not. It comes in the form of listening, reading and viewing. Advertisers use the necessary tools which are available to them in order to target the public or a specified group of people, this is their audience. The question poses itself as “should advertisers be allowed to get their message across by any means necessary”? I agree to the fact that they should. Advertising gives the public a general overview of the product that is being sold and what is expected by the company, so therefore certain standards are expected and should be delivered For example, fast food outlets promotes value meals at their outlets, they highlight that their customers eat like kings as they are all getting value for their money. Large billboards, expensive television commercials , radio ads and newspaper articles all go out of its way to ensure that the information is over emphasized by the advertiser to lure in customers to try their product. Not getting ahead of ourselves, do note that these costs are all attached to each unit being sold. On purchasing the product, the high quality value meal is the opposite to what was expected by the customer. Deceptive advertising is a tactic to get your money but it also steals a person’s innocence and security. Advertisers being allowed to do what is necessary to promote their product are in some cases the best way for consumers to recognize a faulty product.
ReplyDeleteAMIT MAHARAJ
807004063
To advertise is to praise publicly the good qualities of (a product, service or idea) in order to create a demand or promote sales, as defined by The World Book Dictionary. Advertising is thus the promotion of a company’s products and services in an attempt to influence the buying behaviour of customers as well as to maintain a company’s brand identity (image). Good advertising however, not only takes into consideration what message is being conveyed, but it also considers how such a message would be expressed. Given this information, advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please, using a “whatever means necessary” approach.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers should not be granted the opportunity to do as they please where advertising is concerned. This granting of unregulated and unmonitored power would cause improper media portrayal; unscrupulous behaviour by media professionals (advertisers); and would cause immoral, unethical and socially unacceptable images to be created in the minds of the young. It would not only diminish the essence of the message, but it would also negatively impact upon the effectiveness of communicating such messages. Effective communication means that the message is perceived by the receiver with the same intended meaning as the sender (which should not be decentralized by other factors such as sex, unverified claims, women stereotyping, and women as sex symbols) so that a suitable response can occur. There would also be a decentralized concern for good advertising which includes decency, honesty, social respectability; truthful presentation, safety and health just to name a few.
Many may argue that advertisers should be allowed to advertise on their own free will with the aid of implemented advertising regulations. However, this would not be considered as communicating “messages in any way they please.” The presence of such regulations would act as a hindrance to free-willed advertising throughout the world, thus this stance cannot be accepted. It is because of this lack of advertising restrictions that Axe spray portrays that men who wear Axe spray are tackled, licked and chased by women; Milo drink makes claims that children grow stronger and healthier by consuming Milo (without plausible evidence); Ariel soap powder should only be used by women (who are just housewives); and Tile It Limited Trinidad and Tobago could have a wet woman “naked” in a tiled bathroom with two tiles blocking her breasts on a billboard on the highway! It would be wrong to give advertisers this privilege as this would heighten the already seemingly unregulated advertisements that we see every day.
In closing, advertisers should not be granted the opportunities and powers of free-willed advertising due to the negative social, moral and ethical implications of its effects.
References:
Clarence Barnhart. The World Book Dictionary: United States of America: World Book Inc, 1983. P 32.
Susan Ward. “Advertising.” About.com. Online Edition. N.p. n.d. 15th September 2012.
Monika Chillar. “Unethical Advertisements.” Slide Share. Online Edition. N.p. n.d. 15th September 2012.
Abby Rogers. “13 Brands That Use Sex To Sell Their Products.” Business Insider. Online Edition. N.p. 03rd February 2012. 12th September 2012.
N'yasha Cabrera
811000731
I absolutely love this arguement especially with the examples of Axe, Milo and Tile It. If we allow people to advertise as they please, they will simply lie and exaggerate their product just to increase their sales
DeleteBheemal Ramlogan
81004091
Bovee 1992 states advertising as, “...the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.” There are two ways to sell a product, service etc; Personal and Non-personal. Personal means both ‘buyer’ and ‘seller’ meet face to face and the product pitch is given to persuade or encourage the use of the product etc. Non-personal advertising does not require this direct meeting between consumer and service provider. It allows a business person to take his/her time to be creative in their presentation of his/her sales pitch. He/she can produce an advert- written, tested, adjusted and coloured with the ‘tricks’ and verbal or graphical appeal to his target consumers. He can research his target costumers and thereby determine what elements of communication he can use to maximise his influence on them as well as to get his message across. Therefore, he can reach a larger audience this way than the personal, one to one method. It appears then that advertising is a good sales tool in driving persuasion of potential customers. Bearing in mind that communication involves not only pictures, verbal messages and any way you can send information between a source and receiver, advertising then appeals to all 5 senses; sight, taste, touch, smell and sound. But herein lies argument about the manner in what some companies or industries use to sell their product, e.g. alcohol and cigarette industry. Is it okay for instance to portray young women in a sultry manner or use the imagery of young people socialising with the inclusion of alcohol? for the purpose to target young adults. Or perhaps, advertising alcohol using young adults as the ‘face’ of the campaign. Is it fair to give off the impression that all young adults can only socialise around alcohol or that alcohol use adds to the relaxing process? The sultry display of the feminine figure in beer adverts or posters can aid in demoralizing how young men view women. If companies accept that it is okay to use the sexual appeal of a woman, to appeal to the male audience especially, what does that say for men who view women as sexual objects instead of peers in this human race? Can it not be done without including barely clothed young women, the red alluring lips that many associate with sensuality of the female body, the plastering of women across cars, or in less frequent, the use of the muscled toned male body to appeal to women? I think it is time to realise that little things like this helps add to the growing problem of men and women becoming more sexual objects in a world where the younger generations are seeing that it is acceptable for them to judge peers on the physical level only. Because is that not what the cool people are all about... those seen on these such advertisements? So I say NO to the use whatever means necessary to advertise a product. Changing little things like this can make a difference. Young people are easily influenced in these times. If they see it being accepted by ‘higher ups’ then it is ok to do. And then the well known adage ‘do as I say not as I do’ becomes argumentative as parents try to keep their young ones under control.
ReplyDeletehttp://public.wsu.edu/~taflinge/addefine.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8169111_communication-tools-used-marketing.html
NELISHA HOSEIN
809001830
Advertising, the techniques and practices used to bring products, services, opinions, or causes to public notice for the purpose of persuading the public to respond in a certain way toward what is advertised. Personally, advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please. Hence, the audience to which advertisers hope to receive their messages should be considered mindfully because there could be serious repercussions to societal norms and values if carelessly encoded. It is no hidden fact that advertisements are a powerful tool of influence on human behaviour and could therefore easily disrupt emotions, cultural norms and environmental conditions for the worse. Today, there are many commercials seen on the television which are outright deceitful and exploitive in context and show no concern at all for the general well-being of its target audience.
ReplyDeleteSurely, no sensible human being would consider it appropriate to advertise alcoholic beverages as a ‘cool thing.’ The possibility of doing so would lead to many alcoholic related issues in society, especially among teenagers who are more often at times irresponsible. Also, many popular fast-food restaurants do advertise their meals in an almost hypnotic and fantasize manner as to gain total control over peoples’ appetite without taking into account the general health status of its audience. As a result, there has been a huge rise in obesity level and related lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
There should be some level of constraint when it comes to communicating messages in advertisements. This would enable some sort of security, especially for the naïve. Appropriate methods of communication processes should be undertaken so that the audience would receive a message that is clearly understood and not vague. As a result, channels must be selected thoughtfully in order that messages are transfer with clarity. Also, advertisers must learn not to think selfishly in their pursuit, to where profit is the only major concern, but great care must be given to the general well-being of its audience so that deceitfulness would be minimized.
In closing, advertisers should be very responsible when they are communicating messages to the general public. They should realize that messages conveyed towards an audience may be decoded in manner that could bring dire consequences to one’s life. Hence, advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way as they please, but in a manner that is not deceitful and exploitive towards its perceive audience.
References:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/6801/advertising
http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~kbroom/handouts/advertising.htm
David Quamina
811000845
Communication is only successfully achieved when the receiver decodes the message accurately in the manner to which the sender has intended it to be interpreted. Therefore, the process of effective communication is only as effective as the medium in which the sender chooses to transmit it to the receiver. Thus, the interpretation or the feedback from the receiver can also alter how effective the communication process was transferred.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, this process is a two-way one and not one-way, due to the fact that without the sender there is no message to be decoded, hence no receiver would result in an message without an accurate destination, which in turn would have no purpose. As a result both a sender and a receiver are required fro effective communication to occur.
Phebe Esther Ramayah
811000694
Advertising is a process of employing various media to sell a product or service.Advertising can be done either by the seller meeting the potential buyer face to face or by different meadias which is open to the general public. Even though advertising have been around for many years, advertisers distinguish advertising from salesmanship by defining it as mediated persuasion aimed at an audience rather than one-to-one communication with a potential customer. when a business has to start advertising , they must know who they are the receivers of the message being sent , the way the receivers may perceive this message and then the channel for advertising will then be chosen. channels may help deliver the message depending on the size of the audience, whether or not it is accessible to the audience and is the channel chosen is suitable enough for the message to be conveyed. The answer to the question above is, according to the product or service being advertised, advertisers could use different means necessary to get their message across. for example, An exercising instrument is newly introduced, for that business to advertise such product it will be more efficient to use the television as a channel and also a instructional CD which can used. As the audio visual will help the user to better understand how it is to be used. on the other hand using a radio broadcast will not be effective in this instance as it will not be seen.apart from the channel being used, some advertisers also persuade by using false advertising, for example those loose weight advertisement being shown on television saying that someone weighing 350lbs can lose 200lbs by 4 weeks , the false advertising used is the little time that they say their product will take for a person who is extremely overweight to be a seamless model. this in turn causes the audience to buy their product and when the time for stipulated results doesn't happen the person who buys it, they say that it takes longer for some people compared to others. This is one thing that many advertisers use to gain the interest of the audience.Some issues that businesses will come across is that of prices to advertise a product,it will be useful to look at the different channels and choose which one will be cost effective and also appeal to their audience.
ReplyDeletehttp://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/ads/amadv.html
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/advertising-management.htm
Krystal John
811000432
Siddiq Ramjohn
ReplyDelete811100004
I must agree to my fellow colleague that the advertisements encouraging persons to buy alcoholic beverages would only bring about a society nurturing alcoholics from a very young age and hence endangering the lives of citizens by the hands of irresponsible drinkers.
In my I believe that advertisers should be allowed to use whatever means necessary to bring across. As a result of that the advertiser is then able to reach a wider audience and also be very precise and informative in the message. Also the message the advertiser is trying to bring across may be directed to all ages, young, old, big, small, parents and children so therefore the advertiser would need to have access to all the different channels or medium in order to reach his intended targets. However advertisers may face the problem of cost of advertisement through whatever means of the media, such as newspaper ads, television advertisements, radio announcements, flyers, brochures and also through the means of the social network system. Also in the world of media presentation advertisers have to be very careful in the way they bring across the message and the content because it can have an influence that can be persuasive, pervasive and influential that it is important that the right message is sent across otherwise if not the credibility of the source can be destroyed. Additionally messages sent should harbor peoples' thoughts, feelings and religion and avoid nudity, language and any offensive content because of the multicultural society that we live in. In the world of advertising there is a great deal of competitiveness so advertisers are faced with the challenge of coming up with new means and techniques in trying to get their message across in the best way possible.
Reference:
http://www.issuesinimc.wikispaces.com/Ethnical+issues+in+Avertising
Advertising is a medium used to convey to consumers what goods and services are available for their consumption. It is intended to reach as much potential buyers as possible regardless of the target size. To appeal to the masses however, it is detrimental that the various forms of advertising find a common ground among its receivers.
ReplyDeleteIn the media and entertainment world, boundaries have been set as not to irk the viewership or listenership yet appeal to all who are receptive to it. Those responsible for advertisements would carefully design commercials without delving too much into sensitive topics such as religion, gender, race and sexuality. Failure to do so would amount to a plethora of issues that would not only be damaging to the image of the product and its parent company. One form of advertising is music videos. They promote songs produced by artists and the artists themselves. Madonna, an American singer, has featured burning crosses in one of her music videos during the 1990s and she herself has portrayed Jesus Christ on the cross at one of her concerts. This sparked outrage in various pockets throughout the Christian world as it was deemed sacrilegious.
Another gaffe in the advertising world was made by a leading shoe brand that developed sneakers which featured shackles reminiscent of those used in the slave trade. This did not augur well with consumers, especially within the African American community. Other notable blunders committed in advertising include the Chevrolet Chevy model Nova which sold poorly in Spanish speaking countries since Nova meant “it does not go” in Spanish and the Calvin Klein ad that featured raunchy scenes involving scantily clad teenagers. Poor deliberation by the creative minds to produce ads such as the aforementioned promotions could generate a backlash of criticism, boycotts and legal action from many people including parents who have the most purchasing power and other actors who have great legal prowess or associations.
Mundane commercials are not what advertisers envision. The messages they are to convey whether to educate or amuse must stand out. Careful consideration is to be made as one must not create a piece of work that illustrates their ignorance to the target audience. The nature of the ad should incorporate the socio-economic attributes of the intended audience. The right tools and methods of approach should be paramount as they would influence the success of how well the messaged is received. Not taking this into account would lead to a “pearls before swine” scenario. To be fully effective, the information sent should be based on the requirements and needs of the audience, their preferred mode of delivery and other background characteristics. Trying to indulge people who live in arid areas to purchase flood insurance or informing people who lead very simple, traditional lives about the advantages of owning electronic gadgets is not a very wise move.
Effectively passing on information is not exclusively limited to acceptance by the receiver but the implementation of the contents of the message in their lives. Evidence of this manifests themselves in positive differences as a result. The sender could use this to their advantage. Shortcomings of their approach and techniques could be reviewed and rectified for future endeavours by themselves and others.
Freedom of expression is everyone’s right. Many messages could be conveyed on numerous platforms and this should be taken advantage of. However, those who create and transmit messages should be ever mindful of the frontiers they want to cross. Though pushing the envelope and transcending boundaries excite, sets trends and are great for conversational pieces, one is to be careful that they do not inspire such activities for all the wrong reasons and always keep the receiver in mind.
Darion Fraser
809004236
I agree that advertisers should be allowed to use any means necessary to get their message across to customers (within reason; reason being such as respecting the age of children). Evidently, having a greater number of approaches would allow the message to be delivered to a larger audience. Obviously advertisers have to be selective and know which approach will be better suited to which crowd but flexibility is healthy.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with public comparisons to competitors. It shows the strengths and weaknesses of the products offered sometimes easily helping to distinguish what are the best products available. The degrading nature of some ads towards others may appeal to consumers who enjoy fierce competition helping to garner their attention.
Sexual innuendos may be viewed as inappropriate by the public, especially spiritual folks and the stricter of parents, however these messages capture the attention of youth rather easily as well as many adults. Also the controversy it creates provides greater exposure; as the saying goes ‘bad publicity is still publicity’. Therefore ads with provocative statements are often remembered and spoken about, the message passed from mouth to mouth whether by debate or just one person informing another of the ad itself.
Methods such as public displays of ability help to confirm effectiveness of a product while also capturing the imagination of the experimental. For example, the advertisements of the paper towel Bounty often show the abilities of one sheet of paper. There are inventive consumers who will purchase that paper towel simply to see if they can perform tests on that one sheet of bounty.
In overly aggressive competition between advertisers buttons may be pushed to the point of public arguments and lawsuits. This is one thought advertisers must review before releasing an advertisement though; is it worth it?
Mikhel Pitman-Gilkes
809004264
Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media (Bovee 1992; Taflinger 1996). Advertisers use a variety of marketing strategies to persuade an audience into purchasing ideas, products or services using mass media, social media and product placement. Advertising relies on how the audience perceives their messages. Effective advertising uses perceived obsolescence into making the consumers believe they are not fashionable and must purchase products to stay in fashion. The study of the socio-cultural background of the audience informs the advertiser to which marketing strategy to use. Moral barriers therefore must be defined if advertisers are allowed to use “whatever means necessary” to get the message across.
DeleteIf “whatever means necessary” had no ethical barrier then advertisers can use violent, dishonest and other profane methods to send their message across. Political campaigns tend to use “dirty politics” as a method of advertising to persuade citizens to vote on a basis on “the lesser of the evils” by using defamation and dishonesty as tactics. After these campaigns whomever in power tends to be criticized for integrity. If the political advertising focused more on integrity rather than defamation, people can vote for the party that is best for the Country. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is another example of an organization that uses whatever means necessary to get their message across. Their campaigns use sexual and violent advertisements such as, “I rather go Naked than wear fur” as well as a more violent, “Dump red paint on people that wear Fur.” Their tactics made the public aware of animal treatment as well as increase vegetarian and vegan markets. Celebrities are usually persuaded by PETA to do the advertisements, the PETA make false claims of the celebrities to boost their campaign. However, PETA’s tactics have allowed them to be served with many lawsuits. However, advertisements that sell based on defamation and dishonesty eventually lose credibility. Certain content may also be age restricted, if advertisers are allowed to use unethical means then there will be no age restriction. Therefore children can access sexual content that is only suitable for adults. As a result, advertisers should not be able to use “whatever means necessary” to get their message across if no moral barriers are enforced.
Advertisers should be allowed to use “whatever means necessary” where advertising target audience with moral obligation. Effective advertising uses creativity, appealing colours, humor, catchy slogans and other various techniques that catch the attention of the audience. Companies and Organizations that hold integrity to their advertisements tend to sell more of their ideas, products and services as well as give the consumers a greater sense of security with the products. The advertisers use the media that tend to be more effective for a specified target audience. The advertisers take into consideration that social media and mass media may not be age restricted and therefore can create advertisements that appeal to primary and secondary audience by keeping the content easy to understand by all age groups. In 2011, Volkswagen created an Advertisement called the Force that was one of the best commercials for that year. It merged Star Wars and Child role-playing together to form a clever and effective advertisement that earned over $100 million in media. Persuasive marketing can be effective without defamation and profanity.
References
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Accessed Septemember 16th 2012
http://www.peta.org
Taflinger F. Richard. “A Definition of Advertising.” Accessed September 16th 2012.
http://public.wsu.edu/~taflinge/addefine.html
Volkswagen. “The Force.” Accessed September 16th 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0&feature=player_embedded
Nicoli Rajcoomar
809004023
Advertisements are marketing tools used in a communication process to send a message to receivers (consumers), who will react or respond in a certain way. Due to the fact that the receivers are of different back rounds (financially, religiously, age, gender, etc) it may be difficult to bring across a message to catch everyone's attention or to please everyone. This therefore may restrict advertisers to what they may really want to advertise to really capture an audience although some advertisements are targeted to specific people.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if advertisers can advertise there products in anyway they want and they may want to showcase the true aesthetic value or meaning of there product/ad to greater catch the attention of the audience by educating, marketing etc and of course to sell there product. Unfortunately due to laws and other restrictions which was mentioned earlier it’s a challenge.
With the problems that advertisers may face in marketing their product or just giving helpful information, they should have the truth and therefore have consideration for their audience and not have them fooled or misinformed just to make money. More innovative ways should be used in advertising to please everyone for example some advertisements may have a double meaning in which adults may understand and will very difficult for children to decode which obviously means that the advertisement was aimed for adults.
References : http://ilze.org/semio/006.htm
Keron Springer
808014702
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made, the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com, their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital, thus, to stand out, a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism, branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo (1999) states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo, Heineken, Anheuser-Busch Inbev and Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising. Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. Jeff Bezos , CEO of Amazon, notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways, as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising – “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia, Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual, stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals, like Dove and McDonalds, were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett and Ghoshal (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy, either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Berlinda Rajaram
809002156
Advertising is a very demanding industry at present whereby the rise and fall of the advertising business depends solely on the expenditure incurred by the advertiser. An advertiser owns or controls the actual product or service that is being advertised. They are known to use methods of attractiveness, persuasion, pros and by extent “any means necessary” for bringing across their message to encourage the audience to have some positive reaction towards the message.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers should not be able to use “whatever means necessary” to get their message across because then they can cross lines of prejudice, racial and religious indifferences, as well as moral and ethical borders. In these modern times most advertisements are in some way misleading, deceitful, and offensive and falsely portrayed i.e. exaggerating their claims. This is because advertisers are not concerned about the product being sold or the message being relayed but rather on the sales and profit they can make. After all, most companies producing these advertisements endorse a lot of money on these advertisements whether it’s via television and radio ads, newspapers, pamphlets or billboards. Such a misleading ad is the example of most exercising equipment ads. They use only ripped, toned persons using the equipment and are constantly stating how “easy it is to use and anyone can use it” yet they don’t show a fat or old person trying to use the equipment. Also there are these gimmicks and tactics used in these television ads where persons have a toll free number to “call now” in the next 10 minutes and they will double your offer or get a next one free.
This is why the U.S government had created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), where its principal mission is to promote consumer protection hence ensuring that advertisers are not exaggerating and the information being provided is legit.
Basically in the end it is the consumers freedom of choice whether they want the product or not or choose to accept the message or not. The consumer needs to be knowledgeable and aware in order to pick up on these tactics being used by these advertisers and make the right decision of a product.
Reference:
Bhaves Advertisers Hyderabad | Newspaper Advertising Agencies | Deccan Chronicle, Times of India, The Hindu, Anandabazar Patrika. http://www.bhavesads.com/advertisement/who-are-the-advertisers.php
Rebecca F.R. Sukal
809001960
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Rajaram
809002156
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Berlinda Rajaram
809002156
Advertisers should be careful when trying to get their messages across. They should be restricted from using any medium if the message is socially irresponsible. However if the rational is done properly then the sender would know what means is to be used in order to properly transmit the message to the receiver. There are a lot of sensitive issues at bay and may offend persons if the message is not properly channeled. Also usage of inappropriate mediums like racist, racy or politically attacking ideas are only done to draw attention to a product, even though many television, radio stations and websites depend on advertising to earn.
ReplyDeleteSome of the issues at hand with advertising not being restricted are political, ethnic, religious, sexual and many more. With regards to ethnic and religious issues, the advertisers should know that they have to be careful just in case their message comes across as malicious ideas attacking a particular ethic group or race thus creating social cohesion. The consequences of the sexual issues are gender equality, homosexuality and pornography. The advertiser can become bias towards women which may create a social problem. Also pornographic messages can be very impressionable on children. This is why the advertiser needs to do proper research and make sure that the rational has no flaws before transferring a message to an audience.
Kimberly Bunsee
811001068
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Berlinda Rajaram
809002156
An advertiser’s sole purpose is to sell a product. However, depending on the audience, advertising may assume the following functions; to inform or raise awareness, to stimulate competition or to simply maintain or restore trust.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers would go to any extreme to sell their product; this in turn can wrongly influence children (minors) and adults, i.e society. Advertisers should be regulated. So that before they relay their message they should consider moral values before profit.
They should specify contents (fats, sugar, calories, etc.) of fast food to prevent an obese society. Regulation can also prevent harmful effects on one’s health and environment. Consider the promotion of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. Reflecting on the white oak commercial 2011, when it pours you reign, the message conveyed is that if you consume whiteoak, you have the ability to dance and will look as ‘sexy’ as the girls in the commercial. This commercial promotes promiscuous behavior. Promiscuous behavior can lead to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted babies. This can have a domino effect on the wider society. Other benefits of regulation include unbiased advertisements with respect to gender and religion.
All in all, advertisers should be regulated so that the message conveyed is not offensive to the receiver, not misleading, does not involve hatred or does not invade the receiver's privacy.
Ornella Sohun
808000547
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Rajaram
809002156
Advertisers should not be allowed to communicate their messages in any way they please. There should be boundaries in place to guide their advertisement and any company who breaches these limits should be penalized or fined. Companies who target other brands, those who falsely advertise or over exaggerate their product and those who use dangerous chemicals or practice animal cruelty or animal testing should be punished for their actions.
ReplyDeleteOne way in which Advertisers tend to abuse their advertising rights is by mocking their competitors. One of the most recent controversies recently sent an entire nation of 1 billion people in uproar. India is famous for cricket so it was no surprise that their captain (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) and vice captain (Harbhajan Singh) both endorsed rival whiskey brands. Harbhajan made a video for ‘Royal Stag’ asking “Have I made it large?” The other brand ‘Mc Dowell’s No1’ made a video showing a Harbhajan look alike whole was slapped by his father after asking the same question and then Dhoni came and said “Forget large, do something different.” Mc Dowells No1 was then sued for mocking Harbhajan, his family and the Sikh community (to which Harbhajan belongs). Large companies often use gimmicks such as these as a way to gain popularity by making fun of other companies. These players won the World Cup for India and due to advertising rivalries, they were torn apart and killed the spirit of the team, a few months later India fell down the cricket rankings losing their #1 spot and lack of unity within the team can be one of the influencing factors.
Many people are under the impression that you need a lot of advertising to make a lot of money. One of the largest companies in the world Amway Global has minimal advertising and yet they made 10.9 Billion US in 2012. They own Nutrilite which is ranked #1 in the world in health care without the use of ads unlike its competitors Herbalife and GNC who spends millions in advertising. My point is that you do not need huge Ad campaigns to market your products; all you need sometime is a quality product and good customer satisfaction (Nutrilite has a 180 day money back satisfaction guarantee). Good quality beats good advertising. Since companies like have proven that advertising is not compulsory for success, then there should be strict limitations for those companies who advertise.
Refrences:
Cricinfo, India News, UB Sent Notice over Dhoni Advertisement, July 18th 2011: http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/523754.html
Nutra Ingredients USA, Consumer Trends, Nutrilite Comes out on top brand Survey, 02 March 2004 http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Consumer-Trends/Nutrilite-comes-out-top-on-brand-survey
Bheemal Ramlogan
810004091
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Rajaram
809002156
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Rajaram
809002156
I believe that advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please,simply because of what the term communication means. As the website/blog correctly stated it is the ability of a human being to express their feelings and the ideas of others. This ability is something that every human being naturally possesses;therefore it is inconceivable to put a limit on it.
ReplyDeleteIn order for businesses and by extension the economy to be stable, they must be able to advertise their products in an effective way. Society is made up of many different audiences(class, age, technology, environment etc)and thus various methods of communication must be created and utilized. One cannot simply create a message, use one method and believe that every type of audience would understand the context of it.
For example one method of communication is Face-to-Face and it is widely used by various companies when it comes to advertising their products. The E3 show that is hosted every year by The G4 company in America is a prime example of audience(gamers) and method of communication. Game and system reviews are posted almost every minute on the internet. However, main sales are generated when the consumers have the opportunity to not only see and play the games but ask the producers about the game/system on the spot.
However, if I had to critique advertisers it would be the materials used in the message and the negligence of age sensitivity. For example, in Trinidad, Tile It limited is the leading distributor of exquisite tiles. Therefore their advertisements would or should be centered around their various styles of tiles. Unfortunately, if you were to take a drive to Couva on the highway, you will notice their is a Tile It advertisement on the side of the road. Interestingly, the advertisers chose to place a background image with the Tile It logo and in front of it, there is a topless woman with two tiles blocking her body parts. Now while in their ingenious marketing scheme they came to the conclusion that it would capture the attention of adult males and somehow cause them to buy tiles, they completely forgot about the children that would view this advertisement as well.
In conclusion, Advertisers should have free reign to communicate their messages as long as they keep in mind that once they put it out into the public it cannot be erased from the viewers minds whether they are adults or children. So think before you advertise!
O'jae King
811005456
Advertising is a method of persuasion used to capture people’s attention to buy a certain product. Communication involves the transfer of information from a source to a receiver. Whether advertising or not, one should use the appropriate type of channel in communicating the message so that it would be more effective in capturing the audience’s attention. In my opinion, it can go both ways. Some advertisers are fully successful in communicating their messages in any form however other advertisers should not communicate messages in any way they please. Failing to consider that, a breakdown in communication may occur.
ReplyDeleteThe advertisers that communicate their message to a non-particular audience are usually successful when they use any form. An example is the subway franchise, which aim is to all audiences as a means of “eating healthy”. Whatever channel used in this case, there is constant feedback which concludes that the message is effectively decoded. This is most likely because the audience in which they cater for is a wide spectrum of people.
Some advertisers must take into consideration the channel they use to convey their messages along with their target audience. Using the correct tools is the key to successfully deliver the message to the receiver, in this case a specific audience. This is advised as there are many barriers which may affect effective communication and by extension advertising. Sometimes due to the channel used, there is a miscommunication due to interpretation of the receiver. There is also the fact that the channel used attracts another audience which is not the target audience and hence feedback would be minimal.
Ultimately, it all depends on the sender, the message, the medium and the target audience on deciding the most effective manner of advertising one’s service or product.
Kherdine Sandy
811000828
We may think that advertising is the best way of selling a brand / product. this may be so, simply because advertising is increasingly invading public spaces and because we ourselves are highly influenced by various advertisements and may perhaps been a victim to fall for their various tactics they may have used. many feel that advertisements exploit the desires of a consumer by making a particular product more appealing, by manipulating the consumer needs and wants.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't think advertisers should use any means necessary to get their message across. some advertisers might use methods that can lead to victimization for certain segments n the population where some may be offended by particular advertising efforts. For example, there is a banned condom commercial which shows a father in a grocery with his son. The son wanted a pack of sweets which the father refused to buy, the son began throwing a tangent in front of everyone in the grocery and the commercial ended with a statement that read, "Use Condoms!". This is an example of victimizing kids making it seem as though they are mistakes and if the fathers had used their condoms, then they would not have to go through the trouble of having children misbehaving in public.
Also civil rights groups may campaign against the message you are trying to bring across if the message is being brought about in an offensive way. For example, currently the Islamic community in Trinidad is being offended by an Anti-Islam film which ridicules the Prophet Mohammed and has sparked various violent brawls against US embassies all over the world.
Therefore, advertisers should not use any means necessary to get their message across until they have fully analyzed every aspect of their strategy and ensuring it abides to all laws.
Reference:
1. "Banned Commercial - Condoms - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. .
2. "Local Muslims condemn violent protest - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. .
3. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2352485?uid=3739200&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21101227065177
Meera Maraj
809001628
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Rajaram
809002156
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Rajaram
809002156
Advertising promotes goods and service distribution in relation to the needs of the public through various methods aimed at the increase of sales upon the exhibition of these goods and service in a positive nature. Communication relates the both worlds of advertisement and technology, through its ability to impart or exchange information. Modern advancement in technology has altered the modes of communication tremendously. The most effective of these modes is that of advertisement. Advertisements’ ability to appeal to as well as the availability to fulfill the viewers’ needs.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of funds invested into the continual development of advertisement allows for the expected captivation of the attention of an audience. Millions and millions of dollars exhibits techniques in order to maintain the viewers attention aimed at increasing interest within the product. Based on the concept that in order for the appeal of a product must expand, the more extreme does the campaign has to be in order to retain the captivating effect on the audience, advertisers’ strive to bring forth perfection.
In their strive for perfection the field of advertisement exploits all means necessary to trade the goods linked to their services. Taking into consideration one of the most common techniques used in recent adverts follows the theme of autosuggestion.
Autosuggestion is an advertising mode that encourages the use of insight in order to form an impression through the experience of an advert where the underlying impressions expressed are of the wrong nature. Therefore the restricting on the various methods of advertisement to be employed is necessary.
Simply because without these restriction, advertisers are allowed to inform the consumer of the various goods in order to obtain the best choice. Although the ultimate choice is that of the consumer, how the goods are perceived revolves solely upon the appeal of the advertisement.
The benefit to this particular method leads to an increase in sales, as a result of the end effect of mass production therefore overall cheaper price. Hence, this type of advertising produces a positive contribution to the economic levels. However, the consequences to these restrictions are also to be considered the fact that other mass Medias such as newspaper, radio and television would not be able subsist without advertising as a source of revenue. These traditional modes will equate to a reduction in expenses designed for advertisements.
Therefore with this application of restrictions on the methods of advertisement allows for a more advance control in order to achieve a fair distribution of the people’s choice. There also needs to be a mechanism in place to monitor the power in which advertisers believe that possess. Hence, introspect has to be considered in relation to the goods and services advertised in order to protect the rights of the audience.
References:
HEPAdvert. 2009. What is advertising? 14 Sep 2012 .
Behaves Advertisers. 2006. Who are the Advertisers? 13 sep. 2012 .
Mind Tools.1996-2012. The 7C’s of Communication. 13 Sep. 2012 .
Yeshantai K.O. Thompson
810004022
Advertisers should be allowed to use “whatever means necessary” to get their message across.....to an extent! Not really whatever means necessary because some companies go all out of their way and spend millions of dollars with lots of creativity and imagination in their advertising, but how effective is it really? For example, at this year’s orientation week at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, there was a huge Digicel tent, larger than all the other tents, which I am sure cost a lot of money. Most people probably walk through there for shade and for giveaways, how many people do you think were actually going to be interested in products at that point in time?
ReplyDeleteHow often can an advertisement genuinely attract a consumer? Sure we may remember a jingle but most times people just like to pass advertisements during a television show or even on the radio. So for advertisements to really catch a consumer, it must be what the consumer wants to hear. If you’re offering what people really want and need and you could advertise that properly and truthfully, then, go right ahead but the same time your price has to be reasonable.
However, when I say to an extent, I simply mean that companies have to take into careful consideration their target market and their ways of advertising in terms of if a company is using numerous means and wishes to go all out publicly, then it has to be appropriate for all audiences. Also, some people just do not like to be bothered at certain times for example by getting a phone call from a company trying to advertise, text messages, being disturbed at home, etc. These could be a nuisance and could really force people to disregard these types of advertising. Therefore, companies should take into consideration these things.
Priya .L. Beharry
809004198
As with anything, there are rules and rules are issued and enacted to protect individuals from harm and to allow everyone to live together peacefully. Advertising should be no different. "Advertising is attempting to influence the buying behavior of your customers or clients by providing a persuasive selling message about your products and/or services". This is all well and good, but in some cases, people abuse this. This is vhere ethics in adverting comes in.
ReplyDeleteOne main ethic is Truth. The consumer you are trying to persuade must have a clear idea about your product and the effect the product should have on them once purchased, if it is something to buy of course.
No one says to be exessesively truthful, like the ad in London back in 1900, which says, "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success," No one even does that in real life, but a cetain amount of truth is expected. Blatanly leaving out important information, like medical information on sideeffects is also a no no. Advertisers must also be careful not to offend any social groups or members of society to capture audiences with humour. Respect is an important consideration in advertising.
Reference
Advertising Educational Foundation; Ethics in advertising.
www.aef.com ›
ward, susan, Advertising
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/g/advertising.htm
Arielle seerattan
809003139
"Advertising" means using all forms of representation, promotion and solicitation disseminated by any means of communication to the public for any purpose related to licensed activity. Advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please but there must be boundaries. It is very important for the advertisers to have a correct target audience to whom they wish to sell their product(s) and to have a correct message.
ReplyDeleteIn many cases we have seen that some advertisements, the messages they are putting across to the young adults who they are targeting could be interpreted the wrong way. Alcoholic beverages such as Carib beer and White Oak with the latter having a slogan 'When it pours, you reign' and this in itself is geared to young adults because of the music they use and also because the cast of the video are also young adults. This slogan makes the drinkers feel as though when they drink they would be invincible or be at the top of things and that is not the case because intoxication can be detrimental to one's health and life and could put the lives of others in danger. It was also noticed that there were no caution notices of drinking responsibly unlike that of the Johnnie Walker advertisement which indicates to drink responsibly and not to drink and drive.
In today's world there are more obese persons than there were ten years ago and this is due to the promotion of fast food. Some fast food advertisements claim to have zero trans fat but what they are not saying is that with the reusing of the oil there will be fat which can lead to many lifestyle diseases. KFC for instance, recently had an advertisement on the beach showing that you can eat it all the time with an obese child eating it's product. If nothing is done about that, then we can count that child as a statistic with some lifestyle disease in the future.
At Carnival there are many advertisements promoting the sale of condoms. Yes prevention is better than cure but is it during this time of the year people have to lose all inhibitions and be promiscuous? These advertisements should be shown all year round, by that, it shows that condoms are not only good for one period of the year. It focuses on young persons in particular showing that when a condom is used all is safe. Condoms are not 100% safe and may have flaws if not used properly which could lead to a shortened life span if any STD is contracted.
These advertisements highlighted are not deceptive because they have not lied but they have no boundaries because they do not state the negative implications of their products. Recently the President of the IRO was calling for a ban on alcoholic beverages on the media and this was not only due to religious reasons but also because some of the advertisements proved to be lacking in some morals. Yes, they are catering for a particular audience but at the end of the advertisements they should have caution notices just like the advertisements of cigarettes in Australia. So,what some advertisers have to is to go back to the drawing board and try their best to get their product sold to the right audience in a proper way because it is the audience who will either endorse the product or not.
References: http://www.reca.ca/industry/content/legislation-bulletins/information-bulletins/advertising-internet-guidelines.html
Kendell Assue
809000589
Advertising is “one of the most prolific and all-encompassing forms of communication in the world” (Reichert, 2003, p.20). It is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media."(Bovee, 1992, p. 7)
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers in sending out a message only has so much controll over how the reciver interprets the message based on techniques used. For example dramatization , and imagery can lead a persons expectation of a product far from reality . Take in to consideraton the role of fitness and health and how it is viewed in today's society. For example the bombardment of excersise machines advertised today, protrays people going from a size twelve to a size two in mere months when using the product. This would therefore lead persons to expect the same results for themselves.
In a study done in 2011 it was observed that Ab Circle Pro V2 infomercials (a fitness machine) were reportedly banned by Advertising Standard Athourity.
The Ab Circle Pro v2 infomercial portrayed 'flab turning into rock hard abs' hovever the Advertising Standard Authourity declared that the infomericials portrayed unrealistic results and were misleading to customers.
The ad however had featured a small disclaimer that said: "Results not typical. The complete Ab Circle Pro V2 System includes a reduced calorie diet and regular aerobic exercise." The disclaimer however was said to be written in a small font size and was displayed over a busy background making it difficult to read.
Atlethes and Clebrities were also used in the advertisement claiming to have achieved weightlass and toned muscles when the product was used. this was another tecnique used that would have influnced the choice of the costomer in purchasing the product.
Seeing that the purpose of communication in advertising is to inform, educate and entertain people, this particular ad about the excersize machine sought to 'inform the audience however the way inwhich they chose to do caused the audience to recieve the message in a different way.
This technique in advertising can be considered ordinary as most company's uses whatever persuasive technique needed to gain a profit however they should be able to deal with the consequences in the event that they are acused to be 'misleading'.
It can therfore be stated that message interpretation is key in advertising and the sender of the message should always take this into consideration in sending a message.
Apart from this,as effective communication is a two way process rather than a one way process where the reciever actions is based on the message is important, the sender should be considerate in creating the message. Therfore I would not say that they should not be able to communicate a message in anyway that they please, however they should take into consideration that the message is in no way violent,illegal,unethical, bias or demeaning to groups or individuals in society .
Reference
http://www.uwlax.edu/urc/jur-online/pdf/2005/driessen.pdf
http://www.sutherlandsurvey.com/Column_pages/subliminal_advertising.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/07/08/jwt.answer/index.html
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/misleading-ad-exercise-machine-banned-4391130
Amanda Raghoonanan
811000855
As with anything, there are rules and rules are issued and enacted to protect individuals from harm and to allow everyone to live together peacefully. Advertising should be no different. "Advertising is attempting to influence the buying behavior of your customers or clients by providing a persuasive selling message about your products and/or services". This is all well and good, but in some cases, people abuse this. This is vhere ethics in adverting comes in.
ReplyDeleteOne main ethic is Truth. The consumer you are trying to persuade must have a clear idea about your product and the effect the product should have on them once purchased, if it is something to buy of course.
No one says to be exessesively truthful, like the ad in London back in 1900, which says, "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success," No one even does that in real life, but a cetain amount of truth is expected. Blatanly leaving out important information, like medical information on sideeffects is also a no no. Advertisers must also be careful not to offend any social groups or members of society to capture audiences with humour. Respect is an important consideration in advertising.
Reference
Advertising Educational Foundation; Ethics in advertising.
www.aef.com ›
ward, susan, Advertising
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/g/advertising.htm
Arielle seerattan
809003139
Yes you are correct there are rules and restrictions and this allows a level peace in society. However in relation to your comment on the side effects of medication, you need to remember that science is still very young and as research is constantly being conducted with respect to side effects, in most cases results take a long time to surface. For example there have been a recent call for persons on birth control (just to mention Yaz and two others I'm not able to recall) medication after other side effects such as pulmonary embolism where suffered.
DeleteNandini Maharaj
807004698
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteTo the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Rajaram
809002156
Advertising is by far one of the most persuasive forms of communication utilized globally by (to name a few) companies, organizations and institutions. It targets receivers of varying backgrounds or age groups by combining exemplary creativity and marketing strategies with technology. The aim of this motive: to ‘get the message’ across and so increase consumer behaviour towards the product or service. In the advertisers beneficiary there product or service is a success as the demand increases and so profit increases. Advertisers in my opinion psychologically encourage consumers to THINK they NEED what we don’t need but WANT. Research results suggest that advertisements create a good feeling of a product or service by surrounding it with other things that are liked and so creates confidence or even an ‘ease’ in today’s ‘hustle and bustle’ life.
ReplyDeleteStrategies used by advertising companies disregard ethical and religious values. With this said, in my opinion advertisers should not be allowed to use ‘whatever means necessary’ to sell their product or service. In the advertising world women are being exploited. In numerous advertisements such as game shows, alcohol, cigarettes, deodorants, perfumes, shampoos, body washes and cars to name a few of the dozens women are being show played. In the local alcohol sector, an Angostura promotion at the Rum festival woman dressed in sexy costumes served and greeted patrons. Men would have served and greeted patrons just as well as these women and I’m sure they would have been fully and professionally dressed. Basically with the exploiting of women sex is being sold. With sexuality in advertising, there are certain values and attitudes towards sex which are being sold with the product or service even if the message is ‘innocence is sexy’.
It is known in society that sex sells and the ads involve in the majority women being exploited. In this day of technology and creativity I think there are less degrading ways (towards women) that can be used by advertisers such that methods use proof just as effective.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_advertising
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201008/what-does-advertising-do
Nandini Maharaj
807004698
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Rajaram
809002156
Advertising can be defined as the act or practice of calling public attention to one's products, services, needs, etc. This can be done by paid announcements in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, on billboards, etc. Now Communication is the activity of conveying information through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behaviour.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Should advertisers be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please?
Advertisers use a lot of techniques in which they try to encourage or persuade an audience. Some of the main techniques are:-
AVANTE GARDE-The suggestion that using this product puts the user ahead of the times e.g. a toy manufacturer encourages kids to be the first on their block to have a new toy.
FACTS AND FIGURES- Statistics and objective factual information is used to prove the superiority of the product e.g. a car manufacturer quotes the amount of time it takes their car to get from 0 to 100 k.p.h.
DIVERSION- Diversion seems to tackle a problem or issue, but then throws in an emotional non-sequitor or distraction. e.g. a tobacco company talks about health and smoking, but then shows a cowboy smoking a rugged cigarette after a long day of hard work.
WIT AND HUMOR- Customers are attracted to products that divert the audience by giving viewers a reason to laugh or to be entertained by clever use of visuals or language.
TESTIMONIAL- A famous personality is used to endorse the product e.g. a famous basketball player (Michael Jordan) recommends a particular brand of skates.
Now there should be guidelines to the way in which advertisers communicate their messages. These messages should be reliable and trustworthy, not giving the intended audience false or exaggerated facts about ones’ services/ products.
In the communicating process advertisers should be careful that the messages in which they are trying to convey doesn’t discriminate against anyone whether it be creed, class, colour, or race.
Name: Paul Joseph
ID: 808000243
References: - http://www.foothilltech.org/rgeib/english/media_literacy/advertising_techniques.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising
One such form of communication is advertising which can be defined as a form which is either written or oral that attempts to encourage persuade or sell an audience a particular product, good or service.
ReplyDeleteIn today’s world, businesses or companies that wish to sell a product or service use this form of communication to make their product or service known to potential consumers or buyers. Persons are allowed freedom of the press in most countries throughout the world (e.g U.S).However, some companies go to extreme lengths to promote or market their product in cases where some do not follow ethical issues of advertising.
One of those issues that many advertisers face is telling the truth. Consumers would like to believe that what you portray in your ad would be the same as when they purchase your product. In most cases this is not true as what they see in the ad is not always the end result after they purchase that particular good or service. Example, some of those hair care products that you see on television that tells you your hair loss days are over with, with just using their product are in most cases not telling the truth. Sometimes the product can make your hair loss even worse or leave your hair the way it was before you used the product. This can also fall under false advertising.
In cases where advertisers use different advertising strategies to bring across important information and education to their targeted audience on various social issues such as crime, abuse, drugs, alcohol etc. can be done once they bring across their issues or message in a manner that is under ethical issues properly portrayed to their audience.
Therefore, advertisers should not be able to advertise or communicate messages in any way they please unless they are following proper ethical standards where it comes to promoting a good,service or awareness.
http://hairsetup.com/hairscam htm.
http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/3001
Shaneece Ayen
811002378.
Advertising is, in every sense, communication. Communication in its most basic form, highlights three main factors, the message, the channel and the audience, each of which are of equal importance.
ReplyDeleteThe audience is of special importance to advertisers as they must develop some trust in the advertising companies in order to become faithful customers, which is what the advertisers want. To do this, they must convey a message that is legal, decent, honest and truthful (EASA Alliance). This is important in my field of study, Human Nutrition and Dietetics, where food labeling and advertising is a main focus. For instance, advertisers cannot claim that their product improves memory or prevents heart disease, without having sufficient evidence to prove their claims. They should not be allowed to advertise their products in this way without first proving it, so as to avoid distrust between themselves and their customers. They must advertise in a way to avoid using offensive words which will limit their clientele.
Additionally, the channel by which they convey their message must be appropriate, considering their audience, to avoid harming them. For instance, some persons may be epileptic and particularly vulnerable to certain images and videos, such as the controversy that was sparked with the London 2012 Olympic promotions and epileptic content (BBC). Therefore special care must be made to avoid compromising the health of their audience. Advertising deals with the entire public and any unethical information that is used in advertising can be harmful to some audiences. Therefore, i believe that advertisers must be controlled in their advertising methods and not allowed to use any method they wish in order to promote their business. Generally, most businesses wish to attract a wide audience, so they avoid offending or harming anyone in their efforts to please. The benefits of controlling advertising methods are beneficial to advertisers in prolonging business and maintaining fair competition. They are beneficial to their audience's health and wellbeing.
References:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk
http://www.easa-alliance.org
LEANDRA RAMOO
811003474
To the entrepreneur the bottom line for a successful business is generating returns on investments and accruing a great margin of profit. In order for this profit to be made the business has to make its product known and available. There are various forms of media available for the business to ensure that the buying public is aware of the available product. In today’s economic environment it is necessary to advertise. Basic print media allows the business to show the public that they need any given product. Hugh Mackey notes that “its not what our message does to the reader, but what the reader does with the message” (Aitchison, 1999, pg 25). According to Amazon.com their platforms sell up to 300,000 products around the world on any given day. This means that a product truly has to stand out in the mind of the customer. The public is often bombarded with advertising on all media fronts from print to digital thus, to stand out a product must be differentiated from all the substitutes and all other products available on the market. Being able to communicate any message that can sell the product ensures success. These messages become unique identifiers for the product. Advertisements rely on sensationalism branding and associations to differentiate as well as sell the product. Sales equal profits and profits keep the business running. Scott Talgo states that a brand that captures your heart gains commitment. Calvin Klein Jeans in the 1980’s used young models in their ads, capitalizing on the idea of an aging population to become more youthful. The Carib Brewing Company uses its slogan “Know Who You Are” to solidify their concept that being Caribbean or Trinbagonian means having a Carib, using a psychological concept to sell patriotism and self awareness. Many of the beverage companies also enforce their corporate social responsibility by highlighting the “don’t drink and drive”. This poetic freedom or license allows businesses to sell their product and at the same time allow for social awareness. This point is reflected in the marketing strategies of Diageo Heineken Pernod-Ricard who actively support cultural and social events worldwide from profits gained through sales and advertising.Truth in advertising is often seen as an ironic and contradictory statement. The CEO of Amazon notes that having a brand means you have to earn that reputation by trying to do hard things well. There has been a movement of advertisers to try to be truthful as possible. Dove, a leading skin care company, in 2005 launched their “Comfortable in your own Skin” promotion. The premise is to use real people to highlight real issues. Their focus is on natural beauty across all skin types regardless of ethnicity and age. Dove was able to tailor their message to center on real people. Freedom goes both ways as the ability to state their message in all forms allowed Dove to go beyond the normal parameters of advertising “models of a certain persuasion”. Mc Donald’s has expanded its business to include Asia Oceania and the Indian subcontinent. They have adapted their menus and products to reflect the cultural scenario. Their advertising and promotions are factual stating that they do not use certain types of meat and preservatives. Traditionally multinationals like Dove and McDonalds were often transplants of their countries of origin, in today’s environment they have become more Transnational in their approach. Bartlett (1999) state this approach is not an easy one, but brings more benefits as the company is aligned to the culture it operates in. Advertising is a strategy to get information out on a product. Advertisers rely on freedom of expression and communication. It is the consumer who should make their choices based on their own social, cultural, moral and religious values. The company provides the product but ultimately it is the consumer who has to exercise the decision to buy either disregarding or being persuaded by the advertising.
ReplyDeleteLaura Rajaram
809002156
An advertisers main goal is to sell a product to consumers, therefore I believe they should be free to promote their product in any way they please. Advertisers sole duty is to get their product sold, it is the responsibility of the consumer to decipher whether or not what they are willing to invest their money/time on what is actually what is being advertised.
ReplyDeleteSome advertisements may use slogans/jingles, customer testimonials, celebrity endorsements, repetition and the like in order to give what they are trying to sell more appeal. None of those methods mentioned are guaranteed to portray truth or accuracy about the product. In order to protect themselves consumers should do their own research or ask a past user about a product before investing, which should not be difficult to do with the amount of resources we have at our fingertips these days.
Although I believe advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please, they should take some precaution. They need to be aware that their message is not always only being viewed by their target audience. They need to refrain from using advertising that may offend some groups in society even though those offended may not be their target audience.
Alexander Skerritt
810000850
An advertiser is a person, company or organization that owns or controls an actual product or service that is being advertised. Whereas advertising is a form of communication used for marketing to encourage and persuade an audience whether it be the reader, viewer, listener or even a target group to continue or start using a new product. In the modern world almost all businesses use advertising as a means of communication. However, advertisement differs from business to business. In other words, advertising is the sharing of information about the characteristics of a product to the prospective customers with a view to sell the product or increase the sales volume. Hence advertisers would use any means in order to increase sales.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers should not be allowed to use whatever means necessary to get their message across because there are several factors to be considered such as: target audience, religious groups, age groups, gender, demographic areas, and etc. Most of the time advertisers do not take into account all these factors. On the contrary, advertisers may sometimes use whatever means necessary when facing competition. Since advertisement can help boost the image of the brand and brand loyalty. When customers have branded loyalty to a product it is hard for another competitor of the similar product to change their mind. The main purpose of advertising is to sell a product, a service or an idea. It is also the effective communication between consumer and producer.
There are many ethical issues when advertisers use whatever means necessary. The most common issues include: vulgarity/ obscenity which is used to gain consumers attention. Misleading information and deception, stereotyping, racial issues and controversial products such as alcohol, gambling and tobacco are among several of the issues faced in advertising. With the aid of advertising, consumers can easily purchase products without much waste of time. Some of the main benefits to advertising are: to increase sales by creating attraction towards a product. It makes sales of products easy since consumers are aware of the quality of the product. Advertising also leads to a large-scale production which in turn creates employment opportunities to the general public either directly or indirectly. These are some of the benefits to advertising.
Most often in advertising, the sender uses erotic imagery in order to attract attention to a product for sale. Usually the imagery used has nothing to do with the product being advertised. It is only used to get potential customers. This type of imagery is mostly used for alcoholic beverages by exploiting the bodies of young women. Advertisers can sometimes put across the wrong message to the wrong audience. Advertisers need to ensure that the receiver is able to decode the message with its intended meaning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_advertising
http://www.reca.ca/industry/content/legislation-bulletins/information-bulletins/advertising-internet-guidelines.html
http://www.slideshare.net/f098/ethical-issues-in-advertising
Nazirah Padarath
809005015
No, advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please. If given this freedom advertisers may go down a path which would be dangerous to the target audience (such as the consumers of a product) in order to “bring about changes in behaviour”. To the skeptical and investigative consumer, sketchy advertising occurs for a range of products including fitness supplements and herbal medicine.
ReplyDeleteLet us take for instance the popular fitness supplements advertised with greatly muscular men holding a bottle of that answer the average man or young man who is unsatisfied with his self image has been looking for, to finally give him extra results from his workouts. As an added touch to the advertisement the alpha male model may be accompanied by sculpted females the insecure male thinks he can never have.
The 2008 documentary film “Bigger Stronger Faster” directed by Christopher Bell was eye opening for many viewers. For the first time many of us realised how immorally misleading advertisements can be. The popular hydroxycut model Christian Boeving was filmed admitting that he took steroids and that hydroxycut alone could not give him his muscular physique. Boeving however made a very good point along with this (see Link 1) saying that people should be smarter than to think that he took just hydroxycut to look the way he looks. This leads one to wonder, “What about those boflex advertisements? (Example in link 2). Does it really work or was it all fake?”
These supplements usually contain high amounts of protein (Williams 2005, Shih-Han, Johnson and Pipe 2006) which bodybuilders frequently consume hoping to get the desired effect. But what if the supplements do not have what the consumer thinks it has? Christopher Bell demonstrated that it is very possible to create useless “supplements” using the bare minimum of popular supplement ingredients in Link 3 listed below. It is horrifying to think that the freedom to use any means necessary can allow advertisers to mislead consumers into thinking they should buy a product which does not give the results advertised, for example in medicine.
Someone desperate for a quick answer may resort to one of the miracle “herbal remedies” illnesses that are commonly advertised radio and television channels in Trinidad. These advertisements even try to convince people not to follow their doctor’s advice which would result in them becoming amputees. They instead urge people to take their herbal miracle which should allow them to keep their limbs and cure their chronic diseases (such as cancer and diabetes).
Using any means necessary to get consumers to buy a product is unethical. Such perpetrators should legally prosecuted and the most strict rules and regulations should be put in place to ensure an honest market that consumers can trust.
LINKS:
Link 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXfybzT9ngY
Link 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehc7GBWnQbg
Link 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThdFqGLq4QU&feature=related
References:
Williams, Melvin. 2005. “Dietary Supplements and Sports Performance:
Amino Acids.” International Society of Sports Nutrition 2(2): 63-67. Accessed September 16, 2012. http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1550-2783-2-2-63.pdf
Shih-Han, Huang, Karin Johnson and Andrew Pipe. 2006. “The Use of Dietary Supplements and Medications by Canadian Athletes at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games.” Sport Medicine 16 (1): 27-33. Accessed September 16, 2012. http://journals.lww.com/cjsportsmed/Abstract/2006/01000/The_Use_of_Dietary_Supplements_and_Medications_by.6.aspx
Neisha Ramroop
809003874
Question: Should advertisers be allowed to use whatever means necessary to get their message accross?
ReplyDeleteIts is important to understand the concept and the mind of the advertising industry. This industry uses if some but all methods of communication to get their message accross that is, interpersonal, and the mass media to name a few. Their main channel of communication is persuasive and this in turn helps to raise the standard and the reputation of various companies. Now in applying these main functions of advertising, it is clearly and issue when wanting to do "whatever they please" in order to get messages accross.
In this world to begin, There are so many different people of various characteristics and backgrounds that advertising should be carefully done in order to attract various sources. Targeting markets for communicating messages is essential and should be done selectively and strategically in such a way that people will be persuaded, satisfied and most importantly, pleased. The advertisers should always have a focus on getting the receiver to be attracted and pleased by a professional and well-planned outlook of an advertiser.
There are issues which can surround advertisors communicating messages as they please. Firstly, moral standards in a society can certainly be abused and in contrast, religious beliefs could be offended.
In closing, it should be reminded that a good advertiser should know their direction in sending messages. In other words their strategic mode, channel and intention in what to get out of the receiver, which should be attraction and satisfaction.
Shimon Joseph
811001529
reference: earlier comment via "Shaneice Mitchell."
wikipedia.com - advertising
According to the St. John’s University advertisements are effective only if placed in the right medium at the right time. Agreeing with the first section of the post made by Kean Moses on the 11 September 2012 09:06; where he mentioned that advertisers use persuasive communication to market goods and services and to encourage viewers, readers, listeners or a specific group to take some kind of action. As such advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please.
ReplyDeleteIn their quest for selling a product, advertisers may use deceptive tactics such as misleading statements or bait and switch tactics where false prices are presented to the consumer and upon purchase the good is more expensive.(Professional Advertising, 2005). Advertisers in some cases also, do not take into consideration the entire demographic and promote classism and in the same breath racism by advertising products with backdrops of very affluent lifestyles and more often than not the actors and actress in these advertisements are Caucasian. "It is not wrong to want to live better; what is wrong is a style of life which is presumed to be better when it is directed toward having, rather than being: and presents a distorted image of reality" (Pontifical Council for Social Communications,1997) These images are offensive and can negatively affect the psyche and lives of those viewing them as people may resort to extremes to keep up with 'the world'.
Appropriateness of advertisements and censoring also need to be taken into consideration as the vast majority of television viewers are minors. From the definition, advertising is meant to educate as well and this can be achieved without oversexuallizing promotions for condoms and perfumes or even simpler products such as food items for example chocolate. Advertising mediums must also be well thought through as pop ups on the internet for dating sites or those with X-rated content can be easily viewed by children. Being bombarded with such explicit information can result in a change in behavior as children have impressionable minds and can become exceedingly curious and even promiscuous.
Reference List:
Communication Skills For Professionals (AGEX 3004). 2012. Kean Moses, 11 September 2012 09:06
http://communicatorskills.blogspot.com/2012/09/basic-concepts-ofcommunication.html# comment-form
Professional Advertising. 2005. Invest In Effective Advertising, Legal Issues In Advertising http://www.myprofessionaladvertising.com/Legal%20Issues%20in%20Advertising1.htm
Pontifical Council For Social Communications Ethics in advertising- Vatican City, February 22, 1997, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_22021997_ethics-in-ad_en.html
St. John’s University, College Of Professional Studies. 2012. Advertising Communication http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/undergraduate/professionalstudies/departments/communications/degrees/adcomm
Leslyn Alexander
811002435
PART 1:
ReplyDeleteWhy should Advertisers be allowed to use any means necessary to advertise their product? One of the big answers that pop in my head is Profits. Most companies live to make a profit or break even. This is what helps them survive, pays the bills and consolidate the salaries of their workers.
Advertising helps the marketing department to best show or demonstrate to consumers the importance and lure of understanding and purchasing the companies’ products and services. One form used is advertising. Consolidating and imprinting the needs of these products and services in the minds of consumers for use in their daily lives. Encouraging and showing the consumer why they should run to stores, online, phone or through e-commerce and buy their products and services. Thus if companies are allowed to use whatever means necessary whether through print, television, online, billboards, door to door or even outsmarting their competitors, they would be able to demonstrate fully the importance of their products and services to the consumer or their niche market. Maximizing their profits in the long run and reaping the full financial rewards of their ventures if done effectively and efficiently. The company will also have much to gain in terms of consumers awareness and understanding of their products and services, and how it meets their needs through advertising. Advertising also assists the company in gaining repeat buyers if the product or service quality produces a positive customer experience. Additionally, feedback concerning the product or service, whether positive or negative, to the company from the consumers, allows them to make changes and improve upon what already exists. Apart from profits other reasons for advertisers using all means necessary to get their message across include:1) increase in customer base – more customers, 2)improved relationship with customers and 3) potential consumers in terms of knowing what your company is about and what it offers.
Now let’s turn the coin and look at the other side to this question on - Why should Advertisers not be allowed to use any means necessary to get their message across when advertising/promoting their products and services? My above answer, answers the question on the condition that any means necessary suggests using all forms of media and avenues necessary to get your product or service out there to the consumer. It also looks at it in terms of going above and beyond, pushing the envelope of your advertising campaign to increase sales. But there is another side to any means necessary. This could mean going beyond the ethical and moral boundaries of advertising, therefore creating an image in the consumers’ mind of your product or service that in reality does not exist. Basically it’s lying to consumers through false advertising or dishonestly/immorally undermining the competition to gain sales of products or services offered by stealing their market share the wrong way. Furthermore it crosses the line between what is right and wrong. How far should a company go to push advertising their products and services? Should it be at a cost to quality? If a company is allowed to use any means necessary then one may ask where the boundaries lie? How far should they go? What are the lines that advertisers must not cross? What are the ethics or morals involve? How far should a company go to harvest false advertising, lying and impacting their fellow man negatively? There are four cases we can look at;
TO BE CONTINUED.
Name: Jovienne Lawrence
I.D: 01072604
Advertisers should not be able to communicate messages in any way they please considering that advertising laws, consumer rights and censorship laws play a vital role in protecting consumers and maintaining order.
ReplyDeleteInitially, advertising laws require that advertisers be truthful about their products and to be able to substantiate their claims. Puffery claims are legal, however, they are not treated as lies because they cannot be disproved neither are they considered facts because they cannot be proved. An example of this is, ‘Joe’s got the best pizza.’ The law seems to be contradicting itself, in one instance, advertisers must be honest and have evidence in their claims yet in another instance they are allowed to make statements that cannot have evidence, therefore, is not certain.
Secondly, consumers have the right to safety, to be protected against the marketing of goods which are hazardous to health and life. Consumers have the right to be protected against fraudulent and misleading information, advertising, labelling and to be given facts. Many instances have occurred where products failed to fulfil the expectation of the consumer or even worse, had detrimental permanent repercussions that were excluded from the advertisement. An example of devastating side effects from a drug is EvaMist, a treatment for menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, has possible side effects that include cancer, stroke, heart attack, blood clots, and dementia.
Lastly, the purpose of censorship is to suppress indecent, obscene and blasphemous material. The audience constitute of persons of various characteristic groups and everyone should be taken into consideration. Advertisements can send very powerful message subliminally and it is wise to regulate the exposure of material to prevent negative changes in mood, behaviour and customs. Is it appropriate to surround the young, impressionable minds of children with images saturated with sexual expression?
The countless advertisements that the consumer’s minds are bombarded constantly, facilitates brainwashing. Essentially, if advertisers are permitted to complete freedom of expression, the consumers will be at a severely higher risk to scamming and offensive messages.
Crystal McComie
811000887
QUESTION: Should advertisers be allowed to use ‘whatever means necessary’ to get their messages across.
ReplyDeleteANSWER: Advertising is a form of communication intended to inform, educate and persuade viewers consume a particular product or service. Advertising can be done via various forms of media such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines or even direct email. Some advertisers tend to use whatever means possible to get their messages across to their target market and I stand against this as some ads may convey deceptive messages. For instance, advertisements that promote weight loss programs and fitness ads tend to be false and misleading as they promise immediate success without the need to regulate the calorie intake and increase of physical activities. Certain ads tend to use pictures of perfectly fit and healthy individuals to illustrate the result of the product. We all know that with today’s technology it is not difficult to edit and change pictures to our liking. This is misleading as many people believe these pictures and think to themselves that they will get the same results and as such the consumers’ decision making process will be distorted.
Another reason why I am against advertisers using any means possible is those ads which contain adult content such as alcohol advertisements. For example the White Oak advertisement has women dressed ‘half naked’ exposing most of their body parts. Yes I agree that this would attract a man’s attention which is what the advertiser wants but at the same time there are others viewing these ads such as children who should not be open to such behavior at a young age.
In conclusion, consumers deserve the right to accurate, reliable and truthful information and advertisers should provide just this to their viewing audience. Also, advertisers should take into consideration that there are people other than their target market viewing their ads and should therefore keep their ads ‘clean’. As such advertisers should not be allowed to use ‘whatever means necessary’ to get their messages across.
NAME: KRYSTAL A. RAMNARACE
ID#: 809004073
Advertising plays an essential role in the marketing process. When used well, it can capture the curiosity of the potential customer and encourage them to at least seek information on the given product or service; online research, phone calls word of mouth etc. Proper advertising contributes largely to an organisations success.
ReplyDeleteA product or service may not be designed for everyone, therefore organizations usually set their target markets; persons who will be particularly interested in their good or service. To reach the desired target audience, the market is segmented under four main categories: demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural. Because of these segmentations, I believe that advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in whatever way they please. Although consumers may be grouped during the process, each customer is different and may have independent views towards the good or service and an advertisement may be the deciding factor for liking or disliking, purchasing or not purchasing a product.
Within the segmentations mentioned above are classifications such as: age, gender, income, education, ethnicity, religion, social class, region, climate and weather patterns, population density, interests, opinions, values, attitudes, benefits sought, brand loyalty, occasions, readiness to buy. Among these classifications are two very sensitive topics; ethnicity and religion which advertisers should not take lightly and pay close attention to the messages sent and how they may be interpreted by some.
Another reason why advertisers should not be allowed to do as they please is due to the fact of the quick and continuous evolution of technology and its users. Today almost everyone has access to the internet, this includes; social networking, online shopping, cloud computing etc. The internet can be accessed almost anywhere through personal computers, laptops, smart phones and most media and entertainment oriented devices. Persons are becoming computer literate at a younger age everyday because of this ease of access. For example, the advertisement of pornography and other adult goods and services, advertisers should be mindful of the internet users, where they advertise, how they advertise and the difficulty of accessing this information.
Advertisers should not be able to communicate as they please, this is indirectly emphasised upon by laws and political views by a country, for example, in Trinidad and Tobago and most other countries, at the end of cigarette advertisements there is a health warning which states “The Ministry of Health advises that smoking can be dangerous to health,” by law advertisers must display this message to consumers. I believe if it were up to advertisers some of these warnings and information which must be displayed, would be omitted. This may be done because there warnings and information may cause them to lose some potential customers.
These are some of the reasons why I believe advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in whatever way they please.
Chad De Matas
809005046
PART 2:
ReplyDeleteThe Pharmaceutical Industry – Also known as a Machiavellian rendering the good, the bad and the ugly. The selling of over the counter drugs that they know can be harmful to the consumer, but still sell just to increase sales or advertise it as a magic pill that can help your aliments. In addition the lawsuits that months or years later after consumers suffer with side effects from these drugs after false advertising. These drugs end up being toxic and the side effects are even worse than the actual disease it's supposed to cure/help. Tylenol was advertised as a cure for reducing cold, fever, pain, reducing effect of allergies and flu. In 1982 extra strength Tylenol caused the death of 7 individuals. It had been contaminated with cyanide and there was a recall. In 2010 Johnson & Johnson voluntary recalled hundreds of batches of medicine after consumer. Another recall was done in 2010 for 40 products including liquid infant and children's pain relievers. Tylenol is known for causing liver failure and kidney problems, yet their adverting campaign and slogan is "Feel better, Tylenol". Oh the irony. These companies sometimes have a commitment to their investors and shareholders and sometimes push the boundary into unethical practices. In effect they think only of the bottom line and not about the health and safety of the customers.
The Celebrity Tabloid Magazines - A current concern is popular magazines covering celebrities and the lengths they go to sell a story e.g. Duchess Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge present case with French magazine Closer. Taking pictures of the Duchess and her husband while on vacation in France. Now the Duchess is suing this particular tabloid. This constant breaking of laws by the media, infringement of privacy, and making up of stories by said magazines just to tell a story full of lies. A big example of this is ‘The Leveson Inquiry’ - http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/ , http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18913397 http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/inm-describes-irish-daily-stars-topless-kate-decision-as-breach-of-decency-16211588.html
The Tobacco Industry - and how they impact on the health of individuals. The tobacco industry is a classic case of advertisers using any means necessary to get their message across despite the impact on the health of the consumers. This has forced lobbyists and governments to set laws to protect their society and consumers from further harm. In Australia this year they banned the branding on the packaging and must now use plain packaging on the products. The European Union already bans cigarette advertising on billboards, television, radio, print media and the Web. The recent court ruling in Australia: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/03/12/big-tobacco-heads-to-cana_n_1338385.html, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/business/global/australian-court-strikes-down-tobacco-challenge.html?pagewanted=all ; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2188661/Australian-court-deals-blow-global-tobacco-giants-ruling-cigarettes-sold-plain-packaging-WITHOUT-branding.html
EA Publishing Company - and their poorly released games such Sims 3and Mass Effect 3 causing them to lose creditability in the eyes of their customers. Lost of quality in their games and poor customer experience due to the reduced quality of games. According to forbes "Still, EA is already massive, and getting bought out by an even larger publisher might not make the company any more responsive to the many, growing customer concerns plaguing the company, which won the not-so-coveted “Worst Company in America” award this year from The Consumerist." http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/04/26/rumor-free-to-play-publisher-nexon-offers-to-buy-ea/ . Based on the arguments provided above I conclude that Advertisers should use all possible avenues to get their message across without crossing the ethical and legal boundaries.
Name: Jovienne Lawrence; I.D: 01072604
Advertising can be defined as communication which promotes the purchase of products and services. It serves many purposes such as: It promotes competition among producers of commodities, it adds to the development of larger markets and it encourages store owners to stock a variety of items. Through advertisements, consumers build an obscure relation between themselves and a product they may favour. Those that are in charge of producing these messages which we see via the media, do understand that strong methods of persuasion is a major factor in the broadcasting of their materials, which would have a generous effect on their sales returns. Advertisers should be allowed to present messages to consumers in any way they see fit, once it adheres to the laws of the land and the product does what it says.
ReplyDeleteCommercial ads should not bear any elements of discrimination against any group or entity. Although there are advertisements that use women in compromising ways, it is all about reaching the pockets of end users. For example, the “Tile It” billboard which some may see when driving along the highway. The woman is topless and she holds two tiles covering her mammary glands. There are also ads where half naked women are used to promote a drink or new models of cars. Whatever the circumstance, it is in the advertiser’s right to force their products into the markets in any way they choose. However, we as the buyers have the choice to take or leave it.
Cleve Cambridge
810003197
There should be messages for a mature and non mature audience that is why analyzing the audience is one of the most essential subjects in Communication Skills i.e audience segmentation should be considered. I know some businessmen/advertisers don’t agree because it is all about the dollars. I am referring to Cleve Cambridge comment.
DeleteKERON FLOYD
811003072
In communication the term noise is referred as any element or factor that delays, prohibits or alters the message sent by the source to the receiver. Methods of communicating a message to the receiver are focused on having a positive impact and naturally to inform, educate and entertain people.
ReplyDeleteIn the real world advertisers or people can manipulate an ad or a message being broad-casted to the public for their personal interest. Negative campaigning is the term given to this type of advertising found and known worldwide in political venues. The risk and consequence of allowing advertisers to communicate their message as they please has a global impact on the general mass of people. Society has evolved to accept that there is truth in messages being broadcasted to them. These purposes as mentioned above is to inform, educate and entertain people. Negative campaigning suppresses the voter turnout in political time or dissuaded people from a particular political party. Entertainment ads or messages focus mainly on a product and thus people are selective in their acceptance of the ad, whereas ads that inform and educate. People hold in regard that it should be accepted as the information in it is scientifically valid and reliable.
Presently some ads that inform and educate can also mislead the general mass therefore society uses discretion in accepting a message.
Campaigning or advertising seeks to gather the general public into belief that there is truth in the ad or message. Thus advertisers control the flow of information and when the public fails to accept an ad. The advertisers product or message being sold, distributed or accepted by the public is dismisses as a scam or a scandal. Examples of these are “weight losing pills” or other such drugs. Another is the infamous “Aoqili Diet Soaps” which washes away the fat.
Advertisers should not be allowed to communicate their messages in any way they please. Instead the message needs to be filtered and selective to the general public or receiver. The message has to be adapted so could be accept as truth. Intelligence, culture and the evolution of socio-cultural way of life needs to be accepted when communicating a message to a receiver.
Example:
1. http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog/?p=6694
2. http://www.mothernaturett.com/
3. http://www.skinny-fiber-diet-pills.com/2011/06/weight-loss-pills-in-trinidad-tobago.html
4. http://www.dietspotlight.com/aoqili-diet-soap-review/
Reference:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_campaigning#Advantages
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising#Types_of_advertising
Name: Prahlada Phang
ID # (809004130)
An advisement is a notice, such as a poster or a paid announcement in the print; broadcast, or electronic media, designed to attract public attention or patronage . The purpose of advertising is to inform people, about a product and persuade the targeted audience to buy the product.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers should be able to communicate messages any way they please, however they should consider the context and content of the message they are really trying to send to their audience.
As such, in 2008 Burger King released a commercial for their Carl’s Jr. Burger. In the minute long commercial Paris Hilton was seen in a bathing suit washing and rubbing herself on the car. During the entire commercial there was a two second piece where she actually took a bite of the burger. If their goal was to appeal to a male audience they succeed. However I’m sure the only message they got from it had nothing to do with the burger.
Despite commercials that send the wrong message there are some very powerful anti-smoking commercials. Some are very graphic, showing the effects of smoking. In which, one shows a man using an oxygen tube and suffering from emphysema. While there are others showing people having to speak with a hole at their throat. Surly the message had been conveyed loud and clear.
References
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/advertisement
Tishara Charles
811000923
The sole purpose of communication is to get a message across from a sender to receiver via a channel or medium. In advertising that channel or medium is most significant in ensuring how well the receiver interprets the message. Ultimately advertisers focus on persuasion to capture the general audience to ensure the success of their product or service. Therefore persuasion is therefore a powerful tool which can be used to manipulate the behavior of the audience. I do not believe that advertisers should be able to use whatever means possible to get their message across. Advertisers should not be misleading to the public a good example of this is where local comedian Learie Joseph after being banned from performing due to breach of a contractual agreement was still being promoted as s a main performer in an annual comedy fest in 2011. This of course was misrepresentation on the part of the show’s promoters. Other factors which should be taken into consideration include being offensive to values and beliefs of the audience whether political, religious, gender, sexuality or race.
ReplyDeleteIn conclusion advertisers should not be allowed to use all means possible to capture an audience due to infringement of various ethical issues.
Tammy Thompson
811002623
Each day we are bombarded with a broad range of persuasive communication. Advertising is one of the most obvious examples and is a multi- billion dollar industry focused on enticing someone to purchase, to get involved, and to sign up. Since advertising messages come in many forms, television, radio, direct mail newspaper and magazines, many audiences receive the messages whether they can decode or at the age to decipher it. Messages should be direct, concise and most certainly truthful and therefore when these factors are not incorporated, especially the latter it should not be making publishing standards. Are there any standards for advertisers?
ReplyDeleteSince advertisers target customers, they (customers) should also be protected and be guaranteed truthfulness and accuracy in messages. Just from advertisers misleading the customers can have severe implications of the lives of customers. Consumer’s health can be affected if an advertiser health claim is untrue. Simply declaring a product is free from antigens or allergic ingredients, when truthfully it is not, can lead to severe health consequences and possible fatality on diagnosed consumers. In the food industry and health industry there isn’t room for misinformation because lives can be lost, accuracy is of paramount importance. If advertisers choose to say all their meats are "Halad", and it is just an advertising strategy to the purchasing power of Muslim customers, it is extremely unethical. When uneducated people are misled and purchase a product that doesn't have its advertised claim, customer’s satisfaction and human rights are hereby impinged, as it resembles white collar crime.
Indubitably there are legitimate and suitable tools in which advertisers can use which will not contribute to harm or present false impressions to customers. The Low-ball technique is a proven psychological approach used by accomplished advertisers. There are advertisers who are well schooled in their profession and they understand the importance of integrating psychological studies to persuade customers, and thus they imposed no threat to customers and are highly reliable. But there are those who tarnish the entire body of advertisers with derogatory slogans, deceptive words, profane languages, exasperate images, and unethical songs, and for these reasons the body of advertisers ( truthful or untruthful) should not be allowed to use whatever means necessary. Forms such as radio and television can have enormous benefits, as more customers can be attracted. Refreshing slogans and words preserves advertiser’s image.
However money can make advertisers say unscrupulous things, and likewise in any civilized society there should be rules and restrictions, and thus punishment when these rules are breached. I am sure you are persuaded to agree with me that advertisers should not be allowed to use whatever means necessary to get their message across because, customers based on age, ethnicity and religious beliefs should and have to be respected.
References:
www.cfsan.fda.gov/label.html
Benjamin B.Lahey. Psychology an Introduction: University of Chicago.
KERON FLOYD
811003072
Advertisers can be briefly defined as a group of people who employ a series of communication methods which enables them to use marketing strategies to persuade and encourage audience’s behavioral patterns in order to achieve a desired result. However it should be noted that although advertisers have a large arsenal of communications methods that are readily available to them, not all are considered to be effect or in some instance even appropriate or even applicable.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Marylyn Carrigan, a lecturer at the University of Birmingham in the UK. (Marketing ethics and social responsibility are inherently controversial, and years of research continue to present conflicts and challenges for marketers on the value of a socially responsible approach to marketing activities). This being said we can start by saying that, before a message is sent the sender should take a few things into consideration that may bear great impact not only on the message but on the receive as well for example ,whether or not the targeted consumers cares about ethical behavior. This would be based on the fact that ethical conducts tend to have a significant effect on consumer’s purchasing power. Ethical consumers often tend to follow and reward companies that share the same or similar views to their belief .But however they tend to avoid or even punish unethical companies and may only support them in extreme cases.
The advertiser also has to take into consideration the social and geographical demographics of the intended message receivers as these elements often leads to or have an effect on a host of other factors that can affect the message ability to be communicated effectively and efficiently as well as to produce the intended results.
Although there are a host of communication methods and style readily available to the advertiser, efficiency and effectiveness lays at the heart of their activities and with that being said advertisers can not only focus on just getting their message out there . As such the cost associated with sending intended messages has to be factorized .Although the use of many lines of communication would or may result in the message being sent out to a diverse segment of the audience and almost guarantees that the message would reach the intended recievers.This comes at a very high price as it requires the utilization of a lot of resources but however chances of the message being received and understood would be significantly greater than say using just one method.
With that being said, it may be safe to say that it would not be advisable to allow advertisers the free will to communicate messages in just anyway, form or fashion that they may feel like just because the can ,especially if the message is designed to obtain effective results. As there are a lot of other factors that play important roles within the industry to allow for communication to be successful and also to allow for the message to produce the required effects as intended by the sender.
References
Marylyn Carrigan, Ahmad Attalla, (2001) "The myth of the ethical consumer – do ethics matter in purchase behaviour?", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 18 Iss: 7, pp.560 -
Name : Kevon Morgan
ID # 05773707
Communication can be simplified to mean the transfer of information between individuals both verbal and non verbal. Human communication is inevitable. Advertisers specialize in mass communication and their specialty lies within the field of persuasive communication. Beside persuasion, education and entertainment are other reasons for their campaigns. A single campaign may contain all three aforementioned elements simultaneously, that is, persuasion, education and entertainment. The question remains however, should advertisers be allowed to portray messages in any way they see fit? In my opinion, this question stretches beyond the argument of freedom of speech and expession as we are now dealing with the topic of mass communication.
ReplyDeleteIt is my belief that everyone has to be held accountable for what they portray to the general public. Advertisers especially should adhere to a strict ethical code when it comes to the messages they send and the manner in which it is sent. Advertisements should firstly be true to the product or service to which it relates. Exaggerations used as attention grabbers should be seen for what they are and not commonly misunderstood to be the likeness of the product. Propaganda campaigns should be restricted and laws against false advertising should be enforced.
Responsibility should be exercised especially in the dissemination of information. In keeping with integrity with respect to the content, it should also not be biased or offensive and in this sense also adhere to a high moral standard.
Cy Sarjeant
809002229
There should be messages for a mature and non mature audience that is why analyzing the audience is one of the most essential subjects in Communication Skills i.e audience segmentation should be considered. I know some businessmen/advertisers don’t agree because it is all about the dollars. I was referring to Cleve Cambridge comments.
ReplyDeleteKERON FLOYD
811003072
Reply
Advertising is the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media. (Bovee, 1992, p.7). Advertisers should not use whatever means necessary to get their message across. There is much economical harm of advertising and unethical advertising that occurs. Therefore using any means possible should not be allowed. Concerning the unethical advertising, advertisement is considered unethical when it has degraded or underestimated the substitute or rival’s product, when it gives false or misleading information on the value of the product and when it fails to give useful information on the possible reaction or side effects of the product. As correctly stated by previous persons who commented is that advertisers may not present important information visibly to consumers and this may have consequences.
ReplyDeleteThere are many ways in which unethical advertisement may occur and they are surrogate advertisement, puffery, exaggeration, unverified claims, women stereotyping, women used as sex symbols for promoting products and comparative advertisements. Surrogate advertising is prominently seen in cases where advertising a particular product is banned by law. Puffery as a legal term refers to promotional statements and claims that express subjective rather than objective views, such that no reasonable person would take literally, as stated previously. For example, an advertisement may show that a polar beer enjoys drinking coca-cola but in reality this is not so. Exaggeration is where advertisers use false claims in advertisements about the product for example advertisements of ‘energy drinks’ that tells us about the number of vitamins and how they help children to grow strong and tall. There is no way of verifying these false claims.
The economical harm of advertising in any means possible is where advertising can betray its role as a source of information and by withholding relevant facts. Advertising is not only used to inform but to persuade and motivate consumers to convince them to act in certain ways. The practice of ‘brand’-related advertising can raise serious problems. There are often only negligible differences among similar products of different brands and advertising may attempt to move people to act on the basis of irrational motives. Some of these are brand loyalty, status, fashion, sex appeal and many more, instead of presenting differences in product quality and price as bases of rational choices.
Amelia Gonowrie 811001043
Links :
1.Public.wsu.edu/~taflinge/addefine.html
2.www.slideshare.net/bvu/unethical-advertisements
3.www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_220021997_ethic s_in_ad_en.html
Advertising is the communication of product information by means of public media, the purpose of which is to sell products to consumers. Yes advertising may postulate an array of benefits to potential consumers as they may gain an insight to what the product entails but does this justify the reasoning that advertisers be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please? Personally I believe this is wrong and unjustified with my premise being based on the ethical aspects on advertising.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers should adhere to basic ethical principles such as honesty in order to convey their message; morally it is wrong to entice an audience through misrepresentation and secretive means. An example of this source of secretive advertising is prominent in the pharmaceutical industry where drug companies put the main focus on the positives affiliated with their products but fail to put as much time in acknowledging the possible side effects. Imagine if an individual you knew was susceptible to this poor form of advertising, would this be fair?
In advertising advertisers should also focus on the social consciousness of their audience by not exploiting stereotypes based around race, gender, religion or age. One of the main advertising strategies that advertisers use is based on the quotation “Sex Sells”, is it really ethical to rely on sexually explicit images to generate interest rather than the virtues of the product itself? In this circumstance advertisers do not take into consideration the adolescent as well as children who are just as disposed to these messages as their targeted counterparts.
Personally I believe being ethical in advertising is very possible as ethics as a whole is the foundation on which society is built. Advertisers should acknowledge that no one escapes ethics as they too must take into consideration morals, values and sanctions before deciding a means to deliver a particular message. It is based on this bias of ethical behavior that advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please.
Reuel Theroulde 809004440
REFERENCES:
http://www.businessphilosophy.co.uk/articles/ethics&advertising.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertiser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRNvhGND7Kc
Should advertisers be allowed to use whatever means necessary to get their message across.
ReplyDeleteThe main purpose of advertising is to get a message across, so why shouldn't advertisers use whatever means necessary to do so. The reason for supporting advertisers to use whatever means necessary is because they have to sell a product, inform and educate the general public. There are always two sides to an issue and sometimes the good purposes always get overshadowed by the consequences.
Advertisers use all types of advertising to inform people about different products and services, their utilities, cost and helping the public make better marketing decisions. For example: the bounty (paper towel ad) that shows us that it’s twice as absorbent as other leading brands, all for a lower price. Also with advertisers having the power to use any means possible to get the message to their target audience, Advertisers invest in the ad business which according to statistic brain, the US makes 48 billion annually. Prices per ad have risen, for example: Coca-Cola spent $11,000 on advertising in 1893; by 1928, its ad budget had grown to $5 million. Advertisement attracts all the small and large business owners, since advertisement is the key to bringing in the customers with the persuading ads. These ads make the businesses bloom into empires; this is always good for entrepreneur and people with struggling businesses to reach consumers and target audience and impact positively on their business products and services.
Although advertisers are allowed to use any means necessary to get their message across there are still laws to follow. There are advertising laws protect consumers by requiring advertisers to be truthful about their products and to be able to substantiate their claims. All businesses must comply with advertising and marketing laws, and failure to do so could result in costly lawsuits and civil penalties. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the main federal agency that enforces advertising laws and regulations. Under the Federal Trade Commission Act Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive and evidence to back up their claims.
So with these laws protecting customers and ensuring the ads are not untrue and deceptive .I believe that advertisers should be allowed to use any means necessary to get their message across.
References:
http://www.statisticbrain.com/advertising-agency-industry-statistics/
http://www.sba.gov/content/advertising-basics
http://www.statisticbrain.com/advertising-agency-industry-statistics/
Christopher Nathaniel
811000806
Advertisers should not be allowed to use whatever means necessary to get their message across. Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and is used to encourage or persuade an audience- viewers, readers or listeners; to continue or to take some new action. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common. The purpose of advertising may also be to reassure employees or shareholders that a company is viable or successful. Advertising messages are usually viewed via various traditional media- including mass media such as: newspapers, magazines, television commercial, radio advertisement, outdoor advertising or direct mail. Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through branding, which involves the repetition of an image or product name in an effort to associate certain qualities with the brand in the minds of consumers. Non-commercial advertisers who spend money to advertise items other than a consumer product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Nonprofit organizations may rely on free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement. Digital signage is poised to become a major mass media because of its ability to reach larger audiences for less money. Digital signage also offers the unique ability to see the target audience where they are reached by the medium. Technological advances have also made it possible to control the message on digital signage with much precision, enabling the messages to be relevant to the target audience at any given time and location which in turn, gets more response from the advertising. Digital signage is being successfully employed in supermarkets. Another successful use of digital signage is in hospitality locations such as restaurants and malls. Controversy exists on the effectiveness of subliminal advertising, and the pervasiveness of mass messages. While advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs. Unsolicited commercial e-mail and other forms of spam have become so prevalent as to have become a major nuisance to users of these services, as well as being a financial burden on internet service providers. Advertising is increasingly invading public spaces such as schools, which some critics argue is a form of child exploitation. In addition, advertising frequently uses psychological pressure (for example: appealing to feelings of inadequacy) on the intended consumer, which may be harmful. Many even feel that often, advertisements exploit the desires of a consumer, by making a particular product more appealing, by manipulating the consumers needs and wants.
ReplyDeleteTahlia Ali
810003512
The phenomenon of communication is the natural desire of human beings to express their feelings and the ideas of others. The basic purpose of communication is to bring about changes in the behaviour of the receiver. Its aim is to inform, educate and entertain people.
ReplyDeleteGiven this definition, should advertisers be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please? What are some of the considerations or issues surrounding this question?
The aforementioned statement posits the phenomenon of communication as an innate desire for human beings to express their feelings and the ideas of others. Communication is cited therefore as a means to bring about changes in the behaviors of the receiver with its aim being to inform, educate and entertain people. Advertising has been defined as the means whereby organizations can announce or praise (a product or service, need, etc,) in some public medium of communication in order to induce people to buy or use it.
Given these definitions, I believe that advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please for a multitude of reasons, however; I will draw reference to advertising’s impact on consumers and its induced behaviour, the potential impact on the society as a whole and the ethical and social implications of advertising.
Advertising aims to stimulate the desires and feelings of potential customers with a view of encouraging a positive purchase decision. Advertising professionals use persuasive techniques to strive for the optimistic resonance of particular products in the minds of potential consumers, thereby influencing the potential customers into commercial transactions that they might otherwise avoid. Many advertising campaigns are based on dramatizations which are false, deceptive or misleading.
Advertising has also been seen citied as a tool which has the ability to have an adverse effect on the society as a whole, in its ability to create what can be seen as “artificial needs”. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith argued this point in his book ‘The Affluent Society (1958)’. He argues that if wants emerge before the production process, such as the need for lodging while travelling (which produces a hotel industry), then these can be said to be genuine wants that require satisfying. However, if wants emerge with the production process itself, then the urgency of these wants can no longer be used to defend the urgency of production. According to Galbraith, when production begins to fill a void that it has itself created, then this is proof that the need is artificial and the satisfaction that it will bring can only be insignificant and temporary. Galbraith et al therefore highlights advertisings ability to promote artificial demand.
Finally advertising ‘campaigns’ must acknowledge some considerations and issues that surround the advertisement and/or the communication projection. Ethical issues such as the decency and honesty of the advertisement; the targeted demographic; the comparisons drawn to other products or services; the use of dramatized testimonials, claimed results and guarantees; the exploitation of goodwill; the promotion of unsafe and unhealthy products; the layout and illustration of the commercial; the use of asterisks and abbreviations in language; among numerous others are all factors that need to be taken into consideration within advertising communication.
The aforementioned points highlight why I believe that advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please as advertisements have the ability to bring about negative changes in the behavior of the receiver from a micro and macro standpoint. Advertisements also need to take into consideration a plethora of social issues that are inextricably linked to communication.
Jared Jolon Bennett
810001484
Advertising can be defined as any form of paid communication with the purpose of motivating a reader or viewer to purchase a product or service, to influence public opinion, to win political support, to sell an idea or a cause, or to act or think and perhaps influence others in the manner desired by the client. The main goal of advertising is to motivate or persuade people to buy a particular product or service. Alan C. Harris notes that advertisers have a rhetorical purpose defined as the presentation and exhibition of a product or service and the exhortation and coercion of potential buyers. In my opinion, advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they see fit as long as deception, legality, ethics and moral codes are not overlooked.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned in the definition, the main objective of the advertiser is to boost sales of a company’s product or service and thus leeway must be given to advertisers to entertain through exaggeration and spectacle as these are the elements or techniques are what the audience or consumer is captivated by. These techniques allow for catch phrasing which further helps their (advertisers) cause as the consumer now associates the product with memory or song. Once engrained in the minds of or persuaded that the product being advertised is better or best, the product becomes a habit forming good which is ideal because the good becomes inelastic in demand, or desensitized to price changes. An example of this is Trinidad’s Breeze advertisement, where consumers now link cleanliness and freshness of clothing to their product, leaving some believing that there is no better alternative. Placing oneself in the shoes of these company’s and for the reason explained above, I see no problem allowing advertisers to use any means seen fit to communicate their message.
However, an argument should never be one sided and as such must be looked at from another perspective. I fully encourage the creativity and artistry of advertisers but when the issue of legality and codes of ethics come into play, I am forced to agree that free reign should not be given to advertisers in communicating their message. It is assumed or expected by advertisers that a consumer should be able to differentiate between reality and any fictitious dimensions incorporated in advertisements presented. However, being masters of this game, advertisers are quite aware that once insecurities come into play, a viewer’s ability to think rationally and logically is sent “flying out the window” and the consumer is captured by the slightest possibility that that “utopian reality” can also become their own. Good examples of this are Xenadrine (a weight loss product) and Pepsi. The Xenadrine commercial assures consumers rapid weight with little health effects but places at the bottom of the screen in small print, “statements not approved by FDA” (deception) and the Pepsi commercial insinuates that drinking Pepsi allows u to become a part an elite group (snob appeal technique) when we simply know this to not be true.
To sum up all statements aforementioned, I do not believe in stifling the creativity of advertisers as it has well been proven that simultaneously informing and entertaining the consumer is what gets the job done but when advertisers overstep boundaries and display total disregard for human life and health and also lack moral and ethical standards, I am compelled to say that I do not agree that advertisers should be allowed to communicate in any way they please.
Sihle Mendoza
811002601
The main purpose of an advertisement regardless of the product is to grasp the viewers’ attention. I say viewer since the intended audience may not be the only ‘people’ that would have access to the advertisement due to the concept of mass media (channels such as, television, ads in papers, the internet and social networking sites). In order to get the viewers’ attention or interest in the product the advertiser has a time frame to do so and only the positives or qualities of the product that would make the viewer say “aye you know what, I could do with one of these or hmmmmm this might come in handy or I need this” will be related somehow. This would be referred to as the message of the advertisement and it is usually here that the problem arises. The truth doesn’t sell and in advertisement the motto seems to be ‘sex sells’ since this is what grasps the audience’s attention regardless of the product. Anything from perfume, cologne, washing liquid, cars, phones, gardens appliances seems to have some half naked male or half naked female in it and nothing is wrong with it however the manner in which these messages can or are related is the problem.
ReplyDeleteTake for example http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3D0cbCOQAWGWg , which is an ad to promote correct eye surgery but is done in a manner which is unfit for the general public to see and is a prime example of more than the intended audience having access to it as it was aired on cable at various times during the day and night. The intended audience for such a ‘product’ would be persons who wear glasses, contacts, near/far sighted etc and would clearly have caught their attention however minors also had access to this advertisement which is a complete disregard for ethical values and rights of the child. Sure there are rights of freedom of expression but it is different in other countries across the world, so no, I do not think that advertisers should use any means necessary to get their product ‘out there’.
Rajendra Kissoon
808000262
Communication is a two-way process whereby a message is transmitted from the sender and absorbed by the receiver, using an appropriate channel. All companies use advertisements, as a way of selling their products, educating the public or just to communicate with their costumers. Some companies however, go to extremes in advertising when trying to get their message across to their respective audiences. It is my opinion that companies should be allowed to put whatever content they wish into an advertisement, providing that it is not taboo in any way or that the messages displayed cannot potentially be illegal.
ReplyDeleteAn example of companies that go to extremes when trying to get their message across effectively is put forward by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.), an American federal agency, which seeks to inform and educate viewers about the damage they do to their bodies every time they smoke a cigarette. In this particular advertisement (1), they highlight the case of former smoker Terrie, who describes to the audience what she goes through at the start of each day. This ad, while not stating exactly how much or how long Terrie had been smoking for, leads the audience to believe that she was a chain smoker due to the severity of her case. It does not appear taboo or illegal either as it does not depict any graphic images of the process by which Terrie arrived at this state and tries to deter people from smoking because it is highly unlikely that anyone would want to have to undergo chemotherapy, or talk through an artificial speech device.
In concluding, given the definition of communication listed originally, I believe that this ad fully serves it purpose of informing, educating and bringing about a change in attitude of its receivers.
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zWB4dLYChM&feature=related
Mark Ramjohn- 810002415
An advertiser is any person, organisation or company that places advertisement i n order to target customers. The main aim is to target customers and make sure that are persuaded to buy their products or whatever business adventure they want to be successful in.
ReplyDeleteCommunication is good as its the planning to reach the particular goal of the company. It is a 2 way process as the message needs to be encoded in a way that it will get the attention of the receiver by the channel in which it is sent. After the message is sent a feedback is received so the decoding occurs. Advertises needs to follow the correct way of encoding their message across to the customers as they will need to know the type of the product;the level of education of the public;the vocabulary;and the audience. this way both processes are used as the message sent would show the behavior of the people as their response.
The steps must be followed for appropriate messages to received. The seder must take into consideration the readers mind and the audience in particular. An example can be if a message is being sent to a religious group from someone who dos not indulge themselves in religion but that of politics it can mislead the audience an they maybe confused and some vulgarity may occur. When a message is being sent by advertisers they ensure there main focus is to reach their goal an focus where they want to be and what needs to be done. Example the goal of the company or small business that has limited capital will be unable to develop as much money to advertise but their main target will be based on stimulating the message to people.
In this case it can be argued that advertisers can send their messages in any way that they choose as long as their message is understood by the receiver such as encouraging them to buy products etc. On the otherhand it can be misleading and cause segregation of some groups or businesses in society such as racism or stereotyping such as persons form a particular background maybe steroid as lower class when advertisers use cities as examples. Messages can be misleading an the decoding process will not become fulfill.
As we know advertisement is the main source of targeting people and informing them to invest in their product or business to generate awareness. They should use appropriate method as it shows the receiver response and the effectiveness.
REFERENCE
Contemporary Advertising
3rd edition Homewood
I.L.Irwin 1989
Lizanda Gookool
811002650
Advertisers are persons who communicate the high importance of their products to consumers who are influenced and persuaded into buying; advertisers use persuasive advertising. The definition of persuasive advertising according to BusinessDictionary.com is "A type of product promotion that attempts to influence a consumer in a favour of a purchasing particular good or service." With that being said advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please. The reason for this is because this creates an opportunity to lie about their product. This can mean that the advertiser uses the naivety of the consumer to his/her advantage and in some cases these so called benefits of using the products are in truth "fluff". This is potentially disastrous because the advertiser creates a benefit that is not really there; a benefit that does not exist. In addition to creating false hope the advertiser is lying and ethically this is not right as they can set themselves up for legal action. Not only can they set themselves up for legal action but they will be deemed as liars. This is shown in the case of Merck Sharpe and Dhome and their “Vioxx” product in April 2002. The product was sold for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis; the catch is that it was suggested to doctors and ultimately patients under the pretence that it was FDA approved to effectively treat the disease. The FDA questioned this and subsequently charged Merck & Co. (Merck Sharpe and Dhome) $322 million for false advertising. In conclusion there needs to be some sort of regulation with respect to communication and advertising especially to the mass market not only to protect consumers but to also protect companies from becoming too focused on profits and not product effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/persuasive-advertising.html
http://therefusers.com/refusers-newsroom/guilty-gardasil-maker-merck-pays-322-million-criminal-fine-for-improperly-touting-vioxx-safety-bloomberg/
Dana Harrinanan
810002070
Advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any manner that they see fit. This is evident in the development of Advertising Codes and Regulations which are a set of wide-ranging rules and guidelines to ensure that audiences and consumers are protected from misleading, harmful or offending information. These regulations also go further to protect consumers by adding another layer of protection through the development of specific rules for certain products such as alcoholic drinks, health, children, medicine and environmental claims.
ReplyDeleteAs with every other area of human life their is some form of guideline or regulation, so to must Advertisers and Advertisement be regulated in order to protect individuals. Without these rules and guidelines to direct and provide some measure of standard and monitoring Advertisers would be free to mislead and offend the general public.
Darien Jones
810002377
Advertising can be defined as the means of appealing to the public’s attention to a product, service or business by use of paid announcements in the print, by broadcasting or by use of electronic media. It may be necessary for advertisers to get their message across, they should however, not be allowed to do so in any manner they please or by any means necessary. The ultimate aim of advertising is to increase sales by showing their services and goods in a positive light.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers usually direct their message to a particular audience. They may assume that they are conveying their message effectively but there may be persons that may take offence to their advertisements. There are two very controversial topics that frequently cause problems when it comes to advertising, these are religion and race. There is also the vast concern of the occurrence of obscene language and indecencies, which are regularly in modern day advertisements. For example, for perfume advertisements models and celebrities posing with a high sex-appeal are shown, which are seen often for perfumes by Gucci and Tom Ford. Most of their perfume advertisements usually do not make much sense but it is the best way found to sell their products.
In many cases advertisements are directed and viewed by a mass audience, which includes children. Restrictions are placed by numerous organizations to freely advertise. If this was not so, then advertising could have been used to cause harm by falsification and by withholding significant information. Some advertisers would even go on to promoting their product unethically or illegally in order to get the public’s attention and to make money.
References:
www.answers.com/topic/advertising
www.hi.com.au/engprog/pdf/HEPAdvert.pdf
http://najwaadlinarosman.blogspot.com/2012/06/highly-sexual-art-of-selling-perfume.html
Alicia Baig
809001148
There is no doubt that the use of advertisements plays a very crucial role in our daily lives. They can serve to notify an audience of goods available to them, products being sold, services provided and the type of business one does. Advertisements can also inform the public of the date and venue of an event, or raise awareness of certain social issues (in the form of PSAs).
ReplyDeleteIn an age of commercial competition, proper advertising gives businesses a competitive advantage in the market place. Advertisers are very aware of the dominance or control they have to sway consumers towards their product and they use this to their advantage. Advertisers trying to sell a product will attempt to create a demand for that product. Whether or not they have the consumers’ best interest at heart is uncertain.
As useful as they can be, advertisements are sometimes abused by companies simply to earn a profit for the manufacturers and businessmen. Some methods used by advertisers to relay their message may be seen as unethical and misleading to the public. Anything from lies and unproven facts, to fear and manipulation can be used to coax consumers into believing that they require a product.
Some advertisers blatantly ignore facts and promote their products even if there are adverse side effects for consumers (cigarettes are an example). Toothpaste commercials constantly express that 4 out of 5 dentists recommend their brand, but is this in fact true? Shampoo commercials imply that your hair will be gorgeous and glowing simply from using their product when the actress looks like her hair has been professionally styled in a salon.
Advertisements are a useful and powerful way to influence people, but proper regulations and sanctions are needed to ensure abuse of this power does not occur. If advertisers are allowed to communicate messages in any way they please then this can be very destructive as well as have serious implications on the public. Advertisers have to be held accountable for their claims and not try to misrepresent what they are pitching to their audience.
Crystal Ramkissoon
04719856
Communication is based on conveying information through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behaviour to a receiver. Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners). Advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through branding, which involves the repetition of an image or product name in an effort to associate certain qualities with the brand in the minds of consumers. For an advertisement to be effective the message must be received by the intended audience. If the message is not received then it would not be effective.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers are entitled to freedom of speech and expression and therefore should be able to communicate messages in anyway or form they choose.
But on the other hand, the sender must know their audience in order for the rationale behind their message to be effective. Various barriers such as religion, culture, age group, etc can prevent a message from being received. An advertiser may say sex sells, and may use revealing images to catch the eyes of the receiver or to relay their message. But for another audience this might be viewed as offensive or inappropriate,resulting in ineffective communication. eg. Hooters main avenue for advertising are girls with a certain shape in revealing clothing. It has been shown that older women found this degrading and therefore do not patronize but most men love this. Using this method of advertising affects their customers and also their franchise because they can't place a Hooters in Dubai where women are fully clothed due to cultural beliefs.
Krystle Gay
811005894
Advertising is a process of communicating to convince a person to do something or buy a product. Personally, I believe that advertisers should not be allowed to use "whatever means necessary" to get their message across. There is a thin line between what is appropriate and what may not be considered appropriate to the public, in advertisements. There are certain ethical and moral barriers that are being broken by the advertising companies, for the sake of products being sold and huge amounts of money being made. The social and moral fabric of today's society, is diminishing due to some of these advertising strategies being adopted by these companies, for instance; alcohol abuse, minors smoking, to name but a few.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers should be more weary of there advertising strategies. They should conduct more surveys and see what is more appealing to the public while using their discretion on carrying across their message.
Shiva Dupraj
806009095
The sole purpose of communication is to get a message across from a sender to receiver via a channel or medium. In advertising that channel or medium is most significant in ensuring how well the receiver interprets the message. Ultimately advertisers focus on persuasion to capture the general audience to ensure the success of their product or service. Therefore persuasion is therefore a powerful tool which can be used to manipulate the behavior of the audience. I do not believe that advertisers should be able to use whatever means possible to get their message across. Advertisers should not be misleading to the public a good example of this is where local comedian Learie Joseph after being banned from performing due to breach of a contractual agreement was still being promoted as s a main performer in an annual comedy fest in 2011. This of course was misrepresentation on the part of the show’s promoters. Other factors which should be taken into consideration include being offensive to values and beliefs of the audience whether political, religious, gender, sexuality or race.
ReplyDeleteIn conclusion advertisers should not be allowed to use all means possible to capture an audience due to infringement of various ethical issues.
Tammy Thompson
811002623
Advertising is basically a means by which sellers communicate to prospective buyers. Advertising is a very important form of communication which facilitates freedom of speech that allows the advertiser to communicate to the public. According to duhaime.org freedom of speech refers to the ‘freedom to communicate ideas without restraint, whether orally or in print or by other means of communication’.
ReplyDeleteThe perfect example of freedom of speech comes in the form of a rapper (musician). A rapper communicates with the public via his lyrical abilities; however, some rappers use explicit language when advertising their music. At the end of the day this is the best way the rapper could advertise/communicate his point to his audience. Therefore, the advertiser has to make a choice based on his preference on what would be the most effective method of advertising whether or not some like it or not.
Advertising is a highly visible business activity however they must consider how they advertise because unethical behavior can be risky to the business. Ethical issues include vulgarity, misleading consumers, racial issues, stereotyping etc. Therefore, they must consider the feedback that may come from choosing a particular means of advertising. In India, there are the ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) which have a set of guidelines to control several ethical issues in advertising. These guidelines help enforce truthfulness, fairness in competition, and reduce misleading information to the public.
Consequently, advertising laws have been installed to protect consumers by inspecting the claims made by businesses in their advertising. Organizations like the Federal Trade Commission ensure that all advertising laws are abided by and failure to do so may result in penalties and fines to the business ensuring that businesses are kept in place. In the long run I still believe that businesses should be allowed to advertise whatever they like once they stay true to the public.
Keon Forde
811004162
In order to answer the above question, a primary analysis of the intention of the advertisers should be ascertained to initially understand their reason for the use of communication. Advertisers would use various modes of communication, conventional or modern techniques in order to persuade consumers or interested parties to indulge and purchase their products. It is said “Advertising is the art of arresting the human intelligence just long enough to get money from it”1, therefore certain flags can be raised as to the manner in which the advertiser uses various techniques in order to persuade consumers to buy their products.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers in marketing their various products to the public should be wary not to offend various principles in society. In manipulating their target audience there are countless examples whereby advertisers exploit the use of art of the body of beautiful women in order to attract attention of men. In local advertising content, women in bikinis are made to sit on car rims and the film takes a 360 degree shot around the woman sitting on the rim. The woman is in no way related to modus operandi or quality of the product yet used as a marketing strategy to attract the attention of men.
Moreover, there are many ethical issues related to advertising, namely misrepresentation of facts to the audience. Various countries such as UK and France has up to recently placed bans on the use of retouched images, if advertisers are to use such images they must be carry a warning stating they were altered. In the summer of 2011 in UK, two advertisers had their adverts banned for airbrushing an actress and a model excessively to the point it was too misleading. Therefore this grey area which lacks regulation for advertisers to use retouched images is of concern and necessary legislation should be enacted to combat such misrepresentations by advertisers.
Furthermore, there has been a long time issues of racial inequality when advertising, in 2009 L’oreal was accused of progressively “whitening” the image of Beyonce. In 2006, Sony released these advertisements promoting its black and white portable PlayStation. It depicts two women battling, yet the scandal concerned the domination of the white over the black woman. It was quickly removed from the public. These are just a few examples of the library of instances, for such sensitive issues advertisers must take into consideration the implications of the nature of their advertisement to not offend any particular group in society.
In conclusion, it is submitted that advertisers should not be given absolute autonomy in the way in which they market their products and manipulate their audience. A balancing exercise must be carried out weighing the implications of the nature of their advertisement with that of the general principles of society such as discrimination, gender bias, and ethical issues.
References:
1 Chuck Blore, a partner in the advertising firm Chuck Blore & Don Ruchman Inc quoted by Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, Sixth Edition,(Beacon Press, 2000) p.185
http://www.globalissues.org/article/160/media-and-advertising
http://owni.eu/2011/03/12/racism-in-advertising-50-shocking-examples/
Hana Hosein
810001434
Advertising is defined as a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group) to continue or take some new message. Advertising can be useful as it conveys information, however the message can be misleading at times.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, advertisers should not be allowed to use “whatever means necessary”. They should be some form of censorship or discretion when relating information to the general public. Especially in today’s society which is technologically based and everyone have access to televisions, computers and smart phones.
Some of the issues associated with advertising are the use of puffery, misleading information, deception, stereotypes and controversial products (e.g. alcohol, gambling and tobacco). In today’s society there are many commercials competing for our attention such as, weight loss programmes like the South Beach Diet and Ultra Slim Tablets. However, some of these advertisements can be very persuasive as they appealed to people who want to lose weight guaranteeing weight loss in three and four months. On the contrary they can be contradicting, as the product can have many positive benefits as well as harmful side effects. Such effects include internal bleeding, heart failure, nausea, joint disorder and other serious problems.
If advertisers were allowed the privileged to advertised without censorship many people will become sick or even die using these products; that is why many pharmaceuticals have to be approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over the counter pharmaceuticals drugs ( medications) vaccines and veterinary products.
The FDA also enforces other laws, notably Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act and associated regulations, many of which are not directly related to food or drugs. These include sanitation requirements on interstate travel and control of disease on products ranging from certain household pets to sperm donation for assisted reproduction.
Moreover, advertising can be very beneficial as it conveys information that can be appealing and captures the viewers’ attention on issues like politics, financial services, food-bargains, music and health products. On the hand when it is exploited in a negative way, it can influence behaviours patterns that can lead to drug addictive among young people. For example, commercials that excessively advertised the use of alcohol and energy drinks.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_22021997_ethics-in-ad_en.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FDA
Kerri Puckerin
811100631
From my point of view advertisers should not be able to use whatever is necessary to get their messages across to an audience since sometimes their techniques may seem racist or bias to certain persons within that specific audience. I don’t see this as begin a good communication mechanism since the strategies used may offend persons within the public which could cause the business to reduce their income since offended consumers may not purchase anything from that business.
ReplyDeleteTherefore the advertisers limit the business customers to only a specific clique of people. That causes the business to receive a standard income at the end of the business year since only a particular person would purchase from that business, and for the offended they would not purchase anything from that business as well as they would try to deter their friends from shopping there as well.
Also the advertisers can’t just advertise for persons who communicate with them easily, they would also have to target persons from different areas and different countries who may not understand their communication techniques, so they would have to devise a plan to target the outside audience which could be beneficial for the business being advertised.
Although there are negatives to the concept of advertisers using whatever means necessary to get their message across, there are also advantages to that system as well, whereby if an advertiser uses that method of advertising he/she is targeting a specific audience which may attract other personnel’s as well. Therefore this method causes the business to narrow down their consumer attraction which could also bring in a healthy income 4 that business as well. Based on my opinion I don’t think advertisers should use any method necessary to get their message across since it could result in them losing customers because of its inappropriate communication techniques
Kirston Charles
811000573
Advertisers should not be allowed to use whatever means necessary to get their messages across. Martin lndstrom an International Marketing expert and author of ”Buyoloy: Truth and Lies About What We Buy” recently carried out experiments to expose the various ways in which businesses use Subliminal advertising to encourage customers to purchase their goods and services. Subliminal advertising is often viewed as an unethical and deceptive business practice whereby customers are bombarded with false information about products and manipulated into purchasing them. In his article, Lindstrom highlights various ways in which he has encountered subliminal advertising. One such example is a test he himself carried out by giving consumers both a lightweight and a heavyweight TV remote control to compare. They responded by saying that the lighter one was ‘broken’ even after he revealed that it was totally functional. He went on to say that TV remotes on today’s market are stuffed with useless aluminum and customers are willing to pay higher prices for them since they believe that they are sturdier.
ReplyDelete• My own experience last week also revealed some unethical practices of false advertising when I purchased the popular “shoes under.’’ After viewing the advertisement for the product I was convinced of its usefulness and purchased it. When I put it to use I realized that the product did not perform well as the advertisement revealed. Furthermore the substitute and cheaper alternative has a higher efficiency than this product and is not advertised at all.
forgot to add my name and ID # this was posted by KRISTAL MAHARAJ
Delete811002589
According to the Merrian Webster dictionary, to advertise means "to call public attention to, especially by emphasizing desirable qualities so as to arouse a desire to buy or patronize." Many businesses and companies use advertisements to communicate messages to inform and educate the wider public about their product or service. Whilst advertisements can be entertaining, there needs to be some limitations to the manner in which advertisers deliver their messages. They should not be allowed to advertise in any way they please.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers should provide complete information about their product and not make it out to be different or better than it actually is. Also disadvantages of products such as medication and health products should be clearly advertised and not rattled of at the end of the advertisement or placed in the fine print. This false advertising is misleading to the consumer and can result in harm to the consumer and loss of trust in the company.
Additionally, advertising of a product can be done without bashing another company that produces a similar product. For example on cable television many American advertisements for pain relieve medication, insurance and skin medication, often compare their product or service with a rival company as a means of promoting their own. This should not be allowed since the product or service should be able to sell itself without bringing down another company.
Even though advertisements should capture the attention of the audience, it can be done without being seductive. Car companies and snack companies can effectively attract attention and deliver their message without using half dressed women in their advertisements. This can be offensive to many people and religious organizations. This is unethical and is not necessary.
As such advertisers should not be allowed to advertise in any way they please. There should be guidelines and regulations to be followed when conveying a message to the wider public in order to avoid conflict and ethical issues.
Yolanda Persad
810001340
In This fast pace world of today,where buying and selling of products are necessary for survival,advertising is the key factor in the web of the business world.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Bovee,1992, Advertising is the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through various media.
In Light of topics such as Pornography, it is in my strongest opinion that advertisers should not be allowed to exercise advertising without restrictions as this factor is illegal for young adults under the age of 18 and 21 in some countries. Taking into consideration the issue of Censorship,certain programmes have to be banned for local media as they are considerate inappropriate for the general public.However not neglecting the fact that members of the public may secretly be interested in such activities and the advertisers may be able to attract a larger population for their programmes and or even make a profit from sales,if they were allowed to exercise any means of advertisement they would want to.Also what must be taken into consideration is the issue of misleading and false information,some porno-graphical sites may advertise a message like "Do this and you are guaranteed to get these results " which may not necessarily be true,due to the fact that each individual differs,one specific technique may not work for a general setting.
Each advertisement may differ from the previous,therefore giving advertisers the ability to advertise in anyway he or she desires can be very dangerous as "content" and "method" go hand in hand when it comes to advertisement.
References :http://public.wsu.edu/~taflinge/addefine.html
Name : NEIKYLLE GOMEZ
ID # :811100596
As with anything, there are rules and rules are issued and enacted to protect individuals from harm and to allow everyone to live together peacefully. Advertising should be no different. "Advertising is attempting to influence the buying behavior of your customers or clients by providing a persuasive selling message about your products and/or services". This is all well and good, but in some cases, people abuse this. This is where ethics in adverting comes in.
ReplyDeleteOne main ethic is Truth. The consumer you are trying to persuade must have a clear idea about your product and the effect the product should have on them once purchased, if it is something to buy of course.
No one says to be excessively truthful, like the ad in London back in 1900, which says, "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success," No one even does that in real life, but a certain amount of truth is expected. Blatantly leaving out important information, like medical information on side effects is also a no no. Advertisers must also be careful not to offend any social groups or members of society to capture audiences with humour. Respect is an important consideration in advertising. It does not make much sense in insulting the very people you wih to create business with. Advertisers need to have knowledge about their target audience so they could be as effective as possible.
Reference
Advertising Educational Foundation; Ethics in advertising.
www.aef.com ›
ward, susan, Advertising
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/g/advertising.htm
Arielle seerattan
809003139
Due to the consequences of effective communication, advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please. By communicating their message to the public via relevant media, advertisers would be able to change the perception of the public toward whatever they are marketing, whether it is good or bad. This can be very dangerous considering the variety of products and services which can possibly be marketed, some of which may be dangerous to the general public if misused.
ReplyDeleteAn advertiser would generally construct his commercial in such a way to inform and convince the receiver of the message to support their product or service and if not restricted they may neglect to mention any negative aspects of whatever they are trying to sell to the public. This would result in misrepresentation of products / services and public opinion being manipulated by those seeking to capitalize on the change in behaviour resulting from their advertisement.
Another major reason for not allowing advertisers to communicate messages in any way they please would be for the protection of children who may be easily influenced by advertisements. When advertisements are placed, generally there is no control over who they reach (the receivers) and this could be dangerous when products such as pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol and tobacco are marketed. Children would be easily influenced to use these products as they wold be exposed to advertisements meant to affect the general public. Restrictions on when, where and how these and other potentially harmful products are marketed should be strictly placed on advertisers at all times.
Rajesh Rattan
01725871
Due to the consequences of effective communication, advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please. By communicating their message to the public via relevant media, advertisers would be able to change the perception of the public toward whatever they are marketing, whether it is good or bad. This can be very dangerous considering the variety of products and services which can possibly be marketed, some of which may be dangerous to the general public if misused.
ReplyDeleteAn advertiser would generally construct his commercial in such a way to inform and convince the receiver of the message to support their product or service and if not restricted they may neglect to mention any negative aspects of whatever they are trying to sell to the public. This would result in misrepresentation of products / services and public opinion being manipulated by those seeking to capitalize on the change in behaviour resulting from their advertisement.
Another major reason for not allowing advertisers to communicate messages in any way they please would be for the protection of children who may be easily influenced by advertisements. When advertisements are placed, generally there is no control over who they reach (the receivers) and this could be dangerous when products such as pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol and tobacco are marketed. Children would be easily influenced to use these products as they wold be exposed to advertisements meant to affect the general public. Restrictions on when, where and how these and other potentially harmful products are marketed should be strictly placed on advertisers at all times.
Rajesh Rattan
01725871
Advertising can be defined as the public promotion of something such as a product, service, business, or event in order to attract or increase interest in it and as such, the advertiser (the person performing these acts) is responsible for making sure that this is done effectively.
ReplyDeleteEven thought there are many forms of communication, an advertiser should choose the form of communication most appropriate for the context of the message being sent in order for his message to be received in the way it was intended to be interpreted. With this said, I believe that an advertiser should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please as long as they take into consideration the ethical issues that may arise and are able to get across their message to the receiver effectively. This will allow variety in advertising techniques as well as it will leave room for new innovations.
As stated above, the adviser should always take into consideration the ethical issues involved when advertising as it can easily cause a business to either fail or become a success. Ethical issues such as the truth and exploitation are two issues that advertisers should always be mindful of.
In conclusion, it is safe to say that advertising is a major part of marketing as it is used to boost sales of products or services, to build a connection with the advertiser’s audience as well as to create competition with their rival firms. Therefore, it is important that an advertiser chooses an effective means of communication but does not have to be confined to one specific form of communication to get his message across as a result of the context of the message.
Tonya-Lee Phillip
811004397
17 September 2012 12:43
Given the definition of communication mentioned above, i do not believe that advertisers should be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please. The Advertiser's job is to get people's attention and focus on what they are advertising; whether it is for generating sales, influencing votes or generally trying to get everyone to have the same mindset. When advertisers start to use people's emotions against them to manipulate the public in doing what they want, it can be looked at as a dangerous thing.
ReplyDeleteTake cigarette and alcohol advertisements for example. The advertiser would put up commercials and posters that would appeal to the younger crowd (such as teens). This is so they can be influenced to buying these items that may later lead to addiction or atleast having occasional buyers for many years to come. the Advertisers in this case do not care about the target audience or the consequences of what this can do to society and the future generations, they only care about making sales.
Another example of this is the recent t.v. ads for the candidates of the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Both parties have been paying advertisers to make ads to get them votes on election day. These advertisers do so by two ways: attacking the other party and praising the party they are promoting by highlighting all the good that can come from them winning. Either way is not good cause they target the public's emotions and scare or push them into voting a certain way without learning and becoming more informed bout both parties. This can be dangerous because it implies that with the right advertising agency, anyone, no matter how unethical, immoral or inhumane can become a leader.
Leanna Sutherland
807004484
Siddiq Ramjohn
ReplyDelete811100004
Once again I would like to commend by fellow colleagues on their comments, they have been very good so far and as a result I would like to comment on the opinion of one of my colleagues that it is quite true that advertisers are more concerned about their sales rather than the well being of the consumer for example the advertisements of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes are not in the best interest of consumers but more concerned about making money.
In my opinion I believe that advertisers should not be allowed to communicate messages in any way they please because first to begin the purchasing power lies in the hands of the consumers. With that being said advertisers should solely be focused on the message that they are trying to convey using whatever medium or channel necessary but they should have respect for persons' religious beliefs and ethical values.
Lets look at the business advertisers, some ethical issues are like health, safety and environmental standards and violation of the basic rights of workers. These issues can lead to increase scrutiny of business activities and businesses or industries find themselves in trouble facing external pressure to improve their ethical track record. However some positives from businesses acting ethically would definitely make a good business strategy and hence businesses would receive higher revenues, improved brand and business awareness and recognition as well as better employee motivation and recruitment and more importantly create new sources of finance such as from ethical investors.
Well now we can see the importance of advertisers communicating their messages in a way not as which they please but in a way pleasing to the receiver or consumer as the case may be. In doing this the advertiser stand a better chance of getting the message across accurately and effectively and hence getting the desired reaction.
reference...www.tutor2u.net/business/strategy/business.ethics.issues.html
The phenomenon of communication is the natural desire of human beings to express their feelings and the ideas of others. The basic purpose of communication is to bring about changes in the behaviour of the receiver. Its aim is to inform, educate and entertain people.
ReplyDeleteEffective communication is a process through which the sender conveys a message that the receiver readily receives and understands. It is a two-way process instead of a one-way process.
Given this definition, advertisers should be allowed to used the most effective means they see fit to get their information out to the public.
Ideal and effective communication is a two-way process but advertisers are limited to a one-way flow of information. An advertiser's job is completed, not only when the information is made available to the public, but when the desired action or response is made by the receiver. Therefore, in order to be as effective as possible, they should be allowed to communicate their messages in any way they see fit. Their efficiency however, is determined by how their product/service sells, which is based solely on the receiver's response.
One of the drawbacks of being allowed to use any means to communicate a message, is that there is no real way to gauge just how effective the communication was. What factors lead to the results? Would it work for another product/service? Before advertisers communicate their messages in any way they please, they spend a lot of time and resources to achieve the ideal method of communication. It's not a random process.
Ultimately, the power to make the final decision on products/services lies with the public/receiver of the message so it is the advertiser's job to hold their interest by any means they can. This does not mean that it is done without thought or planning. Their job is only completed when the flow of communication (mentioned previously) is completed as well.
Kai Beckles
811100246
Discussing religion and politics is a very touching, personal and offensive topic, its even worst when mass media makes a film, making a mockery out of ones religion, beliefs and norms. In my opinion the film is disrespectful and degrading towards the muslim community. I believe this film was made to stir up or continue the rivalry between the us and the muslim countries, and could be used as a catalyst for history to repeat itself, with regards to 9.11. Regardless of how comedic the film maybe it totally made a folly out of the religion, and exaggerated their beliefs to another level. We as a society take religion to heart and this could easily be seen as the "calm before the storm."
ReplyDeleteAlso people have no values and morals for others and there personal issues and boundaries. This all leads up to the statement made by journalist Salman Rushdie, "my view was and is that nothing is off limits." This simply states that anything about anyone, whether its true or false, judgmental or personal should be stated aloud in any context. however the world blames this man for the spiraling controversy against the islams.
Today, advertisers and magazine journalist all have the perception that "sex sells." As humans we tend to draw or pay more attention to negative issues, even more so if its a celebrity. Kate the princess can be seen as any headlines on the worldwide web and in magazines, with very catchy headings following her name such as "kate topless pictures." This has gotten out of control as the mass media got hold of the pics and because of her status, which is wrong because she is still considered human and has feelings just as any other soul. However publishers aren't concerned with her private well being or her personal take on the issue, rather than the extreme increased in sales of there magazines, all of which is form of business strategy. I think prosecutions should be done to those held in custody for taking the pictures and distributing them, especially as breeching of contract occurred.
REFERENCES
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/iran-blog/2012/sep/17/salman-rushdie-bounty-increased-film
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/royal-fury-as-nude-pictures-of-kate-middleton-hit-newsstands-in-paris/story-e6frf7jo-1226474490476
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19620164
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19600879
Shanice George
811001440
The anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims is a clear insult to Muslim communities across the world. The fourteen minute trailer seen on the internet has caused violent protests in the Middle East area and has been speculated to be the cause of deaths on September 11th of the U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other U.S. officials. The trailer was originally uploaded in July 2012 then uploaded again, dubbed in Arabic Language in early September 2012. If observed carefully in the film the viewer can find that there are certain parts where the audio from the characters speech and lip movements were not in sync, sometimes a totally different voice can be heard for the character between their dialogues. The difference was due to overdubbing of the film. Articles have stated that early releases of the film had no religious reference; therefore it is evident that the Muslim community has been targeted and their religion made a mockery of as certain aspects of their beliefs have been exaggerated upon. The film and its consequences cud not have chosen a better time to cause an uproar, the killing of the Ambassador on September 11th, we also remember the previous 9/11 incident. There is also the fact of the current campaigning and all nominees as they prepare for the U.S. elections and voters will listen to their thoughts, views and actions as deciding factors.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note, concerning the recent scandals with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, I believe publication of the photos should be stopped. The paparazzi live for moments like these, the biggest scoop, the hottest picture etc. As royalty and future rulers their images should not be tarnished and after warning, publishers should be dealt with severely.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19620164
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAiOEV0v2RM
http://www.ibtimes.com/%E2%80%98innocence-muslims%E2%80%99-protests-death-toll-rising-pakistan-794296
Chad De Matas
809005046
Advertising is a form of communication and used to persuade an audience of the value of a product or service on a broad perspective. Advertising is everywhere, from television to newspapers to billboards on the highway.
DeleteIt often fits well when the advertiser communicates his/ her message positively. This then becomes beneficial for the advertiser the potential customer and society as a whole.
From the customers perspective it allows them the opportunity to choose the product that is best for them. In addition advertising allows individuals to learn about the wide variety of lifestyle choices available to them and choose the ones that they find best. From a societal perspective, according to the International Advertising Association, advertising encourages companies to compete and provide new products. Hence innovation is encouraged. This has the effect of encouraging more consumers to buy since these products meet the needs and wants of more consumers. Thus the economy becomes positively affected. Advertising is not an expense but an investment into the company’s development. For the advertiser, advertising has the effect of increasing sales when the message effectively reaches the potential receiver.
Advertisers however know they cannot outright make false claims, because according to law these claims must be supported by some kind of statistic or evidence. Meanwhile, advertisers use unethical means sometimes bending the truth for their own benefit to promote and advertise their own product. Most are often obvious and often times some go undetected.
Children are often then ones trapped by advertising as they spend most time watching television which is the most popular way to advertise to children from which many are overcome with the negative ways of advertising. Food advertisements for instance are often geared towards children which expose products low in nutritional value which leads to obesity in children, e.g. McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC etc. when persuaded to buy they are rewarded with toys, kids coupons, etc. , which has the result of encouraging their purchase.
Its my belief that although advertisers see advertising as utmost benefit to them personally as it has the potential to increase their sales and also the effect it has on the economy by fostering competition and innovation, adverse effects also presents itself as it involves unethical issues by being untruthful to their audiences. Advertisers portray their ads in such a way that easily understood by children. Children can influence and are easily influenced and they will spend their money if they find something interesting. ( Horovitz 1997)
REFERENCES
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/positive-effects-advertising-24688.html
http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/tcom/faculty/ha/tcom103fall2003/gp14/
NATHANIEL THEODORE
809000034
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePros and cons concerning the social media include free access, for example facebook and twitter, however a lot of time must be spent to make sites attractive. Also, if you have signed up to several sites, time can be wasted updating statuses, responding or reading comments and accepting requests. If the aim is to reach out to new marketplaces and audiences, social media is the way to go because most people use it, however if it is to be used for business purposes, it will be unsuccessful if it was not carefully thought through.
ReplyDeleteOpening an account is easy, and online tutorials help the learning process, on the other hand, people who use social media often are far and in between compared to the general population.
A number of sites are available so that you use different sites for different personalities such as a LinkedIn site to be professional and facebook to be friendly or informal, however not every social network will suit you. For business especially, a true reflection of you and your brand needs to be presented as contrasting images can damage reputation.
The number of people and money invested in social media is incredible. Social media is being engraved into our society and culture by the use of smart phones and Wifi being so readily available and easily linked to social sites. Social media is here to stay.
The same way fashion changes and technology advances, so to social media changes and reinvents itself. Less than a year ago most people had not heard of Pinterest, nevertheless as of January 2012 it had grown to over 12 million users, making it the fastest to ever break the 12 million visitor mark. Although facebook and twitter have been around for some time now and will continue to be for some time to come who remembers Hi5 and friends united? Social media has many advantages and disadvantages as with most things. To benefit you must be aware of the problems.
NAOMI ALI
811002012
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