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Advertising does/does not have the ability to mould the values of the target audience. The Persuasive techniques used in advertising have the potential to mould the values of the target audience. This discussion will use examples from the text “Ads R Us” to support this argument. The documentaries, “Merchants of Cool” and “Consuming Kids” will be used to further support this argument.
Finally, my own experiences will be discussed to clearly identify why I believe that advertising influences the target There are many examples to support the argument that advertising has the ability to old the values of the target audience in the novel “Ads R Us”. The spoilt daughter of aunt Kara, Tally, demonstrates how advertising is influencing her values by making the statement: “For my birthday, can I have a Recession Airbed? Please, Mum? It’s what I really, really want. It’s so cool! Like, it’s a little capsule you shove deep in your ear.
You can call your friends, listen to the latest music, get the star goes -” Pig. 2 and 3 This quote demonstrates that whatever Tally see’s that she wants she will do anything to get it. Aunt Kara also demonstrates how advertising influencing her values by making the tenement: ” Excellent advertising opportunities, particularly for product placement. Thousands of girls will be glued to the screen, watching the program. For companies with the appropriate products, this provides a most desirable teen – young adult demographic. ” Pig. 5 This quote demonstrates that all people no matter what age they are, have been and are influenced by advertising every day. Aunt Kara is again demonstrating how advertising influences the target audience’s values by making the statement: ” And every step will be watched by a huge audience of ready and willing customers, en to buy anything they believe will transform them, too. At the end of three expensive – picks the most beautiful of the ten finalists. The lucky young woman is crowned Transformed Teen Queen. The final program is guaranteed to achieve stratospheric ratings. ” Pig. 6 and 37 This quote demonstrates that every teenage girl around the ages of 10 to 18 have their eyes glued to the television whilst this program is being castes so they can purchase the products that the contestants use and the products that the viewers think will work for them. The documentary “Merchants Of Cool” has many examples to support the argument hat advertising has the ability to mould the values of the target audience. This generation of teenagers is the most studied generation in history and are the biggest generation ever (even bigger than their baby boomer parents. More than 100 billion dollars a year is spent by teenagers themselves and over 50 billion dollars a year is spent by parents, on their teenage children. Over 50 percent of teenagers are given ‘guilt-money if their parents can’t spend time with them. The world is now made and designed around marketing. Wherever you look there is advertising. The majority of teenagers come across 3 thousand advertisements in one single day and they come across 10 million by the time they are 18 years old. What is our world turning into? Where have all the old ways gone?
Now days over 75 percent of teenagers have a television in their bedrooms! The worst thing about marketing now days is that marketers market and research teenagers without them realizing or knowing and most of the interviews of teens done to find out what is ‘cool’ are interviews of teenage boys not teenage girls. Teenagers are going into overload because of the overdose of advertising they see everyday! Celebrity role models are used to attract teenagers. Companies are developing relationships with artists to persuade them into casting in advertisements to attract teenagers. Consuming Kids” is the other documentary that we viewed that has many examples to support this argument. Children are getting more of what they want by nagging and nagging non-stop until their parents finally give in. That is the problem! Parents are giving in too much and feel bad if they don’t give in so they finally give in and the child gets what they want! Children don’t even need half the things they want! They want something, they use it twice and then get bored of it so they move on to something else!
Multitasking is a great skill that children have but it is also a terrible skill they have! While studying, while their Pod is booming music and while they are on Backbone! Here is a fact for you, that doesn’t work! All it does is distracts you and stops you from doing what you are supposed to be doing! Advertisers are smart and have done their research at what time most children are watching television. Advertisements suited for children are viewed at the time when most children are watching the television so hat they nag their parents to buy they product/s for them.
Children’s spending has increased by four percent a year. Since deregulation it has increased by a whopping 34 percent a year. After deregulation a new world has been opened up to advertisers. Advertising is displayed to children in many ways. The most common ways are; on school boards and in popular children’s magazines. Children can’t help loving advertising. It is what they have been and are growing up with. I believe that advertising has the ability to mould the values of children, teenagers and young adults.
Advertising is very manipulative and advertisers are very good at attracting their target audience. Some of the techniques that advertisers use are invading people’s privacy. I believe that we do need advertising but they need to cut down on how much they show and how many times they show the same advertisement on the same television channel. As I have previously stated advertising has the ability to mould the values of the target audience. “Ads R Us” is the best example of this statement, and Tally and Aunt Kara are the two best characters to use as examples from the novel.
In the documentary “Merchants of Cool” they speak a little bit about how this is the biggest generation of teenagers ever and how the amount of money spent by and on teenagers each year is increasing rapidly. In the documentary “Consuming Kids” they speak more about younger children than teenagers but they mainly speak about how children continue to nag their parents for what they want because they know eventually their parents will give in. In summary I believe that advertising is manipulative and that advertisers are good at attracting their target audience.