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Advertising is known to perform three main functions, that is to inform, Persuade and remind. However, in doing so, it attracts a lot of criticism that roots to some societal issues. I believe that Advertising and Media is intangible. It is very evident that paid advertisements is the financial backbone of print, broadcast, and new media industry especially among developing countries. People are being benefited on how an advertisement works. The awareness and suggestions of ads helps them in making personal choices. However, some people are very keen on exposing the negative side of advertising.
First of all, the strong objection against advertising is the possible mix of Factual information and Opinion. For instance, we solely rely on News to know factual information yet the credibility of news is being threatened if the news presenter or the media organization itself is explicitly promoting a product or business thus giving people an intuition that News is being used for Publicity purposes to endorse products or services or for Political Control as in propaganda. Another strong reason why people criticize advertising is the exception and exaggerated claims they give to customers.
Their fraudulent claims often misleads consumers product preference ex. Exaggerated picture of foods easily attracts young kids. One more cause of this criticism is that advertising creates dissatisfaction; it builds desires for some people whose income may not allow them to buy. In addition it also creates consumerism. It also generates confusion and the fear of the possibility of wrong purchases. Advertisements also Encourages luxury since mostly the commodities related to comforts and luxuries are advertised, for example, cigarettes, cosmetic goods and etc. U to advertisement of cigarettes several persons start smoking cigarettes and drinking alcoholic beverage, which becomes a habit. There is also an argument on child exploitation on Advertisements since most ads targets children because of their buying power. Advertising plays a key role in our economic growth it also plays a vital role in our life as consumers. But we should be vigilant and be wise enough on the pros and cons of Ads as well as straining informative ads from deceptive one.