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Some of the most successful advertising campaigns involve catchy races or slogans that have become so ingrained in the communists consciousness that they are almost as well known as the products themselves. The purpose of advertising may also be to reassure employees or shareholders that a company is viable or successful. Advertising messages are usually paid for by sponsors and viewed via various traditional media; including mass media such as newspaper, magazines, television commercial, radio advertisement, outdoor advertising or direct mail; or new media such as websites and text messages.
The major areas touched by advertising are Fang’s food market, cosmetics etc. Internationally, the largest (“big four”) advertising conglomerates are Interruptible, Income, Publicists and WAP. Googol and Matter, J. Walter Thompson, BAD, Lint’s, McCann-Ericson and Leo Burnett have successfully made a mark in the Indian market. In 2010, spending on advertising was estimated at more than $300 billion in the United States and $500 billion worldwide. Of all the major perspectives by which people construe the world, advertising is at once among the most influential and the least examined. Advertising is like the two sides of a coin.
Sometimes it may seem that advertisements send out the wrong message or impel people to buy certain products. On the other hand, advertising can be perceived as a means to sell a product or a service which can improve by competition. Virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Print Advertising – Newspapers, Magazines, Brochures, Fliers Outdoor Advertising – Billboards, Kiosks, Trade-shows and Events Broadcast Advertising – Television, Radio and the Internet Covert Advertising – Advertising in Movies Us arrogate Advertising – Advertising Indirectly Public Service Advertising – Advertising for Social Causes
Celebrity Advertising Advertisements saturate our social lives. We participate, daily, in deciphering advertising images and messages…. Yet, because ads are so pervasive and our reading of them so routine, we tend to take for granted the deep social assumptions embedded in advertisements. We do not ordinarily recognize advertising as a sphere of ideology. Much of the literature written on advertising ethics by philosophers focuses on “Truth of Advertising’ – puffing, disclosure, and other such issues. My concern here is quite different. M interested in exploring the moral effects of advertising on individuals in society – particularly how advertising affects the desires and inclinations of individuals, and then, whether that influence has any moral ramifications. Should advertisers simply follow the dictum “buyer beware” – and maintain no responsibilities for the effects of advertisement so long as they are not outright lying? Or should advertisers take partial responsibility for the effects of their advertisements upon the moral compass of consumers?
If advertisement does change the sentiments and affections of individuals, and if moral action is dependent in part upon maintaining particular sentiments ND affections, then it would seem that advertising does in fact play a role in the development or unraveling of an individual’s capacities to act morally, and so cannot claim to be an amoral practice. MYTH OF SOVEREIGN SELF IN MARKETING THEORY: ADVERTISERS IN DENIAL Many of those who attack advertising are really attacking the market system in general. “Advertisers,” they say, “are constantly pushing products which consumers either do not need or are positively harmful to them.
But these are always products that the consumer wants. Otherwise, advertising could not succeed. In consequence, this is not an attack on advertising so much as an attack on consumer free choice” (Nelson, Advertising and Ethics, 196) “The market power of consumers will force advertisers to act in ways that benefit society. ” (Nelson, 1 88) “l support a simple proposition about the behavior of advertising: that all advertising is information” (Nelson, 188) It would be unfair to suggest that advertising is, by its nature, either useless or bad. It is not.
On the contrary, it has an important, useful function to fulfill in a free society…. Truthful advertising can help bring people with common interests together so that they can achieve ends that they could not reach without one another. It is an important instrument that can encourage free trade and competition and be a powerful force for good in society. ” (Lesser, The Ethics of Advertising, 174-75). Consumer intelligence and responsibility are also at issue in the much-debated topic of advertising, against which some of the most serious criticisms of current business practices have been directed.
The classic defense of the free market system is that it supplies and satisfies existing demands. But if manufacturers actually create the demand or the products they produce, then this classic defense is clearly undermined. Indeed, it has even been charged that advertising is itself coercive in that it interferes with the free choice of the consumer, who is no longer in a position to decide how best to satisfy his or her needs but has instead been subjected to a barrage of influences which may well be quite irrelevant or even opposed to those needs.
And even where the desirability of the product is not in question there are very real questions about the advertising of particular brand names and the artificial creation of ‘product fermentation’. And then there are those familiar questions of taste – on the borderline (and sometimes over) between ethics and aesthetics. Immorality Of advertising which it claims or itself on the basis Of ‘consumer sovereignty’ leaves it (in its own eyes) innocent in all questions of social injustice, consumer discontent, or market inequities. Examples are easy to find.
Although automobile advertising, which has for years encouraged auto use as a sign of independence and autonomy, plays a significant role in consumer’s attitudes towards mass transit, advertisers claim that they are not expansible for the attitudes of consumers lack of interest in mass transit. Although a society in which cigarettes were not advertised would likely have few if any smokers and advertising certainly has the bulk of responsibility for the hazardous habit of smoking cigarette advertisers have for years accepted no responsibility for the health problems resulting from smoking.
ADVERTISING – POWERFUL FORCE IN OUR SOCIETY Advertising also has an indirect but powerful impact on society through its influence on media. Many publications and broadcasting operations depend on advertising revenue for survival. This often is true of religious media as well as commercial media. For their part, advertisers naturally seek to reach audiences; and the media, striving to deliver audiences to advertisers, must shape their content so to attract audiences of the size and demographic composition sought.
This economic dependency of media and the power it confers upon advertisers carries with it serious responsibilities for both For a fast growing economy like India with a huge consumer base, the advertising business actually provides the necessary stimulus for market growth by generating product demand. In fact this billion-dollar industry leaves a lasting impression on the nation’s diverse culture and political system apart from manipulating economic activity.
Having emerged from a tightly controlled socialistic model of market system, India is yet to adapt to this promotional tool offering diversity in choice and often linked to capitalism for its competitiveness. Perhaps this hangover remains the fountainhead of the controversial administrative decision to monitor advertising standards vigorously while simultaneously enforcing the modification of raw inch television commercials of reputed brands. Advertising is a mass marketing technique. Assorted techniques are used for advertising which persuades the consumers that why they need the product which is being advertised.
They focus more on the benefits, which consumer will get from that product, rather than the product itself. Through advertising, products can be known to public easily. They can decide which product they need and why. Thus increasing the consumption and as a result also increasing the demand of the product. Advertising can also be used to generate awareness among public that which product they use and to which product they can say no. It can also be used to educate people about certain diseases or danger (example: – AIDS, TUB, viral diseases, etc. ).
Even the backward people are now aware Of many diseases and their problems. And all these credits goes to proper advertising. Diseases like Polio could never been controlled if the timings for polio drops aren’t advertised regularly. Advertising can also be used to inform public about social events like concerts and performances. Charities can use media to advertise about the illnesses and encourage people for donations. Social organizations and Nags can use the mean of advertisement for promoting heir campaigns. Seeking help through advertisement during epidemics or natural calamities can help a lot.
Advertising as living at the intersection of art and commerce, cited examples of socially responsible advertising and brand communications, and asserted that advertising (and brand work) that is in sync with what consumers want can indeed be impacting beyond just selling product or improving brand perception – but also contributing to social good Perhaps one of the greatest and biggest changes in the advertising industry has been the way brands sell themselves and the mediums in which they do hat. It’s as much about the communication, but also now it is the body language of a brand… Owe it actually operates and exists in the real world’ The latest ad for mobile phone firm Idea Cellular Ltd featuring a woman politician and her sidekick??a bespectacled, safari-suited Babushka Backchat??is the latest addition to an assortment of ads with social awakening, politics or elections as the central theme. It’s a trend that experts say will only gain momentum as India heads into parliamentary elections due around April- May. Reflecting the spirit of united public activism, brands such as Idea are sing collective governance as their master brushstroke.
Data Tea Lad’s latest Ago Re (wake up) campaign urges people to vote and be more responsible. Not voting on Election Day is similar to being asleep, says the protagonist. This is an evolution of the typical political ads which ranged from portrayals of politicians in a light vein to tints of patriotism. Until now, most ads featuring politicians used them for comic relief. That stereotype is now changing. The Idea ad shows Backchat using SMS to seek public opinion on a proposal to build a shopping mall on farmland and then informing his Laotian boss that the answer was negative.
The ad ends with a cheeky warning to aspirants for political power: Junta ski guenons too who papas Eugene. Main too baht marriage (If you listen to the public, they will listen to you. Otherwise, they will beat you). “While we never intended it to cash in on the election fever, the campaign has come at a time when people are more sensitive to the idea and more conducive to the message,” says Paraded Shirtwaists, chief marketing officer, Idea Cellular. R. Blandishing, chairman, Lowe India, the agency behind the ad, says the theme will always be relevant cause improper governance has always been a pet peeve of the people of India.
Advertising is about more than just bombarding consumers with ‘buy messages – it can contribute to and lead culture, even help solve social issues Advertising now takes on a far greater role of social responsibility and contributing to society. It seems like not a lot of the world’s issues can be solved by big government. But they can be solved by brands, and brands putting their best food forward need advertising’ The corporate ad for Birth Retailer Ltd, Indian’s biggest mobile phone operator, also taps the concept of collective power.
It uses images of legendary astronomer – mathematician Arbitrary, surgeon Surtax and Mahatma Gandhi. “Just imagine what a billion of us can do.. Together. When you stand for what you believe in, you can change the world. Proud to be Indian. Proud to be Birth. ” “The first thing a brand wants to do is punch a hole in your mind. To be remembered, recalled and build a relationship with the consumer,” says Saneness Taller, executive director of Data Tea, which launched its campaign about better governance and accountability as early as 2007. We wanted to go beyond a transactional relationship with the nonuser. ” Considering the level of media and public interest around the recent presidential elections in the US, the terror attacks in Iambi and the forthcoming general elections, experts maintain that ads using these themes are more likely to grab consumer attention. ‘When media starts projecting these stories it feeds further awakening. Since advertising is always a reflection of and a response to social-cultural change, this got picked up. 008 was certainly the year of ’cause brands’,” says Mythic Chandeliers, senior vice-president and executive planning director for JET India. “It makes the immunization very contextual and helps them connect better with consumers,” says Raman Braggart, president Of Crayons Advertising Ltd which is handling the Congress party advertising campaign. Advertising: for good or evil? But how fair is the business game, really? On the face of it, producers and consumers have a very different view. The marketplace is not a level playing field, and the chief culprit is advertising.
Here are three charges leveled against advertisers: They sell us dreams; entice us into confusing dreams with reality. They pander to our desires for things that are bad for us. They manipulate us into wanting things we don’t really need. All this can be summed up in the popular sentiment that advertisers cynically use a world of fantasy and illusion in an attempt to control us. Most people who express this sentiment, however, would add that the attempt doesn’t succeed. We see through the ruse. (Or, at least, it is always other people who seem to have the wool pulled over their eyes, never ourselves. That’s a claim to take with a big pinch of salt. In recent times advertising has become increasingly regulated by codes of practice. These codes may be adequate to curb the worst excesses of advertising. It is much harder nowadays for advertisements to get away with telling outright lies. But they still fall far short of answering these three indictments. Since society is still struggling to create a moral statute for binding humanity, impeding the creativity of industry’ professionals on ethical grounds is completely irrational, opines the liberal school.
However not everybody in India is ready to condone cheeky gestures through suggestive advertisements. The orthodox view of cheap and sensational promotions being the catalyst for societal degeneration is gaining popular acceptance. Selling dreams But is that also true out there in the commercial marketplace, where humans barter their love of material goods, succumb to the dreams that advertisers sell? It is very tempting to say no. In the commercial world, there are plenty of examples of manufacturers who believe passionately in their product.
The best example I can think of is of Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs doesn’t sell computers. He sells the promise of a better world. True evangelists are driven by a messianic zeal to create new experiences. When Jobs introduced the pod in 2001, he said, “In our own small way, we’re going to make the world a better lace. ” Where most people see the pod as a music player, Jobs presents it as tool to enrich people’s lives. Of course, it’s important to have great products. But passion, enthusiasm, and a sense of purpose beyond the actual product will set you and your company apart.
Apple Macintosh is another example I can think of. Macs are good, not only because they function well, but because they are beautiful, stylish, designed with loving attention to detail (most of the time, anyway ?? there have been occasional, humorous exceptions when in the face of competition cost-cutting was allowed to take precedence over laity). Am happy to buy into a dream I can believe in. But not one that has been cynically created with the sole aim of making me spend my money. So is this true? ?? ‘As an advertiser, it’s K to sell a dream if you believe in it too. When a consumer buys an Apple Mac, the value of the product is not just its beauty and functionality, but the love that has been lavished on it. The image that the advertisers have created is not only true, but also enhances the pleasure of using the product. But we’ re on risky ground here. Consider the religious cults who send their followers on the streets seeking converts. They believe in the dream that they are selling too. Even if the dream selling is not done cynically, it all-too easily becomes an attempt to brainwash, to control.
A campaign which Apple ran a couple of years ago featured ‘real people’ explaining why they switched to Macs and recounting the misery of badly designed, unreliable PC’s. The campaign backfired because PC users found it offensive, while Mac users resented being patronized. They were rudely awakened from the dream. Manipulating Suppose you are a deodorant manufacturer who has conceived the idea of an ethical advertising campaign. It goes without saying that the deodorant has to to work effectively, as claimed. It should not contain chemicals which are bad for your health (when the product is used according to instructions).
This is more or less where we are now, in relation to current rules on advertising. But what does it mean for a deodorant to be effective? On a hot day, you will be more confident in the company of other people, because they will not be able to detect your body dour. Critics of deodorant advertising have pointed out, however, that although it is true that the deodorant has the power to prevent dour, and this is a ground for extra confidence, the reason why it is ground for confidence is at least partly due to a belief or attitude which has itself been inculcated by advertising. Body dour’ is one of the classic phrases invented by advertisers, embodying the concept that any natural human smell is, or ought to be regarded as offensive. It is hard to question a belief when it has become part of language itself. If you have BOO. That is something bad, by definition. 8. 0. Is unpleasant and offensive, because being offensive is part of its concept. But that begs the question whether all bodily doors are unpleasant, or only some. So let’s take our imaginary scenario from here: The ethical deodorant marketing team take the brave decision to question this assumption.
The design and advertising of the product will be based around the idea that there are pleasant as well as unpleasant bodily doors. The chemists are asked to come up with a product which gets rid of the unpleasant doors while not masking the pleasant ones. After extensive research and testing, the product is launched. The campaign is a great success. The concept captures the public imagination, better than anyone had dared hope. However, a new trend emerges from the on-going market research. A significant proportion of the people questioned express a illnesses to try a product which enhances their ‘naturally pleasant’ bodily smell.
The chemists identify a complex blend of chemicals, some of which are capable of synthesis in a laboratory. The ethical marketing team now faces a difficult dilemma. How can it be wrong to market the chemically enhanced product, if this was what people want? The argument for not doing so is that it was the success Of the first campaign that created the demand for an added ‘natural bodily smell’, where none had existed before. This is the very thing that the ethical advertising team had sought to avoid! Against competitors ho show no such scruples, however, the ethical advertisers face a losing battle in the marketplace.
Advertisers may try to minimize information about or from consumer groups, or consumer controlled purchasing initiatives or consumer controlled quality information systems. Another indirect effect of advertising is to modify the very nature of the communication media where it is shown. Media that get most of their revenues from publicity try to make their medium a good place for communicating ads before anything else. The clearest example is television, where this means trying to make the public ATA for a long time and in a mental state that encourages spectators not to switch the channel through the ads.
Programs that are low in mental stimulus and require light concentration and are varied are best for long sitting times. These make for much easier emotional jumps to ads, which can become more entertaining than regular shows. A simple way to understand the objectives in television programming is to compare contents from channels paid and chosen by the viewer with channels that get their income mainly from advertisements. With the dawn of the Internet have come many new advertising opportunities. Pop-up, Flash, banner, advert-gaming, and email advertisements (the last often being a form of spam) abound.
Each year, greater sums are paid to obtain a commercial spot during super sporting events like cricket and football championships. Companies attempt to make these commercials sufficiently entertaining that members of the public will actually want to watch them. Another problem is people recording shows on DVD’s (ex. Tivoli). These devices allow users to record the programs for later viewing enabling them to fast forward through commercials. Additionally, as more seasons or “Boxed Sets” come out of Television shows; fewer people re watching their shows on TV.
However, the fact that these sets are sold, means that the company will additionally receive profits from the sales of these sets. To counter this effect, many advertisers have opted for product placement (prize during TV shows). Particularly since the rise of “entertaining” advertising, some people may like an advert enough that they wish to watch it later or show a friend. In general, the advertising community has noted made this easy, although some have used the Internet to widely distribute their adverts to anyone wishing to see or hear them. Campaigns that blur that sits notion often arouse controversy and even protest.
For two decades, the most notorious purveyor of sensual “cool” was Calvin Klein??beginning in the late sass with the “nothing comes between me and my Calling’s” campaign featuring Brooke Shields and culminating in 1 ass’s “kiddies-porn” controversy. Kelvin’s racy advertisements provoked the ire of conservative groups but earned him the respect of edgier critics who viewed his campaigns as artistically ironic. In the end, the controversies benefited Klein, as the media firestorm provided free publicity for his brand name and underscored the biophysicist “cool” of the campaigns.
Since the millennium, however, the mantle of “most controversial advertiser” has passed from Klein to trendy teen retailer Firebombed and Fitch (A&F). A subsidiary of The Limited since 1988, flirted with controversy in the early 1 sass, when a black-and-white print ad, ostensibly featuring a father and son on a boating outing, was misinterpreted as a gay couple. Capitalizing on the angle, A&F hired iconic sass fashion photographer Bruce Weber, who had been responsible for some of the steamier Calvin Klein images, as the principal photographer for he Quarterly, a hybrid catalog and lifestyle magazine, known as a “magical. According to Quarterly contributor Sean Collins, the magical was intended as an “outside-looking-in fantasy version of college life” that parodied “the idealized life of leisure, while at the same time celebrating that ideal for its very maintainability. ” The magazine originally featured pseudo- adult photographs of hunky, undressed young adult men, but as it became increasingly popular in campus Greek culture, it began featuring under- and undressed women as well, in increasingly suggestive sexual situations.
The publication’s articles, sexually explicit but often tongue-in- cheek, underscored this “sex and games” attitude. Although opposition always existed toward Weeper’s erotic photographs, the explicit articles bred controversy, particularly as it was hard to see what they had to do with the clothing. A feature article on alcohol consumption, called “Drinking 101 ,” caught the attention of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the magazine’s 1999 issue “Naughty or Nice” prompted Illinois Lieutenant Governor Chorine Wood to call for a boycott Of the retailer for “peddling soft porn in the guise Of clothing catalog. In 2002-2003, the company faced two public relations problems regarding ethnically insensitive T-shirt designs and racial discrimination in hiring practices. So when controversy over the Quarterly broke out again, in December 2003, this time over an article on group sex, the company finally reformatted the magical and introduced a new publication for summer 2004, A&F Magazine, which focused exclusively on artistic photographs of models wearing&F clothing.
The outcry over the Quarterly occurred in spite of the fact that the magical was sold in a wrapper labeling it s “for over 18” and required identification to purchase. Although containing no full-frontal nudity and only marginally raunchier than magazines like Maxim and Stuff, the confusion of the soft-porn genre with conventional advertising seemed particularly distressing to conservative critics like the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, who claim that the company uses “clothing to sell a sexual philosophy. Especially since the target market is teens and young adults, the advertising is viewed as transgressing the proper place of marketing. Critics claim it reverses the invitational purpose of ads, using the clothing to sell the lifestyle rather than invoking the lifestyle to sell the clothing. But as with the Calvin Klein ads, the impact Of controversy on brand-name recognition is sometimes worth the risk to the corporate image: Firebombed and Bitch’s profits were up for the second quarter of 2004, and copies of the last issue of the A&F Quarterly fetch up to $100 on eBay.