Advertising is a powerful tool in any society run by mass media. If a political entity or a corporation has liquidity, a good portion of that liquidity is usually spent on some type of advertising budget.
Since television has become such a large part of our lives, with advertising fueling that engine, advertising has permeated almost everything you see when you turn on the TV. It started in the 1950s with cute product placements in shows - innocent enough, until we find out later that corporations wouldn't allow certain plot lines if they didn't conform to an image with which the advertiser was comfortable.
This is not to say advertising was never a problem before TV came along. Of course, advertisers had sign placements and product placements well before TV - on radio, on city streets, in magazines.
Fast forward to 2008, and we have much the same problem: candidates parroting words that the crowd wants to hear, and advertising simply mirroring that same problem in the form of pushing junk like hamburgers and sugar-water down our throats:
McDonald's spend over two billion dollars each year on advertising: the Golden Arches are now more recognized than the Christian Cross. Using collectible toys, television adverts, promotional schemes in schools and figures such as Ronald McDonald the company bombards their main target group: children. Many parents object strongly to the influence this has over their own children. McDonald's argue that their advertising is no worse than anyone else's and that they adhere to all the advertising codes in each country. But others argue it still amounts to cynical exploitation of children - some consumer organizations are calling for a ban on advertising to children. Why do McDonald's sponsor so many school events and learning programmes? Is their Children's Charities genuine philanthropy or is there a more explicit publicity and profit motive.
So advertising has always played in immense role in our society. Without advertising, the average consumer would not be able to be told what to buy. They would have nothing in their home, because no one told them to buy anything. It has become fact that advertising affects our daily lives everyday.
The consumers need to be entertained by television, newspaper, and internet has launched a new type of advertising. Advertisers are beginning to use famous entertainers in their advertisements so that people pay attention to them. Almost every advertisement that is seen today has somebody that the consumer will recognize. Whether it is a movie star, a comedian, athlete, or a reality television star, the advertiser will make sure that a percentage of the viewing audience knows that person. Not only do they attract our attention with the use of somebody famous, they also attract our trust. By seeing this person on television all the time and especially if you like this person, you feel comfortable with the product almost immediately without even knowing what it is or does.
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