Media - The Relationship of Self and Advertising Essay -- Exploratory

The Relationship of Self and Advertising      Ã‚  Ã‚   Advertising has an extremely strong hold on society. Due to the overwhelming presence of mass media in popular culture, products are often recognized solely by how they are portrayed in their advertisements. Regardless of how truthful or misleading it may be, advertising is how companies spread the message about what they have to offer to the public. Advertising appears in various forms, including printed material, television, audio, and even down to its simplest form-word of mouth. Without good advertising, a product would not succeed and would lack added publicity given to it through advertising. Consumers would not always be informed of the best products and prices without ads. Both the corporation and the consumer directly benefit from advertising. However, potential buyers should proceed with caution. There is misleading information circulating through advertisements on a daily basis. Products are often glamorized and appear as something they really are not. The truth is that people can be easily influenced by advertisements that appeal to them. Until this group of consumers can see through the hype often associated with advertising, they will continue to be mislead by the ads presented before them.    Manufacturers' dependence upon advertising is evident on everyday television, but is especially obvious during Super Bowl night, one of America's most hallowed evenings. A few seconds of advertising to the countless number of football fans watching the Super Bowl can cost businesses millions of dollars. If this were not an effective means of drawing customers to a product, nationally renowned companies would not spend this much money for just a f... ...lf. The two (advertising and self) help each other out. Advertising communicates information to the self while benefitting it most of the time. The self keeps advertising alive by purchasing the displayed products and following the media as closely as it does. Despite occasional glamorizations of products by advertising, the public should appreciate advertising and enjoy the ads for what they are. Advertising should inform and assist the consumer in purchasing a product and not be the only reason one purchases something. Take them for what they're worth; advertisements are good!    Works Cited Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 1972: 129-54. Scheidell, John M. Advertising, Prices, and Consumer Reaction. Washington, D.C.: AEI Publishing, 1978. Sutherland, Max. Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer. Sydney: Griffin, 1993.