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Luke Anderson
December 8, 2104
English 5
Scott Hoshida
Society and Advertising
More and more each year people are exposed to advertising. Most of these
advertisements people simply ignore and continue on with their day. However,
these advertisements are not really overlooked. They have been developed by
experts and scientists backed by hundreds of millions of dollars. These
advertisements are schemes constructed to have some effect on their viewers even
if they do not actively acknowledge them. With so many advertisements effecting
people everyday they must have some influence on a society. It is very important to
know just what effects advertising has on a society and how they can change.
The roots of advertising go back to the eighteenth century. However, what
we call advertising today was developed in the early 1900’s when a man named
Claude Hopkins revolutionized the world of advertising. He introduced the use of a
habit cycle to the world of advertising. This habit cycle is based on the psychological
process of human instinct. This instinctual process”, Habits, scientists say, emerge
because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort.”(Huigg 17) results in
the brain shitting down and running purely on habits. When someone is running on
habit they are no longer using reasoning. These habits are so strong that rats in a lab
will expose themselves to deadly shocks simply to complete a habit cycle they’ve
developed. Its important to understand that in the cycle no logical reasoning occurs.
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We switch to this habit mode when a particular cue comes about. This cue
starts our movement into a routine, which ultimately gives us a reward. This is the
habit cycle that Claude Hopkins applied to advertising. He created a habit cycle for
the consumers to develop as a result of his ads. This was so successful Claude said,
“Advertising, once a gamble, has thus become, under able direction, one of the safest
business ventures.” (Duhigg 36). So advertisings goal is to attempt to create a habit
with consumers, which in turn sells the product. So instead of buying products
based on conscious decisions we are being mislead by habits we have unknowingly
developed.
If people are unknowingly making decisions based on habit and are not using
cognitive reasoning the potential for negative consequences is obvious. There is no
real danger when someone buys Clorox over Tide based simply on a habit. However,
it is important to know advertising effects much more than just product decisions.
Advertising is a “cultural industry… advertising circulates sets of images, ideas and
assessments, stereotypes of though and behavior on which members of the public
call when building their own behavior.” (Bondrea 342). Many people overlook just
how all-encompassing advertising really is. Once one sees all the areas of society
that are being affected by advertising, the field as a whole seems quite dark-sided.
One expert in the advertising field said he “would rather be thought of as evil than
useless” (Jeremy Williams) he admits that there is in fact an evil side of advertising
while its usefulness is undeniable.
A very alarming effect advertising can have on a society is its influence on
stereotypes. “With the average American exposed to between 500 and 1000
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commercial messages a day, it yields considerable power over what we consider
normal.”( Jeremy Williams) what we perceive as normal correlates directly with
stereotypes. Carls Jr’s commercial campaign is known for focusing on nearly naked
women eating their products. There is no mention of the burgers being organic or
having fewer calories. All the viewer sees is a sexualized woman. Ads like these lead
to the stereotyping of woman and the perception of them as being sexual objects. So
many ads are created that perpetuate the stereotypes of women. Another example is
paper towel or cleaning product commercials. 9 out of 10 of the actors in these
commercials are women. So the stereotype that woman belong in the home and that
its their job to do homely duties is being perpetuated. Even thought they discuss the
strength of one towel vs another the ad is making the stereotype a social norm.
However, the power of advertising can help stop or correct a stereotype.
A notable change in a stereotype as a result of advertising is “a sustained advertising
campaign from Nivea later, including prominent billboards at football stadiums,
and[suddenly]there’s nothing unusual at all about men using hand cream.”( Jeremy
Williams) because of these ads men no longer fear being called “gay” or “metro” for
caring if their skin is dry or not. This duality of advertising really shows just how
powerful of a stereotype perpetuating agent advertising can be. It just requires
awareness to the potential effects to prevent negative consequences.
Advertising also plays a major role on a society developing extrinsic values or
intrinsic ones. Intrinsic values are values for things that occur naturally or are
essential to life while extrinsic is just the opposite. According to Fredrick Grouzet
and Tim Kasser advertising in the U.S. is placing much more importance on extrinsic
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values. This has a massive effect on a society and comes with negative
consequences. With a majority of people focusing on extrinsic values they are not
concerned with their personal wellbeing and are more concerned with how they are
perceived by others on a surface level. Experts warn that “placing greater
importance on extrinsic values is associated with higher levels of prejudice, less
concern about he environment…and weak or absent concern about human
rights.”(Jeremy Williams) all of the above threaten a society’s well being.
It is clear placing importance on extrinsic values will negatively affect a
society. However, just as advertising can place importance on the extrinsic values
there is hope it can increase intrinsic values as well. For example “The concept of
‘JAGO GRAHAK JAGO’ is one of the finest examples of advertisements, which help in
making a consumer aware regarding his rights and also about the necessities of
life.”(Aarshi Dua) so clearly there are potential to increase the intrinsic values
through advertising instead. While advertising does have negative effects on our
values it has potentially positive effects as well, especially if advertisers look to
make ads focusing on these intrinsic values.
The “evil” side of advertising is obvious to us and with more information on
the topic it is clear that advertising is currently harming our society. The answer to
solving this seems to be: just get rid of the advertisement. While this seems like an
easy fix it is not plausible. It is important to remember than while advertising can be
evil it is also a crucial part of our society. Advertising is responsible for so many of
the things we consider to be apart of our identity as Americans “an advertisement is
an easier and comfortable mechanism of presenting an idea or concept…”(Aarshi
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Dua) meaning that advertisements are an excellent way for people to communicate
and develop their ideas. So if advertisements are going to exist “[advertising] ought
to be considered a detrimental influence, and regulated accordingly.”(Jeremy
Williams) we can change the way advertising is currently to improve our society
with its power to influence. One of the most reasonable potential solutions to
changing the way advertising is now is by using ads. Essentially we can advertise
ourselves away from the current ads and their blindly manipulative way. Because
advertising is so influential on a society it should be used as a tool to develop habits
that will help benefit the society as a whole not hinder it.