Others think it has negative social effects because it will make people dissatisfied with who they are and what they have.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
In this technological era, advertising is ubiquitous on multiple platforms, which means almost everyone is exposed to them on a regular basis. Opinions differ on whether or not it benefits our society, with some arguing that it offers significant economic benefits, and others believing it promotes vanity, thus creating dissatisfaction among consumers. In this essay, the writer aims to shed light on both sides of the argument before elaborating on his opinion.
Granted, it is understandable why advertising is often linked to lower self-esteem, which then results in dissatisfaction. This industry frequently employs various promotion techniques in order to capture consumers’ interest in their products, thus creating more demand and revenues. One of their exemplary strategies is to utilize glamorous scenes or landscapes, such as using the covetous extravagance of a penthouse to trigger the desire of viewers who take an interest in real estate. After watching such advertisements, it is unlikely for the viewers to avoid a sense of envy and discontent as it is in our nature to compete for a higher social status, with a respected lavish lifestyle as shown. In summary, it is true that advertising could lead to resentment.
Meanwhile, the advertising industry does bring about significant economic upsides. Advertisements allow a more efficient flow of goods and services as consumers are continuously updated on the latest products of their interest, helping them select the most suitable options based on quality and affordability. New small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can exploit advertising to reach their customers efficiently and enhance their brand awareness. In other words, advertising stimulates competition since even well-established household names will have to tirelessly adopt innovations to maintain their competitiveness, while capable SMEs are more incentivized to improve their quality for market share. In this way, advertising makes substantial contributions to maintaining the dynamism of the economy.
From the writer’s view, the economic advantages offered by advertising are much more significant because problems related to self-esteem do not reflect the inherent nature of advertising. People’s dissatisfaction largely stems from their flawed materialistic way of thinking, which determines one’s net worth using his assets, and extravagant material possessions. This self-esteem crisis is more of a state of mind and a consequence of our money-conscious society, rather than the direct consequence of advertisements. Therefore, it is invalid to attribute the negativity in our attitudes to the advertising industry.
