Advertisements as awareness or keeping people busy? Advertising is a bad thing or a good thing for society?
Advertisements are everywhere, on your phone, on TV, on city billboards, and roads. And it is indisputable that most well-established organizations use ads globally to increase their sales. Ads are developed to capture desirable feelings and reactions, leading to desired customer behaviors, using fundamental psychological concepts. To enhance the success rate and boost a product’s popularity and sales, brand advertising and marketers implement a variety of psychological techniques and concepts. Many agencies encompass a wide range of promotional activities. However, I acknowledge that it positively and negatively affects the local community in contempt of that. There will be a discussion of the pros, such as raising awareness of the product and cons, of advertising on society, specifically young agers, causing them impulsive buying.
To begin with, whilst it comes to quality advertising, there are several factors to consider. From a psychological perspective, in 1974, Zellinger and his fellows performed experimental research on Purdue University undergraduate students. The researchers showed the students some advertisements for a book. For half the students, the advertising material included the statement, “a book for adults only, restricted to those 21 years and over”; the other half read about no such age restriction on the book. (B. Cialdini, 2007).[1] However, when researchers asked the students how they felt about reading it, they found that those who knew about the age limitation wanted to read it much more and believed they would like it more than those who thought they had unrestricted access to it. (Zellinger, 1974)[2]. This concludes that advertisement tactics work and attract the customer, and specific restrictions may increase their desirability.
Firstly, celebrity endorsement is one of the most critical factors that can significantly influence the company’s sales; die-hard fans are more inclined to purchase items promoted by their favorite star. For example, shampoo brands such as Head & Shoulders and Clear had a significant increase in sales as their commercials featured cricketer Shahid Afridi and celebrity Fawad Khan, which have seen their profits grow significantly. Secondly, It is also essential to consider the creativeness of the ad-makers because they may help companies attract new customers by selecting the appropriate script and catchy jingles and providing sufficient information quickly. When clients see such advertisements, they are influenced by the advertised products and companies, resulting in substantial revenues. For example, Ufone, a telecommunications company, used comedy to market its products and gained much value at the time. It is conceivable to see both positive and adverse effects from deploying advertising to enhance revenues likely, in any case. A positive aspect of this is that consumers can learn about new products and services due to appealing marketing. It helps compare the price ranges of identical items from different manufacturers for smart shopping. This has a double advantage for corporations and organizations all over the world. However, it might have a negative impact on adolescents, who are quickly swayed by the ads, which are targeted towards them as adolescents or teens who lack the ability of rational thinking most of the time. Consequently, they cannot assess the effectiveness of items based on their needs, use, and price range. At some point, teenagers could even make their parents buy items they do not need.
In conclusion, the use of world-renowned artists and the potential to provide information in a short amount of time are the significant reasons for effective ads. Many companies rely on advertising to boost their bottom lines. Not all the effects of these trends have been entirely beneficial or harmful, in any case.
[1] B. Cialdini, R. (2007). The Psychology of Persuasion. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/ThePsychologyOfPersuasion
[2] Zellinger, D. A., Fromkin, H. L., Speller, D. E., & Kohn, C. A. (1975). Journal of Applied Psychology, 60(1), 94–99. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076350