In a film we watched in class, the issue of advertisement and the way that it infiltrates our world was analyzed. Often times, it gets to a point where ads are all that we see, and we are unable to see the way that our senses are manipulated in order to get us to buy a certain product. Various techniques are used to attract the attention of consumers. For example, companies work to create a persona for the product they are trying to sell, like Mr. Clean or the gecko from Geico, in order to create a level of relatability and draw in audiences. They also work to create a feeling of community or create emotional ties to a certain product, and convince consumers that if they buy something, they will be happy, or have friends, or stop being lonely. Obviously, the product does not have the intended effect, so people continually go back and buy new things, craving a sense of belonging they have been convinced they can find in material things. This creates a trap where companies sell an ideal that can never be attained, failing to tell their audience that obviously a surface cleaner is not going to awaken your deepest sexual fantasies (ie. Mr. Clean is an absolute stud). The messages created are solely for company gain, as can be expected. No one can say companies have our best interests at heart when they sell us a false version of reality in order to get us to buy a said product, and time and time again, it works. In my household, ads through television were never a problem. I have had Netflix for my entire life, and stopped having cable around age 6 so I don’t really remember a time where every time I sat down to relax, I was bombarded by advertisements. So every year, when the Super Bowl comes around, I am thrown for a loop, and, if I am totally honest, want to buy some things just to see if the commercial is true at all. Fortunately, my parents rule with an iron fist, so I have never gotten anything from a TV ad, but the fact that I even want it in the first place and risk my mother’s wrath by asking says a lot. Regardless, advertisements have a different effect on everyone, based on not only their environment, but also their values. For example, when I start going car-shopping, commercials with some car driving around in dirt and being reckless doesn’t really intrigue me, as recklessness and total freedom aren’t things I am super fond of. But put in an ad where there are kids in a car and “real life people, not actors” and you have got me hooked.
In a film we watched in class, the issue of advertisement and the way that it infiltrates our world was analyzed. Often times, it gets to a point where ads are all that we see, and we are unable to see the way that our senses are manipulated in order to get us to buy a certain product. Various techniques are used to attract the attention of consumers. For example, companies work to create a persona for the product they are trying to sell, like Mr. Clean or the gecko from Geico, in order to create a level of relatability and draw in audiences. They also work to create a feeling of community or create emotional ties to a certain product, and convince consumers that if they buy something, they will be happy, or have friends, or stop being lonely. Obviously, the product does not have the intended effect, so people continually go back and buy new things, craving a sense of belonging they have been convinced they can find in material things. This creates a trap where companies sell an ideal that can never be attained, failing to tell their audience that obviously a surface cleaner is not going to awaken your deepest sexual fantasies (ie. Mr. Clean is an absolute stud). The messages created are solely for company gain, as can be expected. No one can say companies have our best interests at heart when they sell us a false version of reality in order to get us to buy a said product, and time and time again, it works. In my household, ads through television were never a problem. I have had Netflix for my entire life, and stopped having cable around age 6 so I don’t really remember a time where every time I sat down to relax, I was bombarded by advertisements. So every year, when the Super Bowl comes around, I am thrown for a loop, and, if I am totally honest, want to buy some things just to see if the commercial is true at all. Fortunately, my parents rule with an iron fist, so I have never gotten anything from a TV ad, but the fact that I even want it in the first place and risk my mother’s wrath by asking says a lot. Regardless, advertisements have a different effect on everyone, based on not only their environment, but also their values. For example, when I start going car-shopping, commercials with some car driving around in dirt and being reckless doesn’t really intrigue me, as recklessness and total freedom aren’t things I am super fond of. But put in an ad where there are kids in a car and “real life people, not actors” and you have got me hooked.
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