Advertising – Uses and Abuses
Pick up any newspaper or magazine; switch on the radio or the TV, what greets your eyes and ears is a plethora of advertisements.
To advertise means to publicize. The tradesmen, with anything to sell, use advertisements to let the public know what they have for sale. Advertisements are of great use to the producers as well as the consumers. Advertisements are an important business strategy in the competitive business world, for the man who shouts the loudest is perhaps the one who attracts the maximum attention.
Advertisements make an abundant use of various forms of media—the radio, the television, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, etc. They stare down at the passers-by from the roadside hoardings. They greet you froth the banners stretched across the roads. Repeated many times over, before any and every programme, they are major irritants to the television buffs. The ‘ad jingles’ are as popular as film songs with the youngsters. It cannot be denied that the modern means of mass communication have produced an enormous increase in the amount of commercial propaganda to which the modern consumer is exposed and producers spend a great deal of money on creating good advertisement.
Advertisements sere a variety of purposes. They are necessary to introduce new commodities, to the public and to explain their uses. They help in stabilizing demand and a stable market leads to increased production and reduction of waste. Moreover, advertisements are a guarantee of quality since a producer who invests large money in publicizing will not offer inferior goods. Besides, with the variety of goods competing in the market, the producer can save the consumer a. good deal of time and energy by telling him exactly what he can provide. Once this is accomplished, he woos the consumer with his product, luring him with assurances of cost-effectiveness and superior quality. The canvassing benefits the consumer and helps him to Choose from a wide variety of products available.
Advertisements make newspapers cheap for they are major source of revenue for them. Advertising, however, has its abuses. Many advertisements exaggerate the virtue of the goods and, thus, ensnare unsuspecting consumers. For Instance, even though there may be no obvious connection between the pictures of a smiling girl and a certain brand of sweets the advertisers assume that such a picture will influence the consumers into buying a product. Advertising of this kind is planned to stimulate new wants or induce buyers to change their habits. It’s an appeal to the emotion rather than judgment.
The consumer is duped into buying a certain product that is used by a well-known movie star or a sports star, as they are tempted to follow the example of their idols. It may take time for the consumer to comprehend that he has been cheated. Sometimes, advertisements prove an* eyesore for they vulgarize beautiful country places and city streets.
An adept advertiser may monopolize the market by making people believe that his product is superior because it is dearer. We all do tend to act on the assumption that high price indicates high quality.
There is no denying the fact that advertising has come of age in India and entire firms are devoted to the business. It is a specialized field requiring a creative mind and persuasive ability, but advertisement, must be made judiciously to benefit the consumer as well as the producer.
