The Impact of Advertising

The advertising business has become such an important factor in the economy in many countries, especially in the United States, that it also changes the economy itself, society, culture, and the political system.

The stimulation for the demand of products and services helps the economy grow stronger and stronger. New inventions become known much faster and can establish their spot in the sales figures of the economy. If there are more people buying these products the overall costs will drop and the product will become cheaper for the customer which raises his willingness to buy even more. On the other hand advertisements are very expensive and some economists believe that these costs are put on top of the actual price paid by the customer.

Critics argue that advertising can also have a huge influence on society. It tells the consumers that only purchasing products makes you happy and therefore people compare each other on their belongings. Women also compare themselves with the beautiful and very skinny models they see on commercials and ads. This sometimes results in eating disorders and a low self-esteem of women who don’t look like these models. Another bad effect is, that minority groups, especially in the United States are portrait in a subordinate position, which settles in the minds of people. Commercials are also an important part of the income of a TV station which leads to the suspicion that a news channel might not report on an incident about a company they depend on. A lot of TV shows are also based on these commercials, and if the ratings aren’t good enough the show will be stopped. Only those shows which attract a lot of viewers will be shown, which is not very differentiated and put minorities like older people at a disadvantage.

Advertising can also have an impact in politics. $ 467 million were spent on advertisements and TV commercials in the elections of 1998. It gives the opponents the chance to respond to charges very quickly reaching a few million viewers. But since this is very expensive only very rich people have to chance to run for a political position or at least depend on the donation of wealthier people who could have a huge impact on democracy this way. The political issues talked about in an election are also very much simplified because the spots are only about 30 seconds long, and you can’t really discuss a lot in such a short period of time.

There is finally the impact advertising can have on the culture of a country. The globalized economy uses the same commercials in a lot of different countries, which leads to a break down in the differences of these societies. Children will grow up not knowing how their culture has been before in their country. It can also lead to a lot of discussion about moral values if we just think about the very controversial ads of Benetton we have discussed.