I have decided to write my paper about advertisement. It interests me because of how fast advertisement has grown for the past decade and how it has come to influence our daily lives. Advertisement is something that people in the United States have become used to over the years. Everywhere one looks there is something being advertised. Any form of communication, from television to billboards, has become a tool for companies to advertise to the public. Since the inception of the technological revolution that came with the internet advertisement has grown exponentially. It has come to the point where companies depend on advertisement to succeed. Many might think that advertisement is a tool that is used to inform people, but it is actually a weapon that is used against them to not only deceive them.
I believe that the United States has become over saturated with advertisement, bringing many consequences to not only the U.S. public but to the small businesses in the United States. These small businesses try to compete against giant corporations with unlimited money that can be used for advertisement, making impossible for small business to succeed. This creates an ever growing gap between the rich, big companies and the poorer small businesses trying to survive in this unjust economy.
At the same time, advertisement can be a dangerous tool. The government defines advertisement as commercial speech under the law. Even though commercial speech is somewhat regulated by the government, it does not deem them completely trustworthy for the public. In other words, even though lying is not protected under freedom of commercial speech, it does not stop them from hiding or masking the truth. Advertisers use different methods, such as statistics, to confuse people into believing what they are saying. Statistics is something that can be easily manipulated and making it look however someone wants to make it look. Another technique that is used in advertisement is the disclaimer that is out at the end of a commercial but in such a tiny print that it is impossible to read, by doing so they get rid of any possible liability for having expanded the truth. Advertising is something that cannot be trusted, there is no advertisement that tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth, there is always some sort of deception.
My thesis for now is that advertisement should be decreased because it brings many consequences to society and the economy in the U.S. I touched on this on my second and third paragraph. My thesis might change depending on what else I find, but I am pretty confident that it will remain the same in general,
A great source that I am going to use is the documentary "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold." The documentary shows how advertisement works from a "behind the scenes" approach. It talks about the extent that advertisement has come to date and how it has invaded every single possible way of communication. It shows how people have gotten so used to advertisement that they do not even notice when they are being advertised to. I am also going to use the book "Advertising: Information or Manipulation?," by Nancy Day. In this book she talks about how advertisement deceits people without them knowing and she explores the difference between being advertised to and being informed. I will also use many articles on the internet that I may find useful.
Counter arguments for my thesis could be that advertisement helps booster big companies into success which, in turn, can help boost the economy. Maybe in the short run but in the long run this gap that is created between big companies and small businesses will lead to a collapse in the economy in which both the rich and the poor would suffer. Another counter argument may be that even small businesses advertise, but my response would be that even though they are able to advertise it will never be to the massive scale that big companies can.
This is going to be an interesting paper, since there are so many ways I can still take this. I am curious and excited to find out what will come from all this.
At the same time, advertisement can be a dangerous tool. The government defines advertisement as commercial speech under the law. Even though commercial speech is somewhat regulated by the government, it does not deem them completely trustworthy for the public. In other words, even though lying is not protected under freedom of commercial speech, it does not stop them from hiding or masking the truth. Advertisers use different methods, such as statistics, to confuse people into believing what they are saying. Statistics is something that can be easily manipulated and making it look however someone wants to make it look. Another technique that is used in advertisement is the disclaimer that is out at the end of a commercial but in such a tiny print that it is impossible to read, by doing so they get rid of any possible liability for having expanded the truth. Advertising is something that cannot be trusted, there is no advertisement that tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth, there is always some sort of deception.
My thesis for now is that advertisement should be decreased because it brings many consequences to society and the economy in the U.S. I touched on this on my second and third paragraph. My thesis might change depending on what else I find, but I am pretty confident that it will remain the same in general,
A great source that I am going to use is the documentary "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold." The documentary shows how advertisement works from a "behind the scenes" approach. It talks about the extent that advertisement has come to date and how it has invaded every single possible way of communication. It shows how people have gotten so used to advertisement that they do not even notice when they are being advertised to. I am also going to use the book "Advertising: Information or Manipulation?," by Nancy Day. In this book she talks about how advertisement deceits people without them knowing and she explores the difference between being advertised to and being informed. I will also use many articles on the internet that I may find useful.
Counter arguments for my thesis could be that advertisement helps booster big companies into success which, in turn, can help boost the economy. Maybe in the short run but in the long run this gap that is created between big companies and small businesses will lead to a collapse in the economy in which both the rich and the poor would suffer. Another counter argument may be that even small businesses advertise, but my response would be that even though they are able to advertise it will never be to the massive scale that big companies can.
This is going to be an interesting paper, since there are so many ways I can still take this. I am curious and excited to find out what will come from all this.
Raphael,
ReplyDeleteThe topic of "advertisement" is a very large topic and you are right that there are many ways you can take this. I think a great, tension-filled thesis may be to focus on the impact advertisement has on the ability of small-business competition. This is an interesting topic also given the advent of the internet which, as Thomas Friedman has argued in The World is Flat, allows a small business to look BIG and a big business to look small/personal. I'm not sure how interested you are in the business side of advertisement, but this could be fruitful.
I think you need to choose what field you want to connect advertisement to. There are tons of articles and books on the psychology of advertisement from both a psychological standpoint and business standpoint. There are also many books out there that discuss the social impact of advertisement on the consumer. Advertisement in capitalism could be another way to take this.
Many options, but you should start narrowing the topic a bit sooner than later. Good job.