Advertisements Are Efficient Exploiters of Consumers

"A good salesman can sell an eskimo a refrigerator," the popular saying goes. And that is the principle behind advertising: to sell.

Advertising through the mass media has extended its influence deep into the masses, to reach the average working-class man-in-the-street, as well as the high-flying corporate boss. True, advertisers' primary aim is to inform people about their products. but the reason they want to do this is to push sales. to sell. So the debate is whether advertising, keeping in mind its purposes. does manipulate and thus exploit the consumer.

There are two types of advertising: softsell and hardsell. Softsell is the gentle approach, to mainly inform the consumer about the product. Hardsell is aggressive and fights for each and every consumer.

In softsell, consumers are fed knowledge of the product and its advantages. This method is based on the primary aim of advertising which is to inform. Sometimes, even the disadvantages of the product are stated. This only shows that this form of advertising does not seek to manipulate consumers' minds. It leaves the decision-making entirely up to them. The consumer is left alone to calmly consider the purchase. The consumer decides independently and is not exploited.

Then, on the fast lane of, the highway, there is hardsell. In this aggressive, no-holds-barred method, competition is often fierce . Advertisers mot only aim to inform the masses about the product., but they also try to skilfully get them to buy. There are several ways to do it.

Very often, advertisers bombard the masses with a particular advertisement. This comes from the concept that having seen an advertisement often enough, a person would be hypnotised into buying the advertised product.. An example of the success of this method is the frequency of' Teenage Mutant- Ninja Turtles advertisements and the increase in the sales of these toys. Indeed, even Princess Diana has admitted that, the Turtles have taken over her household.

The consumer may also be entranced by eloquent words and state-of-art pictures. Take, for example. the famous "the physics behind the physique" slogan of Reebok, which uses clever alliteration, and the catchy "Coke is it," used by Coca-cola. The phrases , drummed into consumers' mind, float around in their sub-conscious, and urge them to buy. The Johnson and Johnson's "the language of love" advertisement, featuring a mother seeing her newborn baby for the first time is heartwarming and beautifully filmed. Like words, pictures also serve to cajole the consumer into purchasing. However, this advertising may manipulate the consumer further by hinting at extra qualities that the product does not actually have. Painting a rosy picture for the consumer may mislead the consumer by raising his expectations. This is devious as the advertisements do not actually state, but only hint, at these points, to go around the laws forbidding giving false information.

Advertisements may also deceive the consumer with omission of details. For example, many weight-loss centres promise drastic weight-loss in several days. But they do not reveal that this would be achieved by starvation, hectic exercise or routine medication which could have harmful side-effects. Some advertisements do actually state the disadvantages, but in fine print, at the bottom of the advertisement that people may overlook. Most discerning people would know that that which is in the fine print, no matter how small or how difficult to read, is worth the effort. They also know that the importance of the words are indirectly proportional to the size of the print. Deceiving the consumer is exploitation.

Hardsell is exploiting consumers because advertisers try to mould the consumers' minds so that. they purchase the product. The consumer may regret later of his purchase, but, then he has already paid for it..

To protect consumers, there are laws to police advertising. They cannot use an authoritative figure to promote their product. For example, a dentist cannot, advertise a toothbrush. There are also authorities who deal with complaints from the public about certain advertisements.

Besides, the ultimate decision is left. to the consumer. He must, take some responsibility for his actions. The advertisement can persuade him to buy its product and advertisers may harass him with advertisements, but. they cannot, take out his wallet. and pay for it. They cannot force him to buy. The choice is his.

Advertisers also influence people to buy their products by using popular public: figures in their advertisements. For instance, ace basketball player Michael Jordan was used to promote Nike shoes. Nike even had a model of shores named after him - Air Jordan. So effective is this tactic, that, on New York streets, Air Jordans are among the most common things that children steal. This shows that. people can be exploited by advertisers to want a product so much that they may even resort to violent means to get it.

Consumers have a responsibility too. Before they buy a product., they should' find out about. it,, to make sure they really want. it.. To rush headlong into buying a product after watching an Oscar-deserving advertisement is rash and irrational. They should carefully consider their purchases beforehand, so as not to be influenced by advertisers.

Softsell does not exploit consumers, as the people are left independently to decide for themselves. Hardsell tries to manipulate consumers and is therefore exploiting them. It is true that the ultimate decision is the consumers, but human beings, not being perfect, are influenced by their surroundings Advertisements do affect people. It is puritanical to insist that consumers bear the full responsibility. The consumer, owing to constraints of time, energy and resources, cannot possibly research into each and every product before buying it. The advertisers must bear the responsibility of their exploitation.