TO WHAT EXTENT IS ADVERTISEMENT ALWAYS MISLEADING?

Word Count: 553

Advertisement is a notice, picture or film about a product, job or service as described by The Oxford Dictionary. It has the potential to persuade people into commercial transactions that they might otherwise avoid. It is the means through which a business runs. It is as important to business as breathing is to man. Thus advertisement is absolutely necessary not only to preach about the product, job or service and their features that make them sellable, but also to sustain the world economy itself as it is heavily dependent on trade and commodity.

Advertisement, as stated earlier has many advantages. Most obvious is its ability to tell people about the commodity and persuade them into commercial transactions that they might have otherwise avoided. This directly affects the sales of products or services. Advertisement is also very important as it is a mass marketing technique.

However, advertisement is not free from demerits as is everything else. Especially false or misleading advertisement has arisen as a major problem. There are also concerns over some commercial advertisements encouraging unhealthy habits namely smoking and drinking. Similarly, some of the advertisements are taken as inspiration by youth to try the tricks or stunts shown in advertisements of motorbikes or cars.

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Adverts become misleading when they don’t follow certain protocols. One of such protocols is the truth in statement. Another one is the truth in labeling of the products which give the information about the price, date of manufacture and the date of expiry. Contents of the products and any potential health hazards along with precautions before use must be clearly stated. Any advert that doesn’t follow any of the protocols becomes false or misleading.

Many advertisements deceive their audience and affect their economic decision-making. Also, such adverts do no follow competitive business rules directly or indirectly harming a competitor of the organization placing the adverts. It is common to see adverts telling people to part with money so as to “enjoy life by enjoying their products”. It is also common to see adverts telling false statements about their products or exaggerating them. Many adverts conceal or leave out important facts which might have otherwise made the people to not commit to a financial transaction of the product. Adverts of unhealthy products such as cigarettes, alcohol, etc don’t emphasize more on the statement of the health hazards of using the products. It is almost always the case that an adult smokes and does heroic deeds most of the time in “slow motion” while the statement telling the health hazard just appears on the screen for a fraction of a second. Such carefully placed adverts by “intelligent” people give false impressions even if the statement is literally true. Such adverts are not only misleading but essentially a crime citing the direct manipulation of people into unhealthy habits. And, it is important to note that most of the advertisements are misleading and false. Thus, the concerned authorities as well as the people themselves who are the most mislead must be aware of such adverts and should discourage such adverts.

The government must make sure all the rules are in place and implement them. Such rules must be regularly revised according to changing business environments and current requirements. Any misleading advert must not be allowed to put on air or on paper.

Summary

Advertisement is a notice, picture or film about a product, job or service
Potential to persuade people into commercial transactions that they might otherwise avoid
As important to business as breathing is to man
Can be misleading
Truth in statement.
Truth in labeling (the price, date of manufacture and the date of expiry)
Any potential health hazards
Precautions before use
All rules should be in place and implemented
No misleading advert be allowed on air