Special shows are now dedicated entirely to advertising and millions of pounds are spent trying to portray products with the right image. But is it right that adverts can take up so much time, money and yield so much power?
An extreme abuse of this power comes in the form of Nestlé’s baby milk campaign. According to IBFAN (the International Baby Food Action Network), Nestle is the largest single source of violations of a marketing code. Targeting mothers in developing countries, Nestle tries to persuade them that breast-feeding is not as healthy as using their baby milk formulae. Nothing could be farther from the truth when many of countries involved have poor water quality and low literacy rates. Combine these two, and you are left with a recipe for disaster, as correct preparation is unlikely.
IBFAN produced a report that also saw Nestle sending sales staff dressed as nurses to promote their milk in hospitals, as well as giving away free samples. Obviously ethics played no part in their promotional strategy.
It may also be said to be socially irresponsible to advertise tobacco and alcohol when both of these harmful drugs can kill easily. Ethics do not seem be present when advertisers are promoting products that are widely known to cause cancer or liver damage. Advertising reaches all audiences, but may affect impressionable children and self-conscious adolescents more than adults.
Although banned from TV advertising, the tobacco industry has creatively financed the print media to the extent of 3.27 billion per year. Tobacco advertising may no longer be viewed on television, but with facts like the previous of billions of pounds being spent on print media, it is clear that the industry will not give up on its advertising. Good news is that in countries where advertising of tobacco has been totally banned or severely restricted, the percentage of young people who smoke has decreased more rapidly than in countries where tobacco promotion has been less restricted.
Advertising does have its positive points. HEBS, (The Health Education Board for Scotland) has used the service help their campaign to show young people just how dangerous drink and drugs can become. Their effective ads are famous over Scotland, with memorable slogans and songs, and are helping fight the battle against the country’s high numbers of under-age drinkers and drug addicts.
The Catholic Church believes that people should be educated regarding the role of advertising in today’s world and its relevance to the work of the church. Such education should seek to prepare people to be informed and alert in their approach to advertising as to other forms of communication. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out, “the means of social communication…can give rise to a certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of what is said or shown. Users should practice moderation and discipline in their approach to the mass media.”
I think that adverts really do have a tremendous influence on the way people govern their lives, and some of them are not as moral as would be desired. It is all too common to see sex selling products in ways that has absolutely nothing to do with the products themselves.
Roderick White, an author states that “The majority of advertisements, mirror society. It is however, generally a distorting mirror. As a result, society looks at what it sees in the glass, does not like it, and with a certain justification blames the mirror.”
I agree with this statement, and feel that what comes out of the screen comes out of the community and society; it has no-where else to come from. Yes there are a great percentage of unethical ads, but we as a nation have all become so passive about them, that really, no one knows, or has concerns about this issue. Until people realise the control and power advertising holds, then they will continue to subconsciously take it all in, including all the immoral and unethical ideas it can portray.
