Entry 7: The First Amendment Rights, Responsibilities, Limitations and Other Legal Issues in Advertising

Blood Bath: Political Advertising

 

CARTOON: Ed Stein. Rocky Mountain News. 2006

Over the years it seems that whenever there is someone running for office there is commercials that slander everyone who is running for the position. Political advertisement campaigns have turned into who can make the other person look more flawed than they are. Political campaigns no longer focus on the issues that the community is facing, but instead focus on who can win the popular vote. 

The reason that every campaign turns to a popularity contest is because of advertising.

Advertising is a very powerful tool that many people have used to get their issues and opinions seen. Along with that many people have used advertising to expose personal problems and to discredit their competitor’s names to make them look better. Since advertising is such a powerful resource for any campaign it makes me wonder if there should be regulations put on how campaign ads can be used. 

CARTOON: The News-Herald. Oct. 24, 2010.

The 2008 campaign for President of America is one the of the best examples of how advertisements can be used as a weapon against a candidates opponent. Romney, Obama and McCain all focused on cutting each other down and criticizing past events. Organizations contribute to the mass amount of attack ads as well. This new form of personally attacking candidates started mainly in the 1990’s as a way of making one look more qualified than the others, but attack campaigns have always been a part of our history says PoliticalCampaign.com. 

The new attack ads that started being used came out of needing a new way to get candidates seen by the general public. The first televised political campaign was in 1952 with Eisenhower against Stephenson. After that all presidential campaigns have had televised advertisements/debates. What changed from then to now is that back then candidates talked about what they wanted to do if they were elected, but today most of the candidates talk about what the other candidates did wrong.

 

VIDEO: Famous "Daisy" Attack Ad from 1964 Presidential Election.YouTube. October 30, 2010.

John Geer put together a website dedicated to the Attack Ad Hall of Fame which depicts some of the best and worst attack ads in U.S. History. The most famous attack ad aired in 1964 for the presidential election of President Johnson which was named "Daisy Spot". Attack Ad Hall of Fame says that the ad was suppose to scare the public into voting for Johnson because he would keep nuclear war from happening to America and it worked. The "Daisy Spot" attack ad opened the flood gates for all the rest of the attack ads that followed.

I do believe that political advertisements are a key component in today’s campaigns, but I also think that they should focus on what the candidate is doing right instead of what the other candidates have not done right. Political advertising is a great tool to get candidate’s message out to the public and keep them informed. Ads are also used as weapons to attack other people and make the general public feel like they cannot trust any of the people running for office. 

The issue of trusting potential candidates is getting harder and harder because instead of advertising how to fix the issues they focus on personal issues. Most people in today’s world do not trust anyone in government. Every aspect of their personal lives is taken out of context and made to seem more important than things like the economic downturn. All that these attack ads seem to be doing for candidates is making people not want to vote and hating their government for not focusing on the real issues. Doesn’t it make more sense to fix the government’s problems instead of trying to fix personal problems as an elected official? 

Some of the Attack ads that have been produced in recent years slander candidates for personal things like illness and beliefs that do not pertain to a person’s potential government position. I have found a couple of ads that do just that. Bradley Byrne, a GOP candidate, was made fun of for believing in evolution. A GOP senate candidate for California, Barbara Boxer, was depicted as a “demon blimp” that was planning on terrorizing California. These attempts to make fun of people for things that do not pertain to a candidate performing their duties in office are the new way of bullying people into power. I believe that everyone has skeletons in their closets and everyone has something to hide, but that does not mean that people cannot take on responsibility. 

CARTOON: Sineitc. Philadelphia Daily News. April 4, 2010.

Candidates no longer have to worry about what issues they want to change, but rather what clothes they wear. The public no longer bases their voting decisions on what government problem can be fixed, but how much they like the candidate as a person. Since many people never meet their elected official the main concern should be on how well the job is done and not on how the official looks when they do it. 

This issue of attack ads in advertising has become a serious problem that can only be fixed with regulation and an end to name calling. It seems like political ads are the only ads that are not regulated. Government problems and challenges are fixed by doing the work and not by talking about how much better someone is then another. To increase votes and get the public back into making the government work for the people we need to put an end to political beauty pageants and start focusing on how officials can help the government. 

WORD COUNT: 930

Entry 6: Ethics in Advertising

Ethical Sexuality and Objectivity

PHOTO: Brasilian. Photograph. Http://creativebits.org/inspiration/does_sex_advertising_sells.

In the United States today more and more advertisements are shown with a sexual appeal. Products like clothing and liqueur have always used sexuality to sell their product, but now things like candy, fast food and even cleaning supplies are used as highly sexualized objects. Along with sex, women’s bodies are being used as objects to sell products.

PHOTO: BurgerKingAd. Photograph. Http://creativebits.org/inspiration/does_sex_advertising_sells.

The questions that come from all the sex in advertising is if the sex appeal being used in these ads is ethical? Another question that should be addressed is if using women’s bodies to sell products is ethical? When sex is used to sell products like hamburgers and sports drinks is it effecting people in negative ways or simply just selling a product? I believe that in the wrong context, using sexuality to sell products could be extremely unethical. Psychology Today says that, "men tend to prefer sexually explicit ads, while women usually respond negatively," which is the general idea that I have seen in my research on sexual ads.

I find myself wondering after seeing so much sex in advertising if it is morally right for women who are normally the sexual object in the advertising to be portrayed as such. Some ads depict women as objects being used to sell products instead of being seen as human beings. This use of woman's bodies seems to be doing more harm then good. Products are being sold because of these advertisements, but the people seeing these ads seem to gain a false sense of what the female body should be in the process.

PHOTO: Bynolyt. Photograph. Http://creativebits.org/inspiration/does_sex_advertising_sells.

Some advertisement firms claim that they are empowering women by showing them in masculine possess or controlling a man. Where that claim fails is the fact that most of the time the women are almost naked so the notion of empowerment is lost. Showing women as sexual objects and not as humans just to sell a product makes the product look unethical itself. "Most people respond negatively to advertising in which the sexual image has little relevance to the advertised product," and if that is true then advertisement agencies should not want to use sex in their advertising (Psychology Today).

PHOTO: Che Men's Magazine. Photograph. Http://creativebits.org/inspiration/does_sex_advertising_sells.

For Men...

Most ads that depict women as objects are target to men, which is very well known. When these advertisements are seen through some form of media is where the issue of being ethical comes in. Men are constantly seeing images of beautiful women as objects they can use or things that they can buy and do what they want with. This can make men think that all women are like that. There have been countless studies about the effect of sexual advertising and objectivity over many different geographical groups and the findings have all been different in their outcome. Most of the studies suggest that men who frequently see advertising containing women being used feel that it is okay for them to do the same.

PHOTO: Bed Time Stories. Photograph. Http://creativebits.org/inspiration/does_sex_advertising_sells.

For Women...

When it comes to women seeing the advertisements of these sexual images many feel like it gives them a false sense of needing to be perfect. This is especially true for teenage girl who see more ads containing women as sexual objects than any other age group. Although many things go into the make-up of a person’s perceptions of what they want to be like none seem to be more prominent than the one of fitting in by acting cool. Since cool is seen as acting like people seen on television, commercials and magazine covers it is no wonder why there has been an increase in depression, eating disorder, and low self-esteem in teenage girls. A study done by Howard Lavine, a professor at University of New York, stated that when a group of people where shown various sex-content ads were more likely to have a larger discrepancy in their ideal body weight then people who were shown non-sex-content ads. This study helps prove that some ads can be unethical because they can teach a population to feel inadequate. Family values, life experience, and beliefs are crucial factors that help to shape how a person sees themselves, but advertisements also can be considered one of the crucial factors as well. 

PHOTO:Change. 2006. Photograph. Http://creativebits.org/inspiration/does_sex_advertising_sells.

With all of the evidence that has been compiled over the years to suggest that this form of sexual objectification is bad for society how has there not been a decision made on if it is or is not ethical? I believe that the answer is that every advertisement is different. I do not believe that it is possible to live in a world with no advertisements that depict a person being sexual or used as an object. I do believe how ever that more should be done to prescreen advertisements and decide if it is ethical to show. 

With advertising I have seen that in every ad that is shown, someone will find it unethical and offensive. The question now becomes where do we draw the line and if stricter guidelines should be made for sexual content and objectivity in advertising?

WORD COUNT: 998

REFERENCE:

Baranski, T. "Take It Off: Sex in Advertising." BGSU :: University Home Page :: Bowling Green State University Home Page. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. <http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/tcom/faculty/ha/sp2003/gp1/Article1.html>.

"Depicting Women as Sex Objects In Television Advertising: Effects On Body Dissatisfaction." People - Eastern Kentucky University. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. <http://people.eku.edu/winslowm/psy300/tygart.htm>.

 Hawes, Daniel. "Care for Some Sexy Toilet Paper? - Sex in Advertising | Psychology Today." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness Find a Therapist. 15 Jan. 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolved-primate/201001/care-some-sexy-toilet-paper-sex-in-advertising>.

Lavine, Howard. "Depicting Women as Sex Objects in Television Advertising: Effects on Body Dissatisfaction." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Dec. 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://psp.sagepub.com/content/25/8/1049.abstract>.

"33 Inappropriately Sexy Ads | Bored Panda." Bored Panda - the Only Magazine for Pandas. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.boredpanda.com/sexy-ads/>.

Entry 5: Global, Cultural and Other Diversity in Advertising

Advertising to My Demographic

PHOTO: Education Times. College Students. 2010. Photograph.

The most important part of advertising is understanding the customer because that is what sells the product. In advertising it is always important to know what type of person the company thinks will purchase their product and then advertise to them specifically. When a product is personalized to an individual group it makes the advertisement more effective than advertising to the general public. A good example would be that no advertising company would make an advertisement about tampons that was targeted to men. With all the products that are out in the world and all the consumers ready to buy, advertisers need to find a way to get their product seen by the costumers that will use it and not the people who would not. 

There is a large amount of diversity in today's would and to combat diversity of people advertisements must be just as diverse. Since there seems to be no limit to how diverse a individual can be advertisers tend to focus on broad demographic categories like targeting by race, sex, origin, and age. When advertisements focus more on a specific group of people the product has a better effect on that market. Some companies have more than one demographic group that they target with their product. To deal with all the different groups advertisement companies will make different advertisements for different groups.

My demographic of advertising is the largest group that advertisers focus on.  I am a white, mid-class, college student, over the age of 18 years-old and under the age of 25 years-old. My demographic makes me a prime target for almost all advertising. Since people my age are highly compulsive and are easily influenced we can be advertised to with greater results then with older and more money conscious adults.

How it Works

PHOTO: Online Money. 2008. Photograph. Money Stance.

To reach the younger generation many advertisers are choosing to use buzz marketing strategies. By getting someone to use the product and then talk to their friends about how great the product is the product then becomes the hot new thing that everyone wants. That is when buzz marketing turns into word-of-mouth advertising which is free for the company being talked about. Free publicity is always a good thing.

Online advertising has become very popular seeing as most people my age spend a lot of their time using some form of internet technology. According to MarketingVox.com 92 percent of college students say that they make purchases online and that same group said that 52 percent have bought products from seeing online advertisements. By taking advertising to the internet companies can market to that 92 percent that makes a purchase and perhaps get them to buy more. 

Business Insider says that there are five ways to advertise to the younger generations and they are: mobile marketing, getting to the point fast, don’t try to be cool if you’re not, get your product right before bragging, and win over mom and dad. They say since college student and people between the ages of 18 to 30 years of age are strapped for cash and are untrusting they can be a hard target audience, but by following the five ways companies can better target the younger demographic. I would have to agree with all five of these ways because even though we are young and not as responsible we still know what we want and what we like. 

Why it Works

The reason these ways of advertising to the younger demographic work is because it is targeted to use specifically. Using mobile devises, getting to the point and making the parents proud all at the same time is something that young adults see as a great purchase. Since we are living in a high paced world the mobile ads and getting to the point fast help us to feel like the advertisers understand our needs. Also younger people have a feeling of when something is or is not cool to them. When companies act cool when they are not  it patronizes us so we feel like we are being made fun of by big advertising firms which makes us not want to purchase the product.

Another thing that people my age tend to hate is advertisements bragging about their product. I think that is because so many products say they work and then they do not. Like I said before, younger people can be ever skeptical and need to trust the product they will purchase will work. If the product does not work the first time the chances of use purchasing it again are almost eliminated. By making the product seem like a great purchase that your parents will love makes us feel good to brag about what we bought.  Ever young adult wants to make their parents proud, even when it comes to their purchasing decisions.

Buzz marketing works for young adults because we trust our peer’s opinion more than most advertisements so to hear a friend talk about how great a product is makes us feel like we want it too.Word-of-mouth advertising has been shown to be a major factor in trend setting according to MarketingVox.

Diversification

By targeting advertising to a specific group companies can increase the amount of consumers they can acquire. Advertising to my demographic helps advertisers hook youth and hopefully make them life long customers. Along with gaining customers at a young age advertisers also get insight on how to market to those individuals later in life. With all the many demographics groups it is easy to see why diversity in advertising is so important.

WORD COUNT: 948

References

L, Ali. "Marketing to College Students." Marketing to College Students. 22 Apr. 2006. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://collegestudentsali.blogspot.com/>.

"Online Advertising Motivates College Students to Buy - MarketingVOX." MarketingVox - Practical News for Interactive Marketing Practitioners. SEO, SEM, Social, Mobile, Analytics and Other Online Tactics, Tools and Strategies. 06 Feb. 2008. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. <http://www.marketingvox.com/online_advertising_motivates_college_students_to_buy-021010/>.

"Term Definition: Word-of-Mouth Advertising." Business & Small Business | News, Advice, Strategy | Entrepreneur.com. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82660.html>.
Williams, Geoff. "Five Tips for Marketing to College Students." Business Insider. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. <http://www.businessinsider.com/5-tips-for-marketing-to-college-students-2010-9>.