Nowadays,theoverwhelminginfluenceofadvertisementsonmediahasmadetoomanycontroversialsocialissues.Somepeoplearguethatadvertisementsmaketheaudiencehavethesimilarlookbydrivingthemtobuyproductsofthesamebrand.Personally,Ifundamentallyagreewiththisassertion,andmyreasonswillbeexploredasbelow.
Admittedly,theliteralintentionofadvertisementsistosharpentheconceptofindividualism.Forthepurposeofdistinguishingbrandnames,slogansandtestimonialsinadvertisementarealwaysfullofverypersonalizedwords,including"new","innovation","uniqueness","revolution","thebest","theonly","thefirst".Itisclearthatcorevaluesofthesewordsbringpeopleamotivationtochange,andadesiretotrysomethingdistinctive.Consequently,thegapbetweenpeoplecanbebroadened,becauseanyindividualisstimulatedbyadvertisementstoexpresstheirpersonalitiesbybuydifferentitems,insteadoffollowingcommontastes.
However,whenconsideringpracticaleffectsofadvertisementsonthesociety,Istronglybelievetheyplayaroleofdepersonalizingtheaudience,andthefirstreasonisthatcommercialsarethekeytoolforbigcompaniestomonopolizethemarket.Onehand,manybigcompaniesinvestbillionsofdollarsannuallyinmakingfascinatingandprepossessingadvertisementstoattractthepublic,whichconsistentlymaintainstheloyaltyofpatrons,andcultivategoodimpressionsofpotentialcustomersontheirbrands.Ontheotherhand,smallcompanieshavetoolimitedfinancialabilitytoaffordthesecostlypublicitycampaigns,sothattheirnamesandinfluencescontinuetofadeandloseconsumergroups.Thatistosay,advertisements,anexpensiveprivilegeonlyforrichandbigcompanies,helpthesecompaniesexclusivelyoccupythemarket,aswellasreducingthediversityofbrands.Inthissituation,peopledefinitelylookthesame,becausetheyhavenootheroptionsbutbuythesame-brandfood,clothesanddevicesproducedbyadominatingcompany.
Anotherreasonsupportingthisassertionliesonthefactthatexposuretoadvertisementsstandardizesthoughtsandtastesamongaudiences,especiallyintermsoftheirappearance.Atypicalexamplecomesfromfashion,cosmeticandshampoocommercialswhichhighlighttheclose-upofimagesofcertainmodelorcelebrity.Thisisastrongbrainwashbyimplyingthatimagesoftheseactorsarecommonstandardsofhumanbeauty,andthentriggeringmassivepublicimitationshowsroundbyround.Intoomanycases,largegroupsofhypnotizedpeople,regardlessofages,careersandraces,blindlyfollowandchaseso-callediconicfiguresinanadvertisement,mainlythroughbuyingandusingthesamelipstickandperfume,wearingsameclothes,watch,ornamentsandbag,evencopyingthesamehairstyle.
Inconclusion,Ibelievethemainsocialinfluenceofadvertisementsistomakepeoplehavethesimilarimagesapparently.Althoughslogansofadvertisementstendtoindividualizetheaudience,thetruthisthatadvertisementsnotonlyletbigcompaniesrulethemarketsolely,butalsomanipulatethepublic’smindstobuythesamethings.
