By Toma Lynn Smith
Losing weight, hair re-growth and cleaner windows all have something in common: massive television advertising.
As stated on the Web site http://www.simpletoremember.com, “Cable aside, the television industry is not in the business of selling programs to audiences. It is in the business of selling audiences to advertisers.”
Potential consumers will often find themselves checking the volume on their TV because of the loudness of the commercials, interrupting a favorite show.
It is crazy what businesses will do and who they will go to to boost sales, LeBron James for Nike, Halle Berry for Revlon, and the fictional caveman created for Geico Insurance Corporation.
These commercials and many others all have a tendency to keep TV watchers on the couch and draw them to an item they may have not known about unless it was advertised.
Smiling beautifully, Liz Arbuckle, a junior elementary education major, said she would have never purchased Crest Whitestrips, until she saw them on TV.
Demographics are everything for companies to determine when and how to advertise.
For example, during tax season, financial guru and Washing Post columnist Michelle Singletary stated, “This time of year, companies prey on individuals who either have not filed and owe, or have filed and can’t pay. These firms make promises that they can get the IRS to settle your tax debt for a fraction of what you owe.”
Singletary stated these companies are being deceptive because it is very hard to compromise for a reduction in payment to the Internal Revenue Service.
Although a college student may not be able to relate to this exact situation, there are plenty of other TV advertisements out there that can be very persuasive and misleading.
Megan Brantley, a junior elementary education major, is not fooled. “[I never think,] ‘Gosh I’m going to look like Beyonce if I wear that,'” when referring to the celebrity’s placement within the L’ Oreal advertisements.
Unfortunately, everybody is not as keen. Young people can be naive, which are many companies’ biggest targets.
Andrew Coots, a sophomore whose major is undecided, said teenagers are most vulnerable because of their desire to be like everyone else.
“Advertising often works by making us feel unhappy with our lives, anxious and dissatisfied. The messages are that you are not okay unless you buy this, wear that brand, wash your hair with, and look like that very slim model,” as stated on the Web site http://www.youngmedia.org.au.
Advertising is a double-edged sword. Companies are obviously created to earn money, but the consumers are persuaded to consume more and more with the abundance of advertising everywhere.
It goes beyond living rooms, with pop-ups on the Internet, a football stadium with the name of a very popular pizza chain, and often accidentally.
Crest has not only gotten one buyer from their TV commercial, and they may get more, literally by word of mouth.
