Advertising Negatively Affecting Our Lives

There is great debate over the ultimate impact on individuals of commercial advertising in the U.S. media. Some maintain that advertising is beneficial, in that it helps consumers become aware of the differentiation that exists among different products or helps shoppers compare price and value of potential purchases. However, most people argue that because of the fallacies most advertisements rely on to sell products, they are detrimental to individuals in the long-run. Heavy mass advertising can lead to numerous ill effects, including massive credit card debt from over-purchase, increased nagging of parents by children affected by ads, sexual exploitation of females, and increased aggressive behavior in men from exploitation of the "machismo" factor in products advertised to males. This analysis will use three distinct advertisements to illustrate these potentially negative aspects of commercial advertising.

As one of my peers commented, "In general ads or commercials have a negative impact on our lives. I believe they influence us a great deal. They tells us what's cool, how to dress, what to eat, what to buy, and how we should look." Many advertisements rely on the sexual exploitation of women to sell products by using idealized body images that often make average women feel inferior or low in self-esteem in comparison. One such ad is the ad for Jenny Craig which shows skinny, svelte women in before and after

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Category: Business - A