The Pros and Cons of Advertising

The Pros and Cons of Advertising 

The case for advertising

Advertisements help to increase the sale of goods and so producers can sell goods at reasonable prices. They raise the standard of living of people by drawing attention to new products and ideas. They increase the demand for goods and more workers are needed to produce goods so they provide employment. They pay for many services such as transporters, porters and sellers. Daily newspapers, television license fees and bus fees remain cheap because of advertisements. They also keep up the quality of the goods and services we use. 

There are many advantages of print advertisements. Newspaper readers are more likely to consider information in advertisements seriously. Print advertisements are concrete, and therefore, readers are able to pick the paper back up and read it a second time, or whenever is convenient for them. All of the information will always be right in front of them. But radio and television give impermanent information and if you miss it, you don't have a choice when you can hear it again. Newspaper readers are usually older, better educated, and higher earning than television and radio audiences. Magazines have all of the same advantages of newspapers including a longer shelf life, which means that it stays in use longer. Also, people share magazines so more people are exposed to the ad, and the ads in magazines have the potential to be more glamorous than newspapers. 

Advertising can lower subscription costs, but again, it can become a circular argument. Mad magazine publisher William F. Gaines explained this in 1972, arguing that if he accepted advertising in his already-successful magazine he'd have to change the magazine's appearance, and he wasn't sure that would gain him any ground: "We'd have to improve our package. Most advertisers want to appear in a magazine that's loaded with color and has super-slick paper. So you find yourself being pushed into producing a more expensive package. You get bigger and fancier and attract more advertisers.  

The case against advertising

Advertisements try to influence our emotions by making us buy things we do not need or want. They make us believe that our dreams will come true if we use their products. This is why advertisements for home cleaning products often try to convince ladies that they become perfect wives and mothers only if they use those products. They imply that money can make our dreams come true. But this is obviously not so. We cannot buy personal good looks, intelligence, good friendships or a happy family. A lot of advertisements are, therefore, a form of lying. They can also make people feel depressed and discontented with their ordinary lives, especially those people who have only a small amount of money to spend on luxuries. 

The majority of mainstream commercial publications accept paid advertising, generally to help cover production costs and to provide their readers access to related resources and information. Non-commercial publications, such as those published for organizations, often do not include advertising, preferring to maintain a neutrality in the commercial marketplace and to keep production costs to a minimum. 

A publication that accepts ads brings consumers and vendors together, and this creates a vested interest in maintaining the happiness of both parties. If the consumers remain happy they'll continue to subscribe, and if the vendors remain pleased they'll continue to advertise. Thus the publisher strives to support a good climate for commerce within the market, which often strengthens and supports the entire community, organization, or other target audience.