Advertisements do more harm than good ??? Debate !!!

Thats true. Ask SRK or Preity Zinta how much do they use or like LUX which they say is a beauty soap.
Companies have become smarter to portray their products into innocent people minds through these celebrities. Such bad advertising is increasing day by day.
Children eat sunfeast or britania biscuits coz SRK or Dhoni eat it in ads.
I know there are lots of consumer forums which do as much effort as they can to make people aware. But we rilly do not need such forums if companies start advertising in an efficient manner rather than harming the society just for the sake of selling their product or making profits. People will be rather happy to use single product life time rather than something which affects their lives or health.
 
This phrase wen read will appear much practical and understandable even by a small kid or an elder. So thats cheap marketing. Well not be specific about this sms stuff, the point here is that evryone does such marketing just to earn profits.
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I agree everyone does advertising to earn a greater pie of revenue & market share but just think if FIAT had done that what other car manufacturing has been doing (Maruti, Honda, M&M) i.e.advertising constantly and being in comsumers mind that a product has been launched with specific features; FIAT still would be the no.1 car manufacturing company in India. So the point is Advertising is done to keep people aware of the products being launched in the market.

It should be done in such a way so that customers know why they want a particular product and to give them benifits rather than just selling your product.
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That is for the consumer to understand the need, their desires, what they want and what will be good for them. This all cannot be expected from the companies as they have to run their business. Its for the people to analyse all this and then purchase the product as per their need.
 
rj031086 said:
Advertising has grown to be an industry worth many billions of dollars across the world. Almost all public space has some advertisements in sight and all forms of media, from newspapers to the internet, are also filled with adverts.

Whilst this helps companies sell their produces, and helps consumers to learn what is on offer, many believe that this huge amount of advertising can be harmful.

It may make people want too much, or things that they cannot have, or it might make them feel inadequate when they don't have something. Research shows that children can be particularly open to these kinds of risk.

Lets Debate - Is having widespread advertising good for a society ?
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Well acc. to Nash Equilibrium it is not required at all...
 
I agree everyone does advertising to earn a greater pie of revenue & market share but just think if FIAT had done that what other car manufacturing has been doing (Maruti, Honda, M&M) i.e.advertising constantly and being in comsumers mind that a product has been launched with specific features; FIAT still would be the no.1 car manufacturing company in India. So the point is Advertising is done to keep people aware of the products being launched in the market.
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Comparison should always be made among companies which have identical segmentation thats the basic rule of marketing. Maruti , Honda & M&M have produced cars for different segment of people. Maruti always for affordable people, Honda & M&M for higher class people. Fiat was out of the race because they could never identify a proper segment and obviously lack of advertising & finally they got out of the race.
Anyways this have no connection with our topic.
The discussion is about more harm or more good from ads.
Advertisements are obviously a necessity for people to know about the products but only if companies really have something to offer to public and most importantly for their benefit (no false claims).
There is no use of false advertisements showing CLAIMS about their product or offers and making innocent people fool.
Companies should sell their products and compete amongst them which they do but they should not forget their ethics and consumer interests.

That is for the consumer to understand the need, their desires, what they want and what will be good for them. This all cannot be expected from the companies as they have to run their business. Its for the people to analyse all this and then purchase the product as per their need.
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That means companies should sell anything & everything which they can to consumers, even if its a poison to run their business. Customers should watch ads and than impressively buy and use the product and if they die they should understand that its a poison because companies never revealed it in their ads because they were more interested in selling their product.
Let them run business and rule the world and contribute to the economy.Is that all we want.

Consumers do know what they need and want. But all people (majority including children & rural people) are not that smart to understand whether they really want a particular product offered by the company. A great deal of advertising on television is aimed at children, promoting not only toys and sweets but also products such as food, drink, music, films and clothing to young consumers from toddlers to teenagers.
Now if we think children (being consumer) know what they need/want than i am full support with any adverts. One can also say that children should be guarded 24*7 by their parents(ofcourse after leaving their jobs and sitting at home) so that they dont use or buy any fake products which could affect their health.
 
Advertisements are obviously a necessity for people to know about the products but only if companies really have something to offer to public and most importantly for their benefit (no false claims).
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You mean to say that advertising should only be done only when they have something for the benefit for the people??? And more importantly no company would survive if they offer false claims to public coz only those companies survivr which follow business ethics and coe of conduct.

Just for the eg: Today itself Honda has re-called 440000 cars from the US as they had faulty airbags. And I have told previously also that cases can be filed in comsumer court against such faulty product and companies. Eg: An airline customer had filed a case against kingfisher Airlines because the airline had charged excess for the bottle of water and that person won it and the airline had to pay a hefty fine.

This also answers your point about ethics and consumer interest.
 
well i still havent got my answer about what i wrote in my previous 'too long n precise' post.

Anyways you say a consumer won the case fighting kingfisher airlines. Merely just for a water bottle of about say Rs 50, he must have wasted his time, energy and hefty money which wasnt worth. So this itself shows how poorly companies work today and you are saying about their ethics. They think consumers are fool and you can charge them anything of your choice. Here the man was lucky to get justice otherwise mostly people ignore such small things, moreover i dont really think airlines like kingfisher would have really done this.
Evrybody know how many cases are still pending in courts for years & years. Consumer forums and NGOs do work hard but only few get effective results in the end.(Check on web and u'll get the stats).
What about those who rilly cant approach such forums. According to you, people should give up their jobs and start filing cases in court and forums regarding fake ads or companies or just use their minds before using any product. "Its not company's responsibilty , its consumer's responsibility". Well i dont agree to it at all.

Friends plz plz plz support our discussion. I only find me & rohan in dis discussion. Kindly post ur views as well.
Thnx
 
That means companies should sell anything & everything which they can to consumers, even if its a poison to run their business. Customers should watch ads and than impressively buy and use the product and if they die they should understand that its a poison because companies never revealed it in their ads because they were more interested in selling their product.
Let them run business and rule the world and contribute to the economy.Is that all we want.
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No company is going to sell such a product which is not for the benefit of consumer interests. The product might be having a manufacturing defect but that does not mean they should not sell the product. And why the onus is always on the advertisements. Why not people keep their mind open, analyse and then take an informed decision. Who has told to watch the ads and run to purchase the product.

Consumers do know what they need and want. But all people (majority including children & rural people) are not that smart to understand whether they really want a particular product offered by the company.
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Advertisements do not harm anyone...its just the mental perception of the people. Just because you cannot make understand the child what is right or wrong the blame is put on the ads.

Advertising is nothing but a short story presented in 20-30 seconds to convey a message. Its not the advertisement neither the amount of advertisement that is harmful. Its the perception of humans that advertising is harmful is HARMFUL. harmful to the young but not to the matured mind.

Advertisement is also a source of creative info-tanment. Dare to forget that Amul, fevicol, maruti etc etc ads. It brings smile to our faces which is of utmost important in todays scenario. Ads provides a source of revenue to Tv channels, radio stations, publications & journals apart from breethers and time feelers during breaks.

Now if we think children (being consumer) know what they need/want than i am full support with any adverts. One can also say that children should be guarded 24*7 by their parents(ofcourse after leaving their jobs and sitting at home) so that they dont use or buy any fake products which could affect their health.
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And as you yourself has stated that this should be done.....Advertisements do more good than harm keeping in mind the intrests of consumers, society & nation as a whole.
 
Well you giving me lots of examples which is good.

1) Amul produced so many good ads which i also liked and u too as u say. But did you forget - Amul macho ad in the jungle showing a FEMALE monkey holding a vest and saying 'ye to bada towing hai'. Well why do they need to show a female monkey and promote sex. Vests are for man and not woman. If rilly a man wud appear sexy in vest than people should stop wearing clothes and go office in their vests.
Many vests ad are like that.
Rather they can simply show it as a vest ad without promoting sex. Well you'll say its my perception that i take it as sex. I want others to vote on dis.

2) What about ads like axe deo and many other deos. Why do they promote sex on tv considering d fact that deo is only used for removing body odour. Isnt that cheap advertisemnt ?? Is it my perception again that i am taking it as sex. Again i want people to vote. Man & women can increase their style quotient by adding such deos on their body as the ad shows.

3) People are seeing advertisemnt of ipill daily on tv tthat also during family hours. I dont blame the purpose of the ad. But what they show is a TEENAGE girl crying for her mistake. Well they can always show a married girl doin the same thing. Why didnt they do so. Why they need to show a teenage and promote pre marital sex. Again i might think wrong as u say. I want people to vote on dis.

4) Fasttrack ad about wrist watches. Again fasttrack is promoting as a sex symbol if u have seen the ad. You wear the watch and girls will be around you. What is dat. Are watches for knowing time or making new girlfriends???
Ofcourse watches may add style but there is sense on showing it which is not shown in ads. Why always attract people specially youths by putting sexy teenage into it.

5) Aamsutra mango drink showing katrina. Again my wrong perception you'll say. There's hardly any diff between kamsutra and aamsutra.
People like katrina and her lips in ads and they'll love it wen they themselves try it.

6) Fair n lovely ad. I also pointed it earlier, does a man rilly go fair wen he applies d cream and the ad claim their point.

I can go on giving 100s of such examples which are on AIR these days. Whos stopping them ??? Why should we stop seeing the ads. Its only the ads that tell us about the products. But the main point is how they promote their product into our minds knowing dat how sensitive we are.

Just watch , enjoy and improve your style. People are very sensitive nowadays thats y companies easily read & move into their minds by such ruthless ads and increase their profits and make a good brand name.

I dont say advertisements should be banned or stopped. They are good for society. People like watcing good ads on tv or elsewhr.
Ads have nvr been so bad but the trend have now moved on to something thats turning more harmful and less good.

Plz i want others to put their views rather than just being a spectator. Its worthless to debate otherwise.
Thnx to Rohan for such a nice debate :)
 
Most people think that Advetisements are a waste of money and a company is only wasting money doing such things.

Well what I think is that all these companies are not out of their minds when they invest heavily on advertisements. There are a lot of examples in this world where a single line has caused revolutions.

A famous advertisement quote that is still the best--
"Our tyres may run 2 times less but it costs 4 times less"

This was done in response to the competitors ad which said--
"Our tyres costs 2 times more but runs 4 times more"

This was simply to say that Advertisements really do create a lot of hype--after all marketing is all about fooling the customers..
 
well ads are not waste of money. People cant know about products until n unless they are informed thru any form of advertisement. The debate is on whether they do more good or harm to our society.
 
But advertisements r often misunderstood & thts where the problem starts. Besides heavy competition in advertising is yet another problem
 
Well thaks a lot for putting a fierce counter attack which i really appreciate as it brings out the best in me!!

Amul produced so many good ads which i also liked and u too as u say. But did you forget - Amul macho ad in the jungle showing a FEMALE monkey holding a vest and saying 'ye to bada towing hai'. Well why do they need to show a female monkey and promote sex. Vests are for man and not woman. If rilly a man wud appear sexy in vest than people should stop wearing clothes and go office in their vests.
Many vests ad are like that.
Rather they can simply show it as a vest ad without promoting sex. Well you'll say its my perception that i take it as sex. I want others to vote on dis.
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Fisrtly let me tell u that the ad has been cleared ASCI stating that the ad is not so obsene. I agree that sexuality is the tone of all the ads of amul macho but it is playing with cliches. It may not be liked by some sections of the society but common we need to grow up and understand what is indecent & vulgar. Even many tv shows, reality shows are having some portion of the show as what we may call vulgar. But viewers are liking it and taking it in the best spirit.

About the ipill ad i agree with you that it promotes pre-marital sex which is considered a sin and most people regret it later.
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And as for the other examples; its just a creative idea to boost the product in the market. Let me tell you that there is a thin line between vulgar and decent. Its just the perception of the people.

And when you say that thses ads are promoting sex, are vulgar then we should also ban or have a curb on all the english movie channels which most of the people watch. Today elders should play a bigger role in parenting their child and guiding them from time to time in all these matters. Even a cigratte packet contains a statutory warning but do people obey and stop smoking.

So its just that time have changed and we have to move on with time. We cannot be laid back and draw flak every now and then. Some ads may need parental guidance but overall its just creativty which cannot be stopped.
 
And when you say that thses ads are promoting sex, are vulgar then we should also ban or have a curb on all the english movie channels which most of the people watch.
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Majority people watch hindi movies or other movies and not english. Its our choice if we wana see those movies. They clearly mention whether its an ADULT movie or not. So theres nothing hidden from people. People can switch off their tvs or change channels if they dont wana see d movie. But u cant expect people closing their eyes everytimes during a vulgar ad during family hours.

Today elders should play a bigger role in parenting their child and guiding them from time to time in all these matters. Even a cigratte packet contains a statutory warning but do people obey and stop smoking.
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Atleast cigarette packets give d warning so dats the good sign even if they r selling such harmful products. Atleast people know about it coz its mentioned on packets and their ads.

And as for the other examples; its just a creative idea to boost the product in the market. Let me tell you that there is a thin line between vulgar and decent. Its just the perception of the people
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Promoting sex in most of d ads is not the only idea of creativity and boosting a product. There can be a lot of ways in which one can show his/her creativity as we also see in many good ads & i also mentioned it in my earlier posts. There is a large gap between vulgarity & decency. One cant say a vulgar stuff as creativity and skip saying that its our perception. People (majority who are still not the bright minds) perceive what is shown to them, more importantly how the stuff is shown to them. I have mentioned all examples in previous posts.
 
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