A 3 page research paper that presents an argumentative essay on the nature of advertising and suggests that advertising, in many cases, as gained too much influence, especially in regards to corporations designing lesson plans for school children. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_khiofadv.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
through which they are satisfied" (Potter 10). The widespread perception of advertising at the time of the books publication, which was 1958, was that businesses used advertising to inform
the public about their products, that is, that advertising was primarily an informative medium that addressed pre-existing consumer desires. Galbraith countered this belief by stating that the purpose of advertising
was "to bring into being wants that previously did not exist" (Potter 10). As this suggests, advertising can have an insidious effect on the behavior of consumers. The public
ends up buying products that they do not need and do not initially want because of advertising that subtly convinces them that the purpose of a specific type of watch,
pants, shoes, etc. will bring them social acceptance or identify them with a celebrated entertainment icon. Nevertheless, even though advertising is omnipresent in society, most consumers learn to be skeptical
about marketing messages. However, examination of the various ways in which advertising permeates the media reveals that corporations use it in ways go beyond the scope of purchasing habits, as
the corporate world have "significant control over the content of the media that shape our world view" through the control they exert via advertising revenues (Mazur 36). Both
the news and entertainment media draw on advertising revenues for their operating budgets and this afford advertisers considerable influence over media content. A 1992 study that surveyed 150 newspaper editor
indicated that frequently advertisers attempt to dictate the newspapers editorial content (Mazur 37). Examples of corporate influence abound. In 1993, for example, Mercedes Benz dictated to the 30 magazines that
their ads should be pulled from any issue that contained articles "critical of the company, German products or Germany itself" (Mazur 37). RJR Nabisco, which produces cigarettes among other products,