morality in advertising

Do you think that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people?
I think that advertisers should have a moral duty to avoid stereotypes since advertisements are a part of media which plays a huge part in society. The goal of advertisements is to make money by appealing to the audience in order to buy their products so it is understandable that advertisements turn to stereotypes to appeal to the largest part of the population. However, advertisements firms should not be careless when creating their ads because they are producing to an audience that is constantly being exposed to advertisements so a constant exposure to stereotypes could have an effect on them. By constantly consuming these advertisements, the audience will start to change and shape themselves according to the stereotypes in order to fulfil the expectations shown in the ads. These stereotypes could result in lowering self esteem and could influence its audience to make physical changes to their appearance either to a simple or extreme extent such as cutting your hair in a specific way or having surgery. It can be assumed that advertisements reflect public values which means they have a great responsibility in how these values as shown as they are what essentially shapes modern ethics. By creating these stereotypes, groups of people are being objectified and dehumanized which encourages there to be a specific label applied to these people. For this reason, firms should be careful when stereotyping in advertisements since they hold a great power of public opinions and morals.

Comments

  1. Sami DabbousJanuary 12, 2019 at 8:45 PM

    Honestly great overall. You were able to make statements about stereotypes while providing logical examples and explanations. Though I think you have the capability to make this writing have a much more critical analysis. You can go more into depth, as you are stating the obvious and can easily lead it into more depth. Apart from that you did great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ZKJanuary 12, 2019 at 8:52 PM

    It can be said that ads are, quite literally, everywhere, as you have clearly stated. And this fact is, sadly, a true one. These ads mold the view we have on those who we aren't exposed to, such as people in the US who would only see heavily stereotypes versions of Australians with their thick accents or the British with their obsession with tea (completely untrue). I agree with your statement that advertisers DO have a moral duty to not create destructive stereotypes although, I would try to include real life examples, such as certain ads that show such destructive stereotypes.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Key moments

In my opinion, one of the most important events from things fall apart is the death of Okonkwo at the end of the novel and this is because the death of the protagonist symbolizes Achebe's main reason for writing the novel which is colonization from another point of view. This suicide shows how cultures and systems are taken over as it starts to fall apart and the effects it has on the people it is being inflicted upon. It also reflects Okonwo's weakness and failure and how it took over his pride as he was no longer the leader of his village so he decides to kill himself which creates a conflict within the novel. The second most important part would be Nwoye joining the church because this foreshadows the falling apart of the Umofia since it shows how Nwoye fell apart and decided to join the church which symbolizes the weakness of the tribe. This event is important to the conflict because it shows how Umofia is falling apart and characterizes Nwoye as a parallel to his father...
Read more

Character Analysis

What is the  significance of Okonkwo’s character?  What does he   represent   or is   symbolic   of? Okonkwo is the protagonist of Things Fall Apart, where he is known for his fear of becoming his father whom he was embarrassed by because of his laziness and feminine characteristics. This fear made Okonkwo show no kindness or respect towards those with no title and made him treat his wife and children in an abusive way to ensure that no one considered him as weak or feminine. Additionally, Okonkow is known for winning a wrestling match against the cat which allowed him to earn his respect among the villagers, he is also known for his large yam harvest and having three wives. Achebe uses Okonkwo to explore and represent the different aspects of the Igbo culture, showing both the good and bad through the traditions and customs that they follow. Okonkwo's attitude towards life contributes to his fatal death which symbolizes the effects of colonization on the...
Read more