From the wake up calls of Goodmorning America to the late night shows of David Letterman, the television is always running to deliver pictures to the world. 98% percent of American households own a television set("Fact"). Through the Technicolor box, millions of viewers witness direct and accessible information. As naive viewers, audiences believe what is seen and heard, including misleading advertisements. If your beer is "Bud Light" and your clothes smell "Downy Fresh," life is perfect. Advertisers purposely create appealing scenes to convince and hook customers.
From the infamous "Marlboro Man" to the popular "Budweiser Frogs," advertising companies thrive off of the publicity and popularity of their influential ads. On average, someone who watches television for one hour will see up to fifteen minutes of commercials. Within the fifteen minutes, a person can become hooked on a new product because of the direct or subliminal messages the commercial transmits to the viewer("Subliminal"). The young generation of viewers is most effected and takes the advertisements to heart. Advertising companies recognize that today's youth purchases more products than the adult market. As a result, advertisers direct advertisements to the growing youth generation for better profits. For example, Nike companies are successful because they advertise with influential role models like Tiger Woods. The advertising easily misleads children because they see a celebrity in Nike apparel and try to emulate the image("The Impact"). On the flip side, advertisers also encourage teenagers to purchase negative and harmful products. Over the last few decades many more teenagers have been using alcohol and drugs. There are several influences that cause habits to start and peer pressure from advertising plays a significant factor. Children are exposed to alcohol and drugs before they are granted the time imperative to make clear, responsible judgments. The media takes advantage of the youths' age inferiority to aim where kids are most vulnerable: their image.
Alcohol companies juggle with the minds of teens through effective ads. An influential method is the placebo effect; the viewer believes the product can help because of the positive expectations portrayed in the advertisement("The Impact"). A recent Miller beer commercial featured a famous racecar driver, Danny Sullivan, speeding around a track in his Miller logo car. Linking beer with speed is the dominant message that appears to make life enjoyable for the driver. Alcohol advertisers also persuade young drinkers by examining a person's self-complex. A majority of alcohol ads illustrate young men and women as the center of attention and doing something incredibly fun or original. A promotional ad for Johnnie Walker shows sixteen bottles of scotch and the line, "Bob really knows how to throw a party. He never runs out of Johnnie Walker"(Howard). The ad is meant to be interpreted so that kids think alcoholic beverages make the party truly happening. Drinking is linked to happiness, success, maturity, and other arbitrary qualities in commercials. While alcohol companies argue that they do not intentionally target kids through hidden messages in ads, we all know that they have a business to uphold. One marketing executive said, "Let's not forget that getting a freshman to choose a certain brand of beer may mean that he will maintain his brand of loyalty for the next twenty to thirty-five years. If he turns out to be a big drinker, the beer company has bought itself an annuity"("Fact"). Because advertisers realize how valuable the youth is to their success, they will go to extremes to ensure their own prosperity.
Drinking is not the only dangerous issue facing teens; weight loss is a serious, harmful problem for some young women. Today's society is partly responsible for the "thinness popularity" and advertisements help to publicize these ideal body images. It is rare to see an old, overweight, unattractive lady in advertisements(Pipher 42). Advertisers clearly use anorexic, waif figured females to endorse their products. Kate Moss, a well-known Calvin Klein model, has the emaciated look that appeals to an envious public. The downside is that the majority of models like Kate Moss are 20% below what is considered a healthy weight. As a result, young teenage girls worry uncontrollably about their weight and overall appearance. Anorexia and bulimia are two extremes teenagers result to for a new look(Pipher 34). Barbie dolls are also a catalyst for eating disorders in young kids. The Barbie-type doll's unrealistic proportions formulate as the "perfect body image" to young girls. They connect Barbie's petite figure to her joyful persona(Reagles). Eating disorders concerning girls are partly responsible for the Barbie "make-over" to give the doll wider hips and a smaller chest. Another alternative girls turn to is physically changing their appearance. "In this plastic world, where prefab bodies are no longer the exception but the norm, it seems almost cool to trade in your God-given beauty for the look of the moment"(Pipher 58). In the past year over 14,000 teens under eighteen years of age considered and had plastic surgery(59). Advertising messages and models make it impossible for an adolescent to feel comfortable with their own weight and appearance.
The consequences of targeted advertising, drinking and eating disorders, are damaging to the youth. Advertisements that are misleading show a world vastly different from the truth. Kids become fixated with how drinking causes self-improvement and happiness. Young girls envision themselves surrounded with male attention of only they could drop twenty pounds. Commercials are convincing forms of peer pressures that create negative habits in the young generation by transmitting false messages. The Rolling Stones said, "You can't always get what you want," but today's effective advertising makes anything appear possible
Works Cited
"Fact
Sheet from the Department of News & Information." http://rwja.umdn.edu/~ama/policy/fstobacc.html
(16 March 1998).
Howard, Lucy. "Advertising-Give us a break." Newsweek 9 March 1998 101 (located
in Info Trac SuperTOM+ 1998 March 1998).
Pipher,
Mary. Reviving Ophelia. New York City: Ballatine Books, 1994.
"Subliminal learning and advertising-Does it work?" http://www.pracpsy.com/advert1.html
(17 March 1998).
"The Impact of Advertising on Children." http:// www.lycos.com/wguide/tools/pgview.html
(16 March 1998).
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