Some people assume that if products have met demands and are of decent quality, the public will immediately resort to buying them. For this reason, there is no need to run campaigns and advertisements rather than for entertainment purposes. In this essay, I will demonstrate my point of view why I disagree with the assumption, and why advertisements are necessary for the growth of profit for a brand.
Advertisements are one of the most powerful tools in the world to influence people. They have the ability to make people feel like they have to buy the product even though they do not need it just to stay up to date. A good quality product does not always make consumers turn their head, but they will pay attention to products that persuade them that having this one will make them “cool” to people around them. For example, a young girl who already owns a perfect shade of lipgloss will not look for other ones since it has already met her demand. However, one day, Rihanna, a famous singer, and her favourite, decided to launch a set of lipgloss that is not really her shade, and is of bad quality. Billboards start showing advertisements of her peers and her favourite singer using them. In this case, if she does not own one, it would make her look out of place with her friends, and it is the message only advertisements can get across. Advertisement shows flashy things and trends that immediately hit people with the idea that without the product, it is not possible to be respected, to be loved and be confident; thus, the power of advertisement goes beyond presenting brand recognition, but also keep people buying more and more despite the products they owned had already met their demand. As a result, the large companies that run campaigns will keep profiting from people’s fear of missing out. For these reasons, advertisement is a very powerful tool that companies have to keep using despite their reputation.
On the same side, whether a good is very well-known for their quality or not can not make up for the profit companies will miss out on gaining if they do not run advertisements. Aside from running ads to become well-known, ads also help brands to get their message across to the public and eventually reach the target audience, pulling their attention. Low-quality products that can gain reputation through targeting a group of consumers can sell much more than high-quality products that can not get their story and message through to gain empathy and attention as they are marked as bland and not well-known. Taking the two competing brands of lingerie, Victoria Secret and Agent Provocateur, for example. They have the same price range, Agent Provocateur is a bit higher and of more good quality based on reviews, meaning they are both accessible to people. Nevertheless, Victoria Secret runs ads more aggressively since the last 20 years and they reach their target audiences which are young girls and women. Compared to Agent Provocateur that only advertise through websites and Instagram posts, billboards and banners have brought Victoria Secret more models and more consumers, gaining more profit in total. Therefore, only good quality is not enough for people to buy products, advertisements are needed to bring in consumers and gain their empathy in order to sell more goods.
In conclusion, the assertion that if a product is good or meets people’s needs, they will buy it without the help of advertisement is untrue. Based on consumers’ habits, consumers tend to turn to advertised products even though they are of low quality and unnecessary. With advertisement being a powerful tool of hitting people’s attention through catchy phrases and glamorous pictures, it is a crucial element in the selling business.