It is widely known that most companies utilize advertisement in order to rise their sales. In this regard, novel questions garnered increasing attention: What are the primary features of advertisement that make it that impactful? Is that beneficial or have negative effects on the society? While their ability to insert in subconscious level might be an answer to the former question, I contend, it has both merits and demerits for the population.
The primary reason of advertisement being that popular and heavily utilized by companies is its ability to infiltrate and remain in one’s mind without their awareness. Researchers proved that when consumer observes an ad, whether it is on digital apps or in streets, they do get familiarize with the product in a subconscious level; thus, when that individual visits the store to buy a certain product, he or she more likely to opt for the product that they saw on an advertisement over other alternatives as humans are less prone to take risks of interacting with unfamiliar objects. Thus, companies use inherent traits of ours to promote their products, and it is effective as consumers are tend to prefer familiar objects over strange ones.
Advertisement cannot be considered solely negative development of our era; it has some positive features as well. One of the primary advantages of advertisement for the society is it informed-decision making. Companies try to draw consumers’ attention in any ways possible, and one of those ways is stating a product’s beneficial characteristics and their ingredients. In such a case, people understand some important aspects of advertised product, including techniques of the product’s preparation process and its nutritious value. Such knowledge, in turn, is essential to people as they might prefer a certain way of preparation—for example, vegans prefer when no animal is involved—or avoid allergenic reactions. However, some companies also exaggerate the benefits of their products and conceal their negative effects*. In such an occasion, advertisement might serve a tool to promote a product that might lead to health issues.
In conclusion, while certain features of advertisement, such as its ability to make products familiar in consumers eyes, might be the reason behind its effectiveness, I convinced that it serves as both a negative and positive development of our modern world.