People’s opinions on the effects of advertisements on economy and individuals’ lives are divided. Some suggest that it is beneficial for the economic situation; however, others emphasize its drawbacks, mentioning that it manipulates people’s desires, and emotions. I agree with both views, as advertisements increase sales in both right and wrong ways, which eventually boosts economy.
Advertising plays a major role in the development of industries, leading to a significant economic boost. To maintain this development, it is crucial to retain high income and keep sales consistent, as a result advertisement becomes a critical factor to achieve this. For example, in Azerbaijan, when a new taxi company entered the transportation market, its innovations firstly did not get enough attention, and to solve the issue, they employed different marketing strategies to explain the citizens why they should use the service. As expected, this led to dramatic company growth, and their revenues soared. It is all thanks to the advertising that citizens adopted to new technologies, which gave the chance to the company to grow. This meant increased employment rates, and also guided entrepreneurs to invest and build similar startups, which further developed the industry.
On the other hand, advertising is not only used for such positive developments. It is also a common practice to alter beauty standards, and systematically direct people’s attention in long-term to create a cycle, in which customers, regardless of their needs, keep buying similar products and consume more than they actually need. For example, although technology advances rapidly, some products already have been optimized, and companies see this as a threat, as they need significant amount of time to bring unique solutions. So, they excellently promote their products using customer psychology and social norms, making people continuously spend their savings on products which only experienced slight changes. This causes unsatisfaction among customers, and it would be better for them to spend their money wisely on the more important things. In addition, it is a fact that, if the majority believe that a particular type of product is good, then instinctively we will be willing to join the popular belief. Similarly, for long years, companies have been perpetuating myths about who is considered beautiful, which led people to buy specific makeups to make themselves look like their idols. However, this is a significant issue, which affected many people mentally and financially.
In conclusion, advertising is a power that should be properly managed to effectively develop the economy and serve to improve customer satisfaction by assisting customers in understanding their needs more easily. Nonetheless, businesses are built over financial power, and to retain their legacy, companies will utilize such opportunities to derive more sales and returns, consequently making people unhappy of their choices and causing low self-esteem due to the command of advertisements over social norms.