Do Advertisers Have a Moral Duty to Avoid Stereotyping People?
The Balance defines advertising as the "attempt to influence the buying behaviour of your customers or clients by providing a persuasive selling message about your products and/or services." Almost all companies out there advertise their products through some sort of media, meaning that we are constantly bombarded with commercials, billboards, newspaper prints, pop-up ads, YouTube ads, and sidebar ads, all of which aim to connect with us in some way in order to sell their products. This can all be a bit overwhelming, and having to see them everyday understandably begins to have effects on us. These effects can go both ways. If the advertisement has a well-planned, and thoughtful message aiming to inspire and persuade their audience, then we will obviously leave that ad feeling motivated and better than we were before. However, the more common effect is when an ad is not thought out, and simply aims to attract their audience by any means necessary. When firms opt to go in this direction - which they usually do - some problems come to surface.
The use of stereotypes in advertisements is a classic and heavily used tactic. The reason for this is that advertisements cannot be too long. They have to be snappy in their persuasion, and quick in making a connection. As stereotypes are widely known by people, this is a fairly advantageous tactic. However, stereotypes are very oversimplified, and often showcase the group of people being stereotyped in a demeaning manner. Examples include: women are weaker than men, men cannot show emotion, all Asians are good at math etc. They only focus on one aspect of people and generalize certain communities. This can both give these communities standards that are very difficult to achieve or undermine the achievements and progression of them. When we see all of these stereotypes everyday, we slowly begin to agree with them more and more, while also believing that to be a part of a certain community of people, you must look, talk, dress, and behave a certain way.
One of the worst effects of stereotypical/generalized advertising is the portrayal of the female and male body. Most models in advertisements are very attractive, fit, and have body standards that not everyone can achieve. Furthermore, they are edited to take away any "flaws" or "imperfections". This constant exposure to perfect, beautiful bodies creates an image in our heads of what is considered real beauty, but the sad fact is that they are standards that are unattainable by anyone. And so, by placing these desirable bodies next to a product, our brain correlates that beauty with it, believing that by buying it, we can be one step closer to achieving them. It's all just a way of manipulating us into spending our money. I believe that what they are doing is wrong, and as more negative effects of advertising come to surface, they seriously should reconsider their methods. But those are just my morals. The aim of advertising as established in my first sentence is to "influence the buying behaviour of your customers and clients," but when do advertisers go too far?
The use of stereotypes in advertisements is a classic and heavily used tactic. The reason for this is that advertisements cannot be too long. They have to be snappy in their persuasion, and quick in making a connection. As stereotypes are widely known by people, this is a fairly advantageous tactic. However, stereotypes are very oversimplified, and often showcase the group of people being stereotyped in a demeaning manner. Examples include: women are weaker than men, men cannot show emotion, all Asians are good at math etc. They only focus on one aspect of people and generalize certain communities. This can both give these communities standards that are very difficult to achieve or undermine the achievements and progression of them. When we see all of these stereotypes everyday, we slowly begin to agree with them more and more, while also believing that to be a part of a certain community of people, you must look, talk, dress, and behave a certain way.
One of the worst effects of stereotypical/generalized advertising is the portrayal of the female and male body. Most models in advertisements are very attractive, fit, and have body standards that not everyone can achieve. Furthermore, they are edited to take away any "flaws" or "imperfections". This constant exposure to perfect, beautiful bodies creates an image in our heads of what is considered real beauty, but the sad fact is that they are standards that are unattainable by anyone. And so, by placing these desirable bodies next to a product, our brain correlates that beauty with it, believing that by buying it, we can be one step closer to achieving them. It's all just a way of manipulating us into spending our money. I believe that what they are doing is wrong, and as more negative effects of advertising come to surface, they seriously should reconsider their methods. But those are just my morals. The aim of advertising as established in my first sentence is to "influence the buying behaviour of your customers and clients," but when do advertisers go too far?
You have analyzed the use and effect of stereotypes very well, as you have described why these companies use such traditional stereotypes and the negative affects that follow such classifications. I like the line "quick in making a connection", as that is the basis of why such stereotypes are used. I agree with your point of stereotypes generalizing certain aspects of communities, and making our world simplified.
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