Argue Against TV Advertising

Picture this, you’re relaxing and watching your weekly instalment of your favourite TV show. The tension is building and you can’t wait to find out what will happen next. You feel your face filling with joy! BUT…There’s an ad break! Spoils all that tension, doesn’t it? This is one of the many reasons why TV advertising should be abolished.

 TV advertising is a waste of time and money and no longer benefits our society. It used be effective when there was only one or two channels, as everyone would would be viewing and they could get across important public messages, such as public announcements, (informing you of current events or safety advice) , which were very informative at that time. Now, however, it’s a way to persuade people to buy their product or service through one/two minute/s of manipulation and lies.

 Advertising has been know to be manipulative and at the end of the day all they want is your money. I recently saw an ad for the Google nexus. It was simple combination of some sad music and the story of father not being at home for Christmas, mixed with the nexus’ video calling capabilities. A sad but classic example of TV advertising being manipulative and wanting to show their sympathy, when all they really want is you to buy their product, and in this case: the Google nexus .

Some may argue that adverts can provide people with knowledge of these new products and services but if you purchased the product after viewing the advert then chances are that you probably didn’t need the product in the first place. The advert creates a persuasive illusion insinuating that this the perfect product for you, a product that you did not need nor want prior to watching the commercial but suddenly you may have the desire to want this product. For example, as a child you always wish for the latest toys after seeing the amazing visuals shown on the advert but in reality you are presented with a toy which is far more basic than the advert shows. This is manipulation and is what they use on a larger scale today with business and products.

 The extent of advertisements throughout TV shows can reach ridiculous figures, shown in research from the TNS Media Intelligence, “An average hour of monitored prime-time US network TV programming in Q408 contained seven minutes, 59 seconds (7:59) of in-show brand appearances and 13:52 of network commercial messages, for a combined total of 21:51 of marketing content”, This means that an hour show will be 36% commercials! This is unacceptable and should not be ignored. Readers you should be alarmed at these figures, but you may saying “what can I do to stop it”, The problem is that the huge company’s producing the adverts are too powerful and some, even a threat to government power, will never stop advertising , the only thing you can do is show your support against it and expose the simple methods in which they try to persuade you to buy their product through the advert (such as writing this article).

Slowly, however, even though adverts are not being reduced , less people are being bothered by then (including myself) thanks to programs such as ‘netflix’ and other streaming services. This means for a small fee people can stream unlimited content and for for the majority, advert free. Recent studies suggest 18- 24 year old’s are watching less TV and more online services, this could result in a big decrease of TV viewers, but not everyone is willing to pay for such services, which I find strange as people are being forced to pay a TV licence once a year at a high price. BBC is the only channel to only promote their own shows and not interrupt the current show with any advertisements but the law requires you to pay a TV licence, which is unfair and shows a corrupt system in the TV advertising industry.

If advertising continues in this direction then advertisement will only grow onto more platforms and fill a wider space. Nowadays it’s impossible to walk through London without seeing advertisements everywhere you go. The world we live in is corrupted with the global spread of of advertisements. Who knows what else could come in the future, technologies fast advancement could result even more types of advertisements, even blocking our skyline or even worse, parading the skies above hiding the true beauty of the stars and space to be hidden. This is why not only TV advertising, but all advertisements should be radically reduced and changed to better are current and future society. All forms of advertisement could be the downfall of our future society and inevitably push us into a deeper hole of global corruption.