Advertising is the most prevalent form of communication. The ubiquitous nature of advertising is mind boggling to say the least. According to David Shenk's book Data Smog, on an average day in 1971 Americans were exposed to about 560 advertising messages a day. By 1997 that number had exploded to 3,000 advertisements per day! We are clearly exposed to many more messages than we would have guessed at first. Therefore, I posit that the social influence of advertising has become is a standard in our lives, one that now dictates our interpersonal relationships rather than simply telling us to purchase a certain product to achieve something.
[...] Essentially it was free advertising for Dove as well as a confidence booster for women all over the world who felt ashamed of their bodies. Sexuality in ads is a very common feature that advertisers exploit, including lesbian chic. Confidence in men and women is also attractive to the opposite sex; therefore it is also a common trait in many ads, which only perpetuates the confidence issues women have. Since confident people are sexy and the image of perfect woman” is sexy, combining the two has an explosive effect. [...]
[...] No one is quite as against advertising as Sut Jhally, who posits that; “20th century advertising is the most powerful and sustained system of propaganda in human history and unless quickly checked, will be responsible for destroying the world as we know Jhally takes a very extreme stance against advertisings destructive abilities and comes up with some very far-fetched reasons for why advertising will cause the end of the world. I felt that he was reaching to pull his argument together, stretching the truth, and bending a lot of facts to back up his argument. [...]
[...] Shelley Budgeon quotes Rosemary Betterton, saying, “Advertisements help to define what forms of femininity are acceptable and desirable.”[2] This creates very strict criteria for what's attractive and what's not. While this may help some women feel good that they can be close to this level, for the most part it is much like putting the carrot in front of the horse- setting before them an unachievable goal. This brews a sense of insecurity and a lack of self- confidence among the majority of women because they feel they are inferior to this imaginary woman. [...]
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