Engl 101: Essay 3 Final Draft
November 27, 2014
Manipulation Affects All I often ask myself if advertisements are this bad now, what will they be like as my daughter gets older? Every day is a struggle with trying to explain to her that not everything that she reads in the advertisements are completely true and that they use certain things to attract your attention. With her being so young still she is still easily influenced by all the flashy pictures of her favorite toys. I believe that people, both young and old, are easily manipulated by these advertisements and I hope that someday they change their approach to get readers attentions. With Christmas coming up I often catch myself looking for my daughter’s presents in certain magazines or store advertisements but then question myself on if that item is really what it is being perceived to be or am I being misled. As stated by Fowles, “When advertisers put for the image of something diminutive and furry, something that elicits the word “cute” or “precious,” then they are trying to trigger this motive” (Fowles 370). With all the advertisements teens are exposed to by the internet, magazines, school, and malls “teens are also exposed to more than 40,000 advertisements a year on television alone” (1) as stated by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Advertising is sometimes viewed as manipulative and it tries to alter the way the consumer perceives the advertised product by appeals to factors other than the products physical attributes and functional performance. Since reality is too much to bear at times, some people turn to products that provide them with feelings that the product will change who they are. For example, around summertime weight loss pills are heavily advertised with the promise of losing weight with little to no change in your diet and exercise. According to the Weight Loss Advertising: An Analysis of current trends found that “as much as 55 percent of advertising for weight loss products and services contained false or unsupported efficacy claims.” As someone who has fallen for these false claims, I have learned my lesson on believing everything that I read or see on television. One of the major criticisms received by advertising is that it forces people to buy things they don’t really need, often by projecting negative emotions such as fear, anxiety or guilt upon the consumer. This may in turn make a person go out and purchase that particular item they are reading about hoping to receive the same results as the person in the advertisement. Fowles also stated “the clothing and cosmetic industries exist just to serve this need, and this is the way they pitch their wares” (Fowles 374). As I was growing up I wanted to fit in with the popular kids and in order to do that I had to change my wardrobe. I felt that if I didn’t dress like they did they would never accept me into their group and I would always be labeled as the ‘poor kid’. Thank goodness my daughter isn’t old enough yet to fall into that social pressure yet. Advertising is a very effective way to send out information about a certain product to a large audience. Although there are many regulations put down to hold advertisers in check, there are still many types of techniques that question the morals and motives behind them. One of the main concerns is taking advantage of their consumers, mainly the innocent children. Manipulative advertising is seen as a threat to some people and their individuality.

Fowles, Jib. Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals/ 363-381. Print “American Academy of Pediatrics.”- The New York Times. Web. 26 Nov. 2014 “Weight-Loss Advertising: An Analysis of Current Trends.” PDF. WEB 27 Nov. 2014