Criticism of Advertising
Although advertising
is the most important tool, it has been criticized by some of the people on the
following grounds:
(1) Increased Price
of The Product:
Advertising increases the cost of the
product as the expenses on it form the part of the total cost of the product.
The increased prices are borne by the consumers. But it cannot be denied that
advertising leads to large scale production which considerably reduces the
total and per unit cost of production. The consumer may pay less rather than
higher.
(2) Multiplication of
Needs:
Advertising creates artificial demand
for the product and induces people to buy those products which are not needed
by them. On account of its repetition, it allures and creates a desire in the
minds of the people to possess an article not required by them.
(3) Deceptive:
Sometimes advertising is used as an
instrument of cheating. In order to impress upon the people false statements
are given with regard to different virtues of a product. Fraudulent means and
deceptive practice are resorted to by various traders in order to sell their
products. All these things adversely affect the public confidence in the
advertising.
(4) It Leads to
Monopoly:
Advertising sometimes leads to
monopoly in a particular brand of a product. By investing large sums in
advertising of his brand, a big producer eliminates small producers of the same
product from the market and creates brand monopoly. This leads to exploitation
of consumers.
But in reality this argument does not
hold good. The monopoly powers are temporarily acquired by the manufacturers as
they face strong competition by the rival producers of the same product. In the
words of Marry Hepner “advertisement stimulates competition. It often enables
the small businessmen to compete with large concerns as well as to start new
business”.
(5) Harmful For the
Society:
Sometimes advertisements are
un-ethical and objectionable. Most often, these carry indecent language and
virtually nude photographs in order to attract the customers. This adversely
affects the social values.
(6) Wastage of
Precious National Resources:
A serious drawback
levied against the advertisement is that it destroys the utility of certain
products before their normal life. The latest and improved model of a product
leads to the elimination of old ones. For instance, in the U.S.A., people like
to possess the latest models of cars and discarding the old ones which are
still in useable conditions. This leads to wastage of national resources.
(7) Confuses the
Buyers:
Another criticism against
advertisement is that advertisements of many products make similar claims. This
confuses the customer as to which product they should buy. For example, all the
detergents like Surf, Tide, Ariel etc. make similar claim of removing stains
and whitening.
This criticism is not agreed upon
because most of customers are rational beings. Before taking the decision to
purchase a product, they analyze the information given by the advertisement and
other sources and also consider the factors like price, style, size etc. In
other words, they don’t buy merely on the basis of ads anyway.
(8) Encourages
Sale of Inferior Products:
The main aim of advertising is to
persuade the people to purchase goods without distinguishing between superior
and inferior products.
This criticism is not acceptable
because it’s consumers’ choice to buy inferior goods or superior goods. If
there is a demand for low priced products by a particular section of the
market, then manufacturers will produce it and advertising shall try to sell it
that’s the right approach so why blame advertising?
(9) Some
Advertisements are in Bad Taste:
Another objection against advertising
is that some of the advertisements are in bad taste. The message or the picture
shown under advertisement may not get approved by all the people.
For example, showing a female in any
males’ product like shaving cream or perfume etc. Moreover, some advertisements
distort the relationship between employer-employee, or mother in law and
daughter in law etc. which is quite offensive in nature.
No doubt, there are
some chances of misuse of advertising as a tool. But these can be regulated by
law or by developing a code of conduct for the advertisers.
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