2.09 Writing an Effective Conclusion: Are Advertisements Aimed at Teenagers Effective and Ethical?

Will Rogers once said, “Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have for something they don’t need.” Targeting youth by advertisements happens in all forms and advertising companies are the only ones getting the profit from it. Advertising affects the life of youths lives in many negative ways because it has skyrocketed health risks, lowers self-esteem and increases money spent by youth.

Teenagers have a “... need for independence, rebellion, and personal control,” (Source F). Marketers can use this in many ways. They can use it to their economical advantage by manipulating teenagers into buying their goods. But, PSA’s can really show teenagers the facts and promote good morals. Recent studies look into how advertisements affect adolescents, “... these studies show that social marketing has successfully changed health behavior such as smoking, physical activity, and condom use, as well as behavioral mediators such as knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs related to these behaviors,” (Source F). While it's true that it's easy for teenagers to be manipulated by commercials, a lot of other commercials can be a strong influence in building better lives for them. If people could focus on the pros rather then the cons, then they could see the big picture of marketing to

Yes, these advertisements are effective because they cause teens to want try these new things including food, electronics, amusement parks, etc. These same advertisements cause a huge monetary gain towards the things advertised and cause obesity due to the unhealthy food. I think they are unethical because psychologists who help advertisers are essentially helping them manipulate children to believe in the capitalistic message, when all the evidence shows that believing in that message is bad for people.

Advertisements are everywhere. They are a major part of modern day society. Whether it be a television commercial, an internet banner, or a billboard, advertisements influence people of all ages, but they affect a certain age group much more than others. Children ranging from toddlers to teenagers are exposed to thousands upon thousands of advertisements each year. Some of these advertisements are damaging to children, while others are a positive influence. Advertisements can either be used as a tool or a weapon. Food advertisements and manipulation strategies are both positive and negative, and how companies use them decides whether or not marketing to children is ethical.

Teens are the most targeted by marketers because they are the age group that is mostly on their phones and online. The impact of today’s advertisement in the media and magazines is that life is perfect. Celebrities and persons of interest are portrayed as ideal people that many should want to be. Adolescents are heavily influenced by advertisement and their messages they send. sSxuality and body image has always been advertised, however, in today’s society it is increasing every day. For girls, perfect hair, perfect body, accessories, and trendy clothes are consistently marketed. As girls aspire to be like their favorite celebrities, they may do whatever is necessary to reach what they think is perfection. Their desire to get the have a great

As people continue to live with advertisements, they may alter who we are in some aspects of life. In Eric Schlosser's acclaimed book, Fast Food Nation, the "Kid Kustomers" chapter puts the spotlight on children's advertising, how it affects them, and what Madison Avenue does to achieve in such a field. Schlosser notes that advertisers persuade children by convincing them into various nagging tactics [to be continued]. [Elaborate on Schlosser's excerpt in no more than 2-3 sentences; reflect back to my early years of computer use, notably when my parents scolded me for going into a questionable site]. Keep in mind that kids are not the only ones to be easily persuaded by advertisements. The most vital weaponry advertisers use to snatch kids and adults likewise are — simply put — words. American linguist William Lutz presents "weasel words" in his article, "With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything," and how advertisements use these manipulative words to cheapen the lives of consumers. Words like "help," "virtually," "new," and much more to list, easily convince people to believe that some products will do as advertised. For the most part, the ads for those products are dishonest as their words mean nothing in truth. The trick with "weasel words" is they lead consumers into a fantasy, and typically they will not be able to make this distinction. Companies can be hit by lawsuits depending on the context of their ads, however they will continue to trick consumers into believing the life-changing, but hollow potential of their products in any case. On the whole, advertisements shape us as individuals in some circumstances as we regularly take them for

From viewing McDonald’s dollar menus on the freeways to admiring at the latest iPhone 7 promotions, there is no doubt advertisements have interfered with our lives. While the elderly is beginning to reminisce on the carefree lifestyles they had, adolescents are suffering from the excessive advertisements(ads) that appear on a daily basis. With superfluous advertisements in every direction, a civilian’s attention is easily captivated.

Since the dawn of radio, large corporations have exploited this vulnerability by spending large amounts of money on advertisements aimed at convincing youths and teenagers that they need their products in order to be happy. When successful, these corporations unrealistic expectations of the value of consumer products, as they convince children they will find happiness through obtaining the latest Power Ranger action figure or eating a Big Mac. The graph (Source A) demonstrates how media is targeted at various types of audiences segmented by age, like kids, teens, and adults. It is particularly telling that commercial advertisements about foods are particularly geared towards children. This may be because children are the most impressionable in this area, or this may be because children at that age develop lifelong eating habits. One would expect children to have too little purchasing power to make their own food choices, Benady suggests a possible rationale for this targeting: children have a substantial “pester power” to pressure their

Ads affect teens in many ways, it makes them independent buyers, it gives them self-esteem problems maybe even social anxiety trying to fit in uniquely and what not. Ads just say what teens want to hear and honestly, this could affect them emotionally and physiologically. They give them motivation to go out and buy their product. Let’s not forget when a teenager wants a product but their parents won’t buy it for them, the ads could make teens more secretive such as trying to buy something that costs a lot of money just to loom cool, but, didn’t ask for permission, or didn’t want anyone to know how much it cost of where they got it from. Teenagers want to look like the gorgeous models they’ve seen on television. Even boys want to look nice and skinny with all their muscles showing. Teens will change eating habits or stop eating to look The Incredible Hulk” and not realizing that everything that’s seen on tv is typically edited or fake. In the long run Ads will say anything to get teens to buy their products. Ads will say that their product will change

Have you ever felt like marketers or advertisers are tricking you into buying their products? Marketers are very good at having their mindset towards targeting the youth into buying their products. Most people don’t see it but they are doing everyday you are with a device with ads.

When watching different advertisements people will notice that each market segment is usually portrayed in a certain way. Thought advertisements society gets a sense of how people in their age group should be. While sometimes the advertisements get the portrayals right, while sometimes they are off and can hurt the self-esteems of the people watching it. One segment affected heavily by advertisements is teenagers. Advertising defines a teenager as the "cool kid" who is confident and usually values materialistic things like clothing and cell phones. Additionally teens are usually portrayed as the popular person who has many friends and is fit and good looking. For example, in the fall in love Aeropostale advertisement the viewer follows a girl throughout her day at school. The girl used in

When talking about our world’s very serious issue of hyper-sexualization of children and teens we cannot discuss all of the main weapons in the arsenal of marketers in today’s contemporary consumer market without mentioning advertisements and commercials as two of the most influential modes for inducing a hyper-sexualized environment in which adolescences mature at an accelerated rate. Hyper-sexualization is defined as the accentuation of sexuality throughout adolescence. It’s very clear that corporate marketing using selective targeting and the influence of social media exposure has created somewhat of a cage used by advertisers to expose their young consumers to material that often times forces them to think in a perspective that is several

Those suggesting that children should simply avoid commercials with a negative influence make impractical expectations for adolescents. A report on television done by Nielsen Media Research found, “African American teens watch 40 percent more primetime TV and nearly twice as much daytime TV as other teens….because they are more likely to live in places where it’s unsafe to play in the park or the street. They also receive less adult supervision, which means more opportunities for corporate marketers to intrude on their lives” (Ruskin). Regardless of race or specific age, any child could choose not to participate in activities outdoors for various safety precautions. Expecting them to turn away from advertisements narrows their activity choices. Changing the commercials as a whole instead of an individual’s lifestyle effectively encompasses adolescents in various situations. With fewer commercials directed towards minors, children can truly utilize the mass media for entertainment as opposed to their various surroundings. Whether the media places advertisements for healthy snacks or fast food, studies have highlighted these ads’ influence on the dietary choices of

First of all, advertisers overwhelm youth with lots of ads. In the article, “Thanks to ads, kids won’t take No, No, No, No, No for an answer” in paragraph 3, it states, “as a result of unprecedented levels of advertising and marketing aimed at kids, our children feel intense pressure to try to bolster their self-esteem at the mall, and they will go to incredible length to get their parents to give in” .And in the article, “$211 billion and so much to buy: American youth, the new big spenders” in paragraph 5 it states, ”tweens, teens and youth adults have not only more things than previous generations they also have more consistent

Advertising is a profession that reflects and molds cultural values and standards in more ways than we may think. Because of advertising’s ability to affect the way people view themselves in the world that surrounds them, it is one of the business functions that receives the most ethical scrutiny. Advertising messages create a lot of debatable ethical issues because the public believes that advertisements affect the way people see themselves and can crucially affect their actions. In 2011, the Journal of Business Ethics summarized reasons why people complain about advertising. The reasons included teaching the idea that happiness comes from possessing valuable things, creating false values in society, causing individuals to be more easily persuaded by distracting them through entertainment and by the use of puffery or exaggerations to make their products appear better than they are. Another reason people complained about advertising was the fact that it is too preoccupied with exploiting sexuality and the human body to persuade people.