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Advertising encourages consumers to buy things that they really do not need. To understand this better one need to contemplate the consumers mind.
Companies have been using ads as a method to promote their products for many years. Earlier it was limited to newspapers and pamphlets but with the invention of TV, Radio and internet it has reached to general masses and people of all kind of income groups. During 1980’s , purchasing was limited to TV and cars and were considered as a luxury item in a household, however, with the increase of standard of living of people, these items are no longer a luxury but has become a necessity. The competition to stay ahead and having good lifestyle with one another is another reason along with the peer pressure to procure products even if it is off limits for a person.
Advertisers entice consumers by fancy packaging, heavy discounts during festivals and by featuring celebrities in their advertisements to highlight only the good features or to make a product look attractive for which they spend huge amount of money. Sometimes, these ads turn out contentious and receive backlash from the masses which creates negative publicity for them. In advertising any publicity is considered as good publicity.
On the contrary, ads are also source of creating awareness among people. For eg. during pandemic, government has initiated many ads on TV, Caller tunes on phone to create awareness about using masks and sanitizing hands.
To summarize, i cannot deny to the fact that ads have both negative and positive sides attached to it. Consumer should be cautious while spending their money and should focus only what they need. They should buy products depending upon their purchasing power and not just for the sake for staying ahead in game.
