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Recommended: The effect of advertising

Sipping on a Coke that was left on the table the night before, I turn on the television and the latest installment of the Jerry Springer Show is on. A commercial break promptly follows after a few red necks stop brawling. An advertisement about Everest College comes on and begins to make me feel like anyone not getting a college education is wasting their life. Similar to this certain situation, advertisements are meant to stir a reaction and subconsciously tell viewers things about society. In this Everest College commercial, the ad was subconsciously making me believe that all of society was in school at that moment or already had their degree. Advertisements do not just sell a product. They are intended to sell viewers on how the rest of society behaves every day. While analyzing Everest College’s commercial, it is apparent that the ad sells how society negatively views minorities and degreeless adults because advertisements reflect what society believes is normal.
Showing different behaviors and ideas behind a product, advertisements sell viewers what is considered normal in society. In almost every public and private setting there are advertisements. In college classrooms there are ads along the walls. Driving home from school, I see billboards of awkward posing women in beer ads and television show premieres. In homes, people watch television and there are commercial breaks every five to ten minutes. Even in the most unexpected places, people will more than likely be able to find advertisements. Restrooms occasionally have advertisements posted above toilets or along the walls. As advertisements intrude into every aspect, they make statements about what society thinks is normal.
Using small or even obvious de...

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... beliefs about minorities. All of the details within the commercial are thoughtfully placed and specifically used in order to show what society thinks about minorities in order for their college to look appealing.
As advertisements continue to swarm and consume our daily lives, it is important we understand what these ads are actually selling us. If a person does not analyze advertisements carefully, they will ultimately have the biggest effect. It is important that society does not allow stereotyping commercials or idealized advertisements to control beliefs about what is normal. The Everest College commercial is just one of the many examples of how advertising can manipulate us to think a certain way towards different things such as race. Everyone should educate themselves about advertisements so that they do not fall prey to the manipulation by advertisers.

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