The Pervasive Impact of Advertisements on Society

The Influence of Advertisements

The advertisements that people see throughout their day play a huge impact on how they act and also the decisions that they make. Advertisements are everywhere and companies are willing to pay around $340,000 for a thirty second commercial on national television, according to Nancy Wagner on How Much Does Television Advertising Really Cost, and will even pay other companies to advertise their products or way of thinking. Advertisements can be found in movies, on the radio, within television shows, and in between them. They’re outside, on billboards, and the sides of buildings. No matter where someone is at, they can almost always be under the influence of some sort of advertisement. The influences pushed onto viewers are not always positive, however.

Due to the dominant presence of advertisement in the daily lives of people, companies are essentially there in every aspect. The way that businesses broadcast

their products influences what decisions people make when shopping and even how they act. What people see on the television persuades them to behave in certain ways. There are many examples of this situation because of the amount of influence advertisements exert to the viewer. One example is that of the perfume and cologne industry.
Typically and almost always, the advertisements for a brand of cologne or perfume contains someone or a couple of people that are naked. Even if the people in the commercial or ad are not entirely nude, they may be partially, along with the advertisement being in some way seductive. When viewing this, it instills an image that if they were to wear this certain scent then that person would be more likely to have sexual relations with another person, orthat whatever is happening in the commercial will happen to them. These seductive ads make it seem like that is how life really is although a certain smell or brand of perfume or cologne will more than likely not have such dramatic effects. These sorts of advertisements promote sexuality and the idea that someone has to own a particular brand in order to have such experiences.
Every time I go to the mall or to a store that sells perfume or cologne, I find pictures such as the ones below blown up into a life size panel.

Naturally, I would smell the bottles associated with the advertisement. People tend to go after what is advertised and seen as popular. Some people are just attracted to this small bit of pornography and their reasonings for what they choose to buy may be different than mine. In “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt” by Jean Kilbourne, she addresses the negative effects that these advertisements lead to. She says, “male violence is subtly encouraged by ads that encourage men to be forceful and dominant, and to value sexual intimacy more than emotional intimacy” (True Women and Real Men, Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt, p.457). These types of ads promote the idea that if one were to wear a particular scent, then situations such as a man being in bed with two women and a woman being around four seminude men. These are created due to the joy or some sort of pleasure that people find in

promiscuity.
One company whose commercials are like those of perfume and cologne companies is Victoria’s Secret. The commercials that are put out by the lingerie company are seductive and contain the nudity and provocativity that fragrance companies display. In the mall and downtown, Victoria’s Secret ads are huge, exhibiting a half naked woman looking flirtatiously at the camera. The enticing image that Victoria’s Secret sends out makes one believe that their products will lead to an increase in their sexual life and attractiveness. In doing so, Victoria’s Secret is implying that if one were to buy their products, men will be more attracted to them.
Advertisements are literally everywhere and discretely push a fabricated picture of what life would look for someone if they were to buy, consume, or possess a particular item. A major influence is the shows and commercials that a person sees on television. Many shows are unrealistic in the structure of their daily lives and seem too good to be true. Television shows don’t show the fighting and arguing or even the struggles that most viewers experience in their own household. The fictitiousness displayed by these shows creates a false hope for those watching it. They believe or long for that same type of life, although it is impractical.
Commercials display this same idea. That in a family, there is no bickering and only happiness all the time. I have a big family; mom and dad, two younger sisters, a younger brother, my dog and cat, and my grandpa. With everything that goes on in my house, it is always chaotic and someone is always fighting with someone else. The families I see on television shows and commercials are so far fetched from what my life looks like on a daily basis. The media exhibits a fictional sort of life that persuades the ones watching it to act the way that they do.
The influence that commercials has on those who view it is strong. For my generation, where ads are in social media, television, radio, online, in movies, and anywhere else possible, the influence is even greater. What we see makes us want to behave in certain ways and to buy certain things. Most girls my age are concerned with wearing American Eagle jeans and Victoria’s Secret everything, because it is what we see on the Internet and on social media. Ivory Ella shirts and Converse shoes are in the closets of many of my female peers. In order to be considered “cool” someone has to drink Starbucks Coffee and love to eat Chipotle. This is concerning because teenagers are so easily persuaded to do and act as those on television shows and on social media, proving just how naive they are.
All of these sorts of advertisements provide an image for each gender. The cologne and perfume advertisements promote the dominance of men and even for them to be forceful and violent with women, seeing them only as a sexual object. Wearing any particular cologne will more than likely not attract multiple women to a man and for a man to be with multiple women is not okay in my eyes. For women, Victoria’s Secret promotes women’s sexuality and the idea that in order for a woman to be beautiful and to be wanted by men, she should wear Victoria’s Secret undergarments and clothing. I do not think that someone should be liked because of the way their body looks or the clothes that they wear; relationships should be based on emotional aspects, not physical. Social media and the Internet promote teenagers to buy certain brands of clothing, eat at certain restaurants, buy certain items, all for them to “fit in” or to be considered cool.
The dominance of advertisements makes whatever that company is promoting seem as though that is the way things are supposed to be and that is what people’s lives actually look like. The false image created by these advertisements shows people society’s view on gender roles and what an individual needs to do in order to fit in with society. Women’s inferiority to men seems to be acceptable in today’s society with the type of ads and television shows that are produced and showed. Material items being the basis for a person’s popularity, due to the commercials seen today, is an unreasonable way of thinking.
Advertisements play a huge role in the gender image and how people make decisions. People aspire to be like what they see on television, although what the tv is portraying may not be realistic. Non-arguing families with perfectly happy lives are a dream that most people have but will never possess. The television’s consistent pushing for this idea is impractical. Men being able to attract a woman or even multiple women because he wears the latest cologne makes no sense. And women wearing Victoria’s Secret clothing does not make them a sexual toy. It is important that the younger generation acknowledges these advertisements and influences, but does not conform to them. That they make their own decisions and not go after what is solely “popular.” Rather, they should do what is right and realize that people are not objects, that what people see as acceptable today, should no longer be. Gender image can be changed and by recognizing that advertisements and commercials should not be the basis of it, it will potentially be.

Works Cited
Accessed 10 Nov. 2016. maisqueperfume.blogspot.com/2011/12/sexual-degradation-stereotypes-and.html
Accessed 10 Nov. 2016. www.basenotes.net/threads/267029-Gucci-Guilty-Pour-Homme
Accessed 10 Nov. 2016. www.colognoisseur.com/new-perfume-review-lady-gaga-eau-de-gaga-i-live-for-the-applause/
Kilbourne, Jean. “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt.” True Women and Real Men. p. 454-475. Print.
Wagner, Nancy. "How Much Does Television Advertising Really Cost?" Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.