The Realities of Advertising

Before watching "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" I never really thought of the depth that goes into advertising. In fact, never having stepped foot into the communication building before graduate school, I never really thought about it at all. I started to think about my everyday life and the products that I use every day. In the morning I start out with a protein shake because some influencer told me that it was good for me. Next, I take a shower and use shampoo that I came across on my Instagram page specifically for blonde hair and that it is way better than any of the other products out there (because there are not hundreds for it right?). This one must be better because Instagram told me it was. I continue with my day, and I was going to have a salad from campus, but I saw a chipotle ad on the Hulu commercial I was watching. I get as much homework done as I can in the afternoon on my Apple computer while my Apple watch tracks my heart rate, and my Apple phone allows me to keep up with people. I then go to the gym in my Lulu Lemon apparel because everyone else has it on so why should I not? Expensive must mean better, right? I go to bed and do it all over again. Those are just some of the decisions that I make every day. Almost everything that we do involves a decision regarding what we are going to use to accomplish a said task.

Advertising absolutely gets to me. After we watched the movie last week, I went to Costco and POM juice was on sale, so I bought it. I tell myself it was because it was on sale, but would I have bought it if I hadn’t seen the movie? Probably not. I think that it is a very smart business move. Ultimately it is my choice if I’m going to buy it. Some of the ways that they capitalized on products may not be the most ethical. As we saw in the movie a lot of advertising has to do with our brain and what gives us a serotonin release. I personally believe that if business’s want to use this idea to get people to buy their product they absolutely should. Therefore, it is so important for you to know and be aware of the things going on around you. Not everyone out there is there to help you. It helps you make informed decisions. What I do not agree with is people marketing to children, things that children should not be marketed to. When I was a kid, they advertised baby dolls and slime and bracelet makers. Things that kids should want. Now kids can see just about anything on the internet which means they can be marketed to without even knowing it, with products that are not necessarily for them. I think that the movie that we watched allowed people to see that they are being manipulated, while being manipulated and quite honestly that is genius.