Selecciones - Webs

764
Part Seven Special Topics and Perspectives
Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
VII. Special Topics and
Perspectives
director of Commercial Alert, which is Ralph Nader’s
consumer advocacy group, says, “Kids are in school to
learn to read and write and think, not to learn to desire
products.” David Walsh, president of the National Institute
on Media & Family, is concerned about the increasingly
sophisticated advertising in schools. He notes,
“Kids are bombarded with commercial messages outside
of school. The risk is that they will be treated
increasingly as consumers in the one institution
where they’re supposed to be treated as learners.”
The debate is likely to continue over commercialization
of classrooms. Many argue that these programs
are corrupting young students and contaminating the
Exhibit 22-9 Rolls-Royce
appeals to consumers’
materialism
22. Evaluating the Social,
Ethical, & Economic
Aspects of Advtising &
Promotion
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
educational process. They argue that school administrators
should not be put in the ethically difficult position
of striking deals to make ends meet. However,
others argue that the programs are legitimate activities
of companies seeking to expand their markets
while helping financially strapped schools pay for
items that help increase the quality of education.
Sources: Steve Jarvis, “Lesson Plans,” Marketing News, June 18,
2001, pp. 1, 9, 10; Betsy Schiffman, “ZapMe Kills Computers in the
Classroom,” www.Forbes.com, Nov. 28, 2000; Peggy J. Faber, “Schools
for Sale,” Advertising Age, Oct. 25, 1999, pp. 22–26; Richard Sale,
“Lions among Lambs,” Promo Magazine, February 1999, pp. 46–51.
While there is general agreement that advertising is an important social influence
agent, opinions as to the value of its contribution are often negative. Advertising is
criticized for encouraging materialism, manipulating consumers to buy things they do
not really need, perpetuating stereotypes, and controlling the media.
Advertising Encourages Materialism Many critics claim advertising has
an adverse effect on consumer values by encouraging materialism, a preoccupation
with material things rather than intellectual or spiritual concerns. The United States is
undoubtedly the most materialistic society in the world, which many critics attribute
to advertising that
• Seeks to create needs rather than merely showing how a product or service
fulfills them.
• Surrounds consumers with images of the good life and suggests the acquisition
of material possessions leads to contentment and happiness and adds to the joy of
living.
• Suggests material possessions are symbols of status, success, and
accomplishment and/or will lead to greater social acceptance, popularity, sex
appeal, and so on.
The ad shown in Exhibit 22-9 for Rolls-Royce automobiles is an example of how
advertising can promote materialistic values.
This criticism of advertising assumes that materialism is undesirable
and is sought at the expense of other goals. But many believe materialism
is an acceptable part of the Protestant ethic, which stresses hard work and
individual effort and initiative and views the accumulation of material possessions
as evidence of success. Others argue that the acquisition of material
possessions has positive economic impact by encouraging consumers to
keep consuming after their basic needs are met. Many Americans believe
economic growth is essential and materialism is both a necessity and an
inevitable part of this progress.
Economist John Kenneth Galbraith, often a vocal critic of advertising,
describes the role advertising plays in industrialized economies by encouraging
consumption:
Advertising and its related arts thus help develop the kind of man the goals of the
industrial system require—one that reliably spends his income and works reliably
because he is always in need of more. In the absence of the massive and artful
persuasion that accompanies the management of demand, increasing
abundance might well have reduced the interest of people in acquiring more
goods. Being not pressed by the need for these things, they would have spent
less reliably to get more. The consequence—a lower and less reliable propensity
to consume—would have been awkward for the industrial system. 50