The Importance of Advertisement

http://m.youtube.com... http://m.youtube.com... I thank my opponent for responding and accepting my terms. I will form my argument by attempting to refute the contender's principle points and statements. 1."If something is significant to a particular culture, a person who is a part of that culture is will invariably seek to acquire whatever it is that is culturally significant. A good example of this in our society is transportation. The need for mechanical transportation of some kind, whether by car, bike, or some other method, has become a necessity in our culture as our cities become more spread out and the need to traverse larger and larger distances as quickly as possible becomes more prevalent." I agree with my opponent on this. But even if you look at it that way advertisements are still vastly necessary when trying to acquire something culturally significant such as a mode of transportation. Advertisements helpï¿½you know what you need exactly, it aids you by providing certain necessary information you may need in the search for that specific item. For example; let's say I'm in the process of purchasing a pickup truck, but I can't decide between a Ford or a Chevrolet. After obtaining the useful information I needed from several reliable ads, I was able to make my decision. This is a process which is always occurring, advertisement helps and affects us constantly. If you are searching for a specific product an ad can do nothing but help you, in fact all it's doing is providing you with additional information. So one of the only ways a person can know how to obtain what is culturally significant is through advertisement. 2."advertising creates "necessities", as my opponent has defined them. Advertising takes things which would otherwise be insignificant and/or unnecessary, and through marketing tools, makes these things into cultural "necessities". Advertising for food is unnecessary; and yet we see ads for food services every day. Why? Because the brands (McDonald's, Chili's, etc) are attempting to become "culturally significant", and in doing so, draw customers to spend money at their particular locations. There is no particular need to eat at McDonald's; indeed, there are more than a few compelling reasons not to eat there. However, their ads work to provide what is essentially propaganda for a particular product while ignoring everything negative aspect of the product." All McDonalds could be trying to do is show you the benefits of eating there, you are not forced to go. And visiting McDonald from time to time without spending over your budget will, like I had said before, ï¿½only help our country's financial position eventually helping us. Advertisement does not "form" necessities it only provides information. On all accounts fast food restaurants are only businesses trying to get ahead. Ads help these businesses by giving useful information to their customers. 3."Take, for instance, the Cheetos ad at the top of this post. Nothing in the ad gives you any information about the product other than that Cheetos are something which you consume. It presents little valuable information on the subject, but rather is intended to attach the idea of the brand to something entertaining. As such, we can see advertising at work, not providing information, or providing any particularly important service regarding the product, but rather working to get the consumer to spend their money on something which they have no need for" Undoubtably that Cheetos ad caught your attention in some way, so hypothetically speaking maybe tomorrow you decide to buy a snack, but you don't know which one to get, then you remember that seemingly insignificantly amusing Cheetos commercial. Since you have no better idea you decide to go on and buy the bag of Cheetos. So if you really think about it at the end everyone benefits from ads. But not all ads are like that Cheetos ad. Not all ads are aimed at the consumers wallet and if they are then they are proving to be important at least in the country's finances. Watch the 2at the top of this argument, these commercials demonstrate greatly useful information. These ads may someday even save lives. If that is not important I don't know what is. 4. 2a) Advertising promotes excessive and unnecessary spending Do you really need to spend extra money on the iPhone 4 when you already have an iPhone 3? Do you really need that new car when yours still runs just fine? Advertising is aimed at one thing in particular: the consumer's wallet. If the consumer is not spending money, the advertising is not working as it should. However, for some products, this presents a problem. Consumers already have products which can perform the same basic functions as the newer products a company may be producing. As such, a company's ad campaigns must, at times, focus on not only promoting a particular product, but also to convince the public that the old product is obsolete. This ultimately leads to consumers spending excessive amounts of money to buy products which they do not actually need. Add that to hard economic times, and it should be fairly obvious why this unnecessary spending is harmful. Like I said before all that advertisement does is display information on a product or service for you to consider if you spend over your budget or if you feel "forced" to buy it because everyone seems to be doing it then that is entirely your fault.Ads are not personalized what may work for some may not work for others, maybe you already have the iPhone 3 and you don't have the money for a more advanced iPhone 4. But maybe someone else is considering the purchase of an iPhone, so maybe they would like to know the advantages of owning iPhone 4. This can greatly affect their views on what to buy, the consumer deserves the information. "2b) Advertising promotes spending on harmful products "I'm Lovin' It". The motto of McDonald's. The advertising for McDonald's tends to show exceptionally happy people taking a bite out of a Big Mac, or happily consuming a McFlurry. And all these people look healthy. And yet, if you go to a McDonald's, what you see is obviously different. The majority of regular customers at McDonald's and other fast food chains are exceptionally unhealthy. They tend to be overweight; many are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Most all of them are at high risk of heart disease. And they are all spending their money on food products (I use the term loosely) which are slowly but surely killing them. McDonald's advertising shows none of this. There is no warning that every Big Mac you eat gets you one step closer to a heart attack at the age of 30. Advertising for things like this is often misleading, and in the case of the food market, misleading advertising can be extremely harmful." Once again McDonald is only demonstrating what could be enjoyable about their food if you have doubts then it is your responsibility to obtain more info. I don't find any McDonald commercial "misleading" they are not saying that their food (like any food by the way) won't possibly cause some health disorder if consumed excessively. 6.2c) Advertising is damaging to happiness within a society If you need more convincing that ads are damaging to a society's happiness and well being, take the example of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2007, the city banned almost all forms of outdoor advertising. Sao Pablo cannot be compared to the U.S. it is know especially for it's terrible economic state and gang violence. America is the #1 economy in the world and part of that success is thanks to all the advertisement we see daily. Major advertising gained popularity in the 1930s since then America's financial state set off on a gradual but stunning climb (http://upload.wikimedia.org...) My opponents comparison of advertisement to cancer cells is exaggerated and untrue. Ads can better be compared to workers in a factory, common but important and all work together in order to accomplish something good. It is as Winston Churchill once said: "Advertising nourishes the consuming power of men. It sets up before a man the goal of a better home, better clothing, better food for himself and his family. It spurs individual exertion and greater production."