Early newspaper ads were simple paragraphs of type, promoting real estate, services, and goods for sale to retailers and consumers. Controls are developed early in the 20th-century. In 1906, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, and in 1914 it established the Federal Trade Commission. Critics argue that it American society, advertising has become the dominant form of popular culture and that our values have become commercial, rather than emanating from traditional institutions such as the family, school, and church. Advertising also gives people information about the quality, price, and availability of products in services.
Critics debate whether advertising raises or lowers the price of goods.
In some instances, economies of scale allow producers, in response to demand created by advertising, to manufacture larger quantities at a lower price. However, many critics argue that advertising, particularly on television, is expensive and that the cost of such advertising is often added to the product price. However, advertising also exact space social price. Television critics argue that the primary, if not the sole, criterion for media programming is to cater to advertisers' needs, not to perform social, cultural, or political functions. Sometimes ads aim to manipulate people's behavior, influencing them to buy a needed goods and services.