Essay, Research Paper: Consumer Growth Leading To

Everyday, everywhere we are surrounded by ads, whether we know it or not, they are always there. By the means of television, radio, magazines and even clothing , we are encouraged to buy products. It is unimportant weather or not we really need the product , but rather the importance lies in the ads making us think we need the product in which they are endorsing. The economy is greatly dependent on people today for their buying power. As our country has started to consume much more than it produces, advertisements have started to reflect this by increasing their volume.

The business of advertising has grown considerably ever since the country stopped being primary producers and starting being primary consumers. The Great Depression can almost pinpoint the time in history in which the transition began. One of the crucial reasons The Great Depression came about was because we were a primarily producing country with not enough consumers to balance out the economy. As The Great Depression came to an end the economy started to change in order to prevent any sort of downfall from happening again. This meant the balance between producing and consuming had to create some form of equilibrium. Little could anyone have guessed that the consumers would soon greatly outnumber the producers of our economy.

Advertisements have come a long way since radio shows, which only had one sponsor, that incorporated the commercial or "special message" right into the program. Over the years as many companies have found in order to acquire the attention of consumers they must advertise more and in more conspicuous ways, ads have become a part of our daily lives. From billboards to magazines, we are exposed quite frequently to ads, and we have no say about whether we want to see them or not, for they are incorporated into our everyday environment.

Over the years many companies have found clever ways to get their product name endorsed to millions of consumers. Because the market is so large, advertisers are always looking for new, creative and most importantly adequate ways of getting consumers to find interest in their product. Perhaps one of the most familiar forms of advertisements is the commercial. Making up about 50% of television programming, commercials are a part of most peoples daily lives. Whether we are watching the 6 o'clock news or The Jerry Springer Show there are always commercials on aimed at the ideal viewer. Our society is constantly analyzed in order for advertisers to find the best way to appeal to our consumer needs. This is best illustrated, once again, with television commercials, aimed at different viewers during different programs. Therefore one might find more toy commercials during cartoons, and more make-up commercials during a teenage oriented show such as Dawson's Creek or Felicity.

As the number of consumers increases, the varieties of advertisement tactics are bound to as well. Clothing has become the newest form of advertising. Because clothing is a way for a person to project an image of themselves to others, a well designed shirt with any sort of company logo or catchy phrase referring to some sort of product is a good way to discreetly advertise to people. Credit cards and beer companies are taking full advantage of T-shirt advertising. Many credit card companies are convincing young adults to sign up for their credit cards with the promise of a T-shirt with a catchy logo. Beer companies greatly profit from selling their clothing covered with ads, with the benefit of advertising for free on the clothing, and with the revenue of the clothing sales.
As advertisers learn more about what people want and pay attention to, they create new ways to appeal to the general public. Wherever we may find any sort of entertainment, advertising is sure to follow close by.

Advertisements should not be always looked upon as selfish, for their money making possibilities can be harnessed for a good cause. The best example of this is the new Internet websites that donates money to the charity of your choice if you agree to look at a page of ads. Also, many businesses are involved with charity directly, once again ads directly funding a good cause. Advertisers have limitless possibilities that can be used to help people, as well as inform them of products that they might not know of otherwise.

Over the past century, advertising has dramatically changed due to the increase in consumption, and the for the economy to be maintained, consumption must continue as it has been. Until production and consumption fall into equilibrium in our country, we will have to put up with an ad always in the corner our eye. So think of shopping as philanthropy and give generously to the local cause (shopping center) as much as possible.


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