Materialism

6 Pages 1466 Words

What Advertisements Don’t Tell You in Their Ads


ma•te•ri•al•ism (m -tîr - -l z m)
n.
1. The theory or attitude that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life.

Advertising generates new needs and establishes brand loyalties. Ads alert people to both new products and new versions of old ones. Consumption today is not only about keeping up with the Joneses. The labels you wear, the food you eat, the restaurants you frequent, the haircut you flaunt, where you go on holiday, even your spiritual cravings are social symbols. What is happening to the average man, the man who is caught in the web of a consumerist and materialistic culture with all the temptations it offers him? The general scenario is one of utter helplessness and nobody seems to have any control over his future. Added to this is the acquisitive tendency of those who are tempted to go for all kinds of things the market offers. A kind of insatiable greed seems to have taken control of all of us and no effort is being made anywhere to limit one’s wants. And this has become a global phenomenon and no country seems to be free from it. Thus the average man finds himself to be tr!
uly at a crossroads of utter despair and helplessness. He is swept away by the mighty waves of an all-pervading materialism and consumerism. Economic well-being appears to be the sole purpose of life and the manner in which value systems are being trampled upon raises the big question: Where are we headed? In the car ad included we see the car in all of its glory. What we do not see is how the car was made, who made it, and most importantly what sort of emissions it puts out. Contrary to popular belief that societal unawareness has paved our way to environmental catastrophe; advertising deliberately avoids showing the environmental consequences of a consumer society. Take for instance the Volks Wagon ad.
When you look ...