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Television advertising reaches people in a fast, simple form, demanding little imagination or effort from viewers. Through the use of beautiful models, “funky” music, bright colours and the image of youth, we are led to believe our lives are lacking, without the advertised products. Commercials bombard us everywhere: in our homes, on the street and in our work place. We see advertisements on television, hear them on the radio and read them in magazines and newspapers. Yet, the one area, I believe, which sells more falsehoods than others, is the television.
Television advertising is often enhanced by personal endorsements from famous people. An example of advertisements using personal endorsements to sell a product is often the diet commercials. A famous person stands in front of the camera and tells his or her “real-life story” of how he or she went from lonely fat to exciting thin. This was, of course, done through the use of a diet powder drink. Although appealing, I avoided falling for this gimmick by telling myself the famous dieters had personal trainers, beauty consultants and a script to read.
Then, one day, I saw an ordinary “real life” person on the screen, advertising the diet drink. She swore to ten thousand people watching the program, she had gone from 300lbs to 135lbs by drinking “Slim Fast.” I saw the picture, I heard the words and I was hooked. I began buying the tasteless diet powder and faithfully began drinking the vile stuff. I soon dreamt of eating “real” food. I found I could not sleep because of the growling in my stomach. I started sneaking just one cookie, then a bag of chips and finally, I took a trip to McDonald’s. I felt like a failure. These ordinary people, in the diet commercials, didn’t have beauty consultants or personal trainers yet they managed to lose the weight while I could not. However, because the ads showed success, I kept trying. I had bought a hazy dream based on an image created by a society dictating youth and beauty. I had purchased a false image sold through the artificial world of television advertising.
Even when I rationally understood advertising, the power of the visual media was still able to entice me. I understood from the diet powder episode that “what you see is not always what you get” yet I still held onto the dream. Then, one day, I discovered “Impulse Body Spray” commercials.
“Impulse Body Spray” represented to me a dream of popularity, along with a chance to be the recipient of a beautiful bouquet of flowers, presented by a handsome stranger as demonstrated in the commercial. In the commercial, the perfumed woman smiles ever so shyly and seductively over her bouquet towards the bronzed hunk and then lightheartedly skips away. Burned into my brain was the image of the male “god” left standing in a trance, as the scene faded from the screen. I was not going to be left behind, so I rushed out and eventually purchased all fifteen different fragrances! I smelled wonderful! I was ready for the flowers! I began to imitate the models in the advertisements by walking slower past the florist shops and waiting before boarding an elevator in case “he” was coming with my flowers. Unlike the television models, however, I did not find any bronzed “god” chasing me with flowers. I sprayed myself thoroughly until I lost all sense of smell. Finally, I had to admit I was still an average female, in an average world without gorgeous models chasing me with bouquets of flowers. The only difference now, was that I smelled great and was broke from buying so many cans of the spray! Once again, the wonder of television advertising had pulled me into its’ false reality.
I am now older and I hope, a bit wiser. If this is true though, why do I watch beer commercials and continue to dream images of popularity and endless youth as depicted on a twenty inch screen? The beer commercials with their “funky” music, swirling colour spots depict a sexy, carefree party atmosphere which promises popularity, youth and wild abandoned sex. Drink “Brand X” beer and you will instantly become a youthful male college student with all your sexual fantasies answered. Drink “Brand Y” beer and you will go with ten of your best friends to a party in the woods without fears of black flies, bears or summer storms. My personal favorite is the thirty second pot where “nerd” male students have no friends until they buy the beer, put up a neon sign directing everyone to their party, then instantly become “cool.” I must admit the commercials do have one thing correct – if you provide the free beer and a place to party, people will come. The next question is “do you truly want them?” Following that reality check, I often wonder who is responsible for cleaning up after a large bash, who pays for all the damages which occur through the crazy night and who was the designated person driving everyone home. Advertising neither asks nor answers these questions for its sole purposes are to appeal to your sense, buy your emotions and present a false reality to convince you, the consumer, to buy its products.
Advertising – we cannot live with it and television cannot survive without it. As seen in the diet aids, body spray and beer commercials, a dream is what is actually being sold; an image of perfection projected within a thirty second spot on a twenty inch screen.
Advertisements are exciting, glamorous and everywhere; however, I must remember television commercials do not truly depict reality. Yet, part of me still grieves for the image that is projected on the small screen. I walk away a little wiser and little more aware of the gimmicks behind the visual ads. I know advertising sells but I do not have to continue to buy into the sale of false dreams. I have a choice. I can purchase items based on dreams of glamour, or I can shop, compare and buy items on their own value, not the projected value sold on a twenty inch screen.
~~2001~~
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