Advertising Constraints

Advertising does have intrinsic value to both individuals and society. When advertisements are released, people feel a connection to the product emotionally, which may trigger them to become invested in the product. They can become motivated to buy the product or do what is advertised. Advertisements can have intrinsic value to society by entertaining the public as well as teaching them information. Social media is a new and popular way for many companies to advertise their products. People are tracked and their information is collected constantly so marketers can target them with specific advertisements that are more likely to interest them. Many influencers on social media advertise products by posting about them, which makes products more appealing and can be more convincing than a traditional advertisement.

I do not believe that the government should be able to ban advertising certain products even if they harm people like cigarettes, alcohol, guns, and gambling. The government should step in and show data that these products can affect individuals and our society to grab the attention of the public and teach them. The federal government should require warnings and mentions of side effects on advertisements just like they do on packaging. Once the product is already well known, it is hard to completely take it away because people who are addicted aren't going to be content. Also if it isn’t advertised but still out for a while, people still know it and will try to get products. Some specific products are sold in a wide variety of stores like supermarkets, gas stations, and convenience stores. Therefore they are readily available anyway so seeing these products behind a counter can be a form of advertising that attracts people. Advertisements that persuade people don’t have to be posters or television commercials. The age limits of these products should be emphasized more and enforced by the government to protect children and teenagers. From an ethical standpoint, these companies should put people in their best interest and advocate for the health and safe use instead of profits. However, this is unrealistic. I think that they shouldn’t put products such as tobacco, alcohol, and other adult products in locations close to schools as a way to try to prevent kids and teenagers from seeing them around or trying to buy them illegally.

Another one of the biggest problems is that companies are deceptively advertising products, which means to represent false statements to the public, which is wrong and increases the harm that they cause. If limits were set on advertising, I believe that they should be set by the federal government and enforced by state and local governments rather than the companies themselves. This is because if companies set them themselves, they wouldn’t set them as strict as they needed to be and they wouldn’t have other external parties like the government to keep them in check with the limitations. I believe it is possible for governments to work together with companies so the companies would be more willing to make changes if compromises were reached. I wonder if the government made companies that sell harmful products pay large fines to the government to help treat the issues their products cause, and would limit the amount that they advertise.