Does Advertising Create Too Many Stereotypes? | The Odyssey Online
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Does Advertising Create Too Many Stereotypes?

Some companies advertise the product -- some advertise the type of people that should use it.

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Does Advertising Create Too Many Stereotypes?
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Unlike Taylor Swift's song "Blank Space," Americans have little "blank space" left to write their names -- or in this case, messages.

Advertising influences people of every demographic every single day. According to the New York Times, Yankelovich, a market research firm, estimates that the average person sees about 5,000 advertising messages per day. That means about 5,000 times per day, our thoughts and judgments about certain products are influenced by the people who created the advertisement. We think what they project.

Advertising for a product can be great -- it can be inspirational, comical, motivational or have many other positive attributes. It's also necessary in a lot of cases to spread the word about a little-known product or to bring in revenue.

But advertising can create false judgments and stereotypes. Take Noria, for example. First created on Kickstarter, the self-proclaimed world's largest platform for creative projects, Noria is "the first window or air conditioner designed with you in mind."

A video advertisement on Facebook, shared by David Wolfe, "public figure," introduces Noria as a noise-reducing, easy to transport air conditioner. Except that, as the words "easy to transport and install" come up on the bottom of the screen, a woman appears, installing with ease.

Why did Noria choose a woman to install their product? Is it because installation is so easy, even a woman could do it?

This could have been a random advertising decision, or it could be Noria's deliberate influence on consumers.

But Noria isn't the only product that advertises the consumers that should use it in addition to the product itself.

Gap, a clothing company, recently received backlash from consumers for providing an advertisement showing three white girls and one black girl. The problem consumers mentioned, however, was that while the white girls posed, the black girl was positioned underneath the arm of one of the white girls, being leaned on.

In cases like these, advertising not only sells a product but it sells the people using or wearing it as well. This kind of advertising has an influence over consumers using the product, service or wearing the clothing, which I don't believe always has a positive effect. According to Yankelovich, about half of the 4,110 people they surveyed about advertising would agree. Advertising can be positive, but it can also create preconceived judgments and stereotypes that may not be entirely accurate.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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