The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Advertising and Trust

Advertising in today's world is more than just selling a service or product, companies are selling a lifestyle to consumers. Consumers are overstimulated with constant messaging about what products and services would make their lives better or what their lives could look like. There are good, bad and ugly parts of advertising and it is crucial for consumers to know how to differentiate between the three.

The Good

Being that we are surrounded by advertisements daily, consumers can find high-, middle-, and low-range products and services to shop for. A positive of continuous advertising is the ability for consumers to see everything that is on the market and compare their options. Being able to comparison shop is a helpful tactic for conscious buyers. For example, shoppers who have an interest in environmentally aware products or corporations, finding a less expensive option or looking for new companies to support. To continue to find the good in the world of advertisements, consumers have to learn to sift through an overload of information and find what truly interests and matters to them and their lifestyle.

The Bad

"The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" highlighted how advertisements are everywhere and essentially run America. Think of the television shows and movies you watch or the street and highway advertising you see while driving to work. How many advertisements do you think you see throughout one day? It is hard to unsee all the different advertisements that companies put in front of our face. The 'Rule of 7' states that prospective buyers should hear or see the marketing message at least 7 times before they buy (PR Newswire, 2021). Companies are capitalizing on the idea of our lives not being adequate without a certain product and connecting our sense of wellbeing and happiness to their products. In the world of Hollywood, it raises a question of if production is selling out or buying into these specific products just to complete the show or movie. In the case that they are selling out, ethically, this is not a good look. It questions the artists' integrity, and the viewers trust in the plot and overall production decreases. Additionally, they start to question if there is any truth in advertising and they experience it firsthand through seeing what is actually advertised versus what is written on the label.

The Ugly

The documentary also uncovered that some advertisements and therefore corporations have enough power to change the script. Depending on how large the corporation is, they can suggest and nudge writers and producers on how they want their product to be displayed on screen. Once a product is physically shown on scene their credibility increases and viewers are more likely to recognize or look up the product out of curiosity. Without a product being shown, it will not hold as much value to the television show or movie and therefore will not be as credible. Thinking about writers and producers being swayed by large corporations continues to dismantle the trust that consumers and viewers thought they had with brands. At what age does society say that advertisements should not be on screen to avoid damaging repercussions for the younger generations? Continuing this practice, will only make future television shows and movies one very long advertisement rather than entertainment for all ages.