There is no doubt that advertising dominates the world we live in today. Adverts appear on television, on the World Wide Web, in the street and even on our mobile phones. However, many of the strategies used to sell a product or service can be considered immoral or unacceptable. Indeed, the fact that we cannot escape from advertising is a significant cause for complaint. Constant images and signs wherever we look can be very intrusive and irritating at times. Although we expect adverts in numerous situations, it now seems that there are very few paces we can actually avoid them.
A further aspect of advertising that I would consider unethical is the way it encourages people to buy products they may not need or cannot afford. Children and young people in particular, are influenced by adverts showing the latest toys, clothing or music and this can put enormous pressure on the parents to buy these products.
In addition, the advertising of tobacco products and alcohol has long been a controversial issue, but cigarette adverts have only recently been banned in many countries. It is quite possible that alcohol adverts encourage excessive consumption and underage drinking, yet restrictions have not been placed on this type of advertising in the same way as smoking. Many people consider this to be unacceptable and I tend to accept this view.
it is certainly true to say that advertising is an everyday feature of our lives. Therefore, people are constantly being encouraged to buy products or services that might be too expensive, unnecessary or even unhealthy. In conclusion, many aspects of advertising do appear to be morally wrong and are not acceptable in today's society.
