Sunday 17 June 2018

Ads oh ads

What we see and hear on TV and radio,
what we read and observe in the written media,
does not always make a lot of sense
but still we let it determine our lives.

Ads do influence us in a major way
since they use all available psychological techniques
that are known and available today.

Just two simple examples.
1. The ads for smoking.
So obviously nonsensical!
What is the relationship between cigarettes and adventure?
What is the relationship between cigarettes and formula 1 racing?
What is the relationship between smoking and friendship?
And I could go on like this for many more lines of text.
All these things, so obviously nonsensical
but in the ads they are wrapped in such a nice presentation, with such a well studied and well thought-of special effects, that unwillingly we are influenced by their ads in a major, major way.

What do our authorities do to counteract the effect of these ads?
Do they do something similar about non-smoking, using the same techniques or even better special effects?
No, they just condemn the products and keep fixated on nasty effects. Instead of making non-smoking look more attractive for the youth than smoking, they try to convince the youth based on reason and not on emotion, that smoking is bad. In the process they talk so much about smoking, giving smoking so much attention, that some campaigns instead of effectively vilifying smoking, tend to elevate the popularity of smoking.

Something similar can be said of drinking alcohol. How many ads try to associate the consumption of alcohol with coziness and friendship and joviality?
Is it more jovial to drink alcohol together than to drink a freshly squeezed juice together or cup of coffee? If you say "yes" to the above questions, chances are high that you are a willing victim of the nonsensical ads about alcoholic drinks. Alcohol does NOT make friendship or being together more cozy or friendly or jovial. On the contrary it can spoil so many things, it can costs so many lives (in terms of traffic accidents or liver damage). it tends to damage our brain, it tends to make us feel really bad the next day.

Dear friends, I think it is high time, that each and everyone of us, do not allow any longer ads to have any nonsensical effects on us. Let us fight the nonsense in ads all together, If we have contra-ads, we should hardly mention the unwanted behavior but glorify life without it.

Before taking a next cigarette or an alocoholic drink, please stop for awhile and think about it. 

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