Is Advertising All Lies?

As a consumer there's one thing a customer needs to remember about consumption and advertising.

BUYING STUFF DOESN'T BRING YOU JOY OR HAPPINESS.

Advertising doesn't have a reputation for being the most honest profession. It may seem there's a stigma against advertising, in the sense that people assume they are being lied too when they see advertisements. Usually, the customers are at fault for believing that wearing Axe will get you laid or that changing toothpaste will make your smile more radiant.

Yeah, most people have seen the “lose 30 pounds in a week; no exercise needed” advertisement, but, in fact, most customers are smart and can put the pieces together. Customers need to start giving her or himself more credit, and customers are now more aware and smarter than ever. You'd have to be pretty dumb to believe some of the advertisements out there, so give yourself a pat on the back.

In fact, it’s illegal to falsely advertise a product in America or most countries. Harsh fines, repercussion and customer resentment, comes to those agencies and brands who falsely advertise. This being true, huge and highly respected brands are also guilty of telling their consumers major lies to make sales.

My favorite example is when Skechers' used Kim Kardashian to endorse its Shape-up sneakers, “claiming that you only had to tie your shoes to lose weight.” The FTC disagreed, and the shoe company ended up paying a $40 million settlement.  So if incidents like that are happening, where does that leave advertising?

Advertising deserves more credit, and customers have become aware, as well as advertising has become more creative and entertaining. Creative advertising, like the kind taught at Otis College of Art and Design, focuses on a truthful way of advertising. The process is simple, finding a connection between product features and customer benefits. Then showing that idea or angle in a creative, entertaining and truthful way.

Not all advertising is good or helpful but at least you can start seeing advertising as a more honest art form. In a new way, advertising doesn't lie, and the consumers are lying to themselves. In the sense that next time you're at home watching a commercial, ask yourself, do you really need that 3-D capable flat screen? Or that new cell phone that plays blu-ray? Lastly, who's in control of your pocket at the end of the day. Who's  responsible? So stop saying advertising lies, people lie to themselves.  You know you didn't need that three hundred dollar video game console.

-Jaime-