Irresponsibility in Product Advertising:
America's reputation as an overindulgent society is validated annually with rising numbers relative to every aspect of excess. Public debt topped 7 trillion dollars last year, representing roughly 60% of the average household income (CIA, 2004). The percentage of overweight American adults climbed to just over 65% (JAMA, 2004), highlighting our love of indulgence and inactivity. In a country teeming with options to make everything bigger- from your vehicle to your valuables, from your meal to your manhood- these are not surprising statistics. Successful corporations utilize every opportunity to get your attention; consumers are deluged with visual assaults in even the most private places. Public restrooms now have colorful spreads on the back of stall doors, forcing you to, well, do biz while you whizz. These thoughtfully-placed campaigns are the results of corporate brainstorms, carefully designed to threaten your self-worth while bravely enticing your patronage. More oft than not, these ads offer grandiose misrepresentations on the part of the advertiser by downplaying any negative associations their product may have.
Consequence-free indulgences spill forth from the pages of our monthly subscriptions, seducing us with their glossy allure. Rarely will you find a Jack Daniels ad starring a young co-ed hugging her toilet after too many Lynchburg Lemonades, or a Neurontin spread trumpeting their alarmingly high suicide rates. Though admittedly unpleasant, these scenarios represent the dark truths of some prescription drug and alcohol use. Corporate advertising promotes extreme fiscal and moral irresponsibility to the American consumer by meekly offering disclaimers in miniscule print, and making
unsavory admissions in very small doses (and voices).
In the land of Esquire or Mademoiselle, drinks, sex, and food are portrayed as limitless tangibles. Ther...