Ethics in Advertising

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Recommended: What is the effect of advertising on consumer behavior

An American unnoticeably views three thousand advertisements in a day, many of which use women and sex appeal to get consumers’ attention (Kilbourne). Advertisements subconsciously affect our lives, and often times not in a good way. Also, women and young girls are usually the ones that compare themselves to thin models featured in ads. Advertisements not only impact how women view each other, but also how they view themselves. Women and girls strive to look like the retouched and Photoshopped models, which can lead to serious issues including eating disorders, extreme dieting, and excessive plastic surgery. But what these women and young girls look past, is the fact that advertising companies use Photoshopping to completely change the look of models. Over time, The Surgeon General, should begin a process that will help eliminate this social issue. A policy should be initiated that all digitally altered photos in U.S. publications contain a warning label to help reduce the current negative effects of the unrealistic body image perpetuated by the media.

Often times, advertisements illustrate a prototype of a perfect body achieved through over photo shopping. These perfect pictures can negatively influence a woman’s body image of herself, bringing about a greater concern to the mind and body of a woman. For many, this extent of this issue is unknown, but according to Jean Kilbourne, an activist for women in advertising, “the advertising industry sacrifices our health for their profit,” she says, “They sell more than just products, to a greater extent they tell us who we are and who we should be,” (Killing Us Softly 4). Advertisements make women feel pressured to look like the supermodels on the cover of Sport’s Illustrate...

... middle of paper ...

... Label? - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 02 Dec. 2009. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. .

Kilbourne, Jean. Killing Us Softly 4. Television.

Pfanner, Eric. "A Move to Curb Digitally Altered Photos in Ads - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 27 Sept. 2009. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. .

"French MPs Want Health Warnings on Airbrushed Photographs - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph Online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. 21 Sept. 2009. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. .

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/24/french-politicians-want-photoshop-warning/

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