Anna O’Neil
Dr. Edwards
HUMA 302
22 January 2014
Ideas, Ideals, and Politicians
“You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements,” Norman Douglas. Everyone sees advertisements. The average person sees thousands of ads and logos in one day. It is impossible to avoid them in today’s consumerist society. They are relevant and important because whether a person buys what is advertised they show the culture of American society. It is difficult to measure the effect that ads have on people, but they do have an effect. Not only do they promote products, but they also affect everyone by making known and reinforcing ideas, ideals, and politicians.
Advertisements have progressed from signs outside of a shop to inserts in books and pamphlets, to flyers and posters, to newspaper blurbs, to telephones to radio, television, and computers, and now to cellphones. As the urban population rose in the 19th and 20th centuries, the need for products, that were not necessary previously, grew. As a result things began to be mass produced and advertised as never seen before. The first advertising agency was established in 1842, and throughout the 20th century it became commonplace for advertising
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Ads represent products that are created in mass to fulfill a want, not necessarily a need. They are meant to persuade people to act and buy that product; they explain why a person would want it and how it cannot be done without. A great ad is one where a person will share it with another person. It will advertise itself, people may not remember what the exact product is but they will recognize it when they see it and remember the great ad that is had. Advertising is a type of persuasion that plays so large a role in our media and everyday lives that it deserves a great deal of