CRITICISMS OF ADVERTISING

 CRITICISMS OF ADVERTISINGWhile advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs. Unsolicited commercial e-mail and other forms of spam have become so prevalent as to have become a major nuisance to users of these services, as well as being a financial burden on Internet service providers. Advertising is increasingly invading public spaces, such as schools, which some critics argue is a form of child exploitation. In addition, advertising frequently uses psychological pressure (for example, appealing to feelings of inadequacy) on the intended consumer, which may be harmful.


                                                                        Table 

Medium	Advantages	Limitations
Newspapers	Flexibility, timeliness, good local market coverage,  broad acceptance, high believability	Short life, poor reproduction quality, small "pass- along" audience
Television	Combines sight, sound, and motion, appealing to the senses, high attention, high reach.	High absolute cost, high clutter, fleeting exposure, less audience selectivity
Direct mail	audience selectivity, flexibility, no ad competition within the same medium, personalization	Relatively high cost, "junk mail “image
Radio	Mass use, high geographic and demographic selectively, low cost	Audio presentation only, lower attention than television, non standardized rate structures, fleeting exposure
Magazines	high geographic and demographic selectively, credibility and prestige, high quality reproduction, long life, good pass - along readership	Long ad purchase lead time, some waste circulation, on guarantee of position
Outdoor	Flexibility, high repeat exposure, low cost, low competition	Limited audience selectivity; creative limitation
yellow pages	Excellent local coverage, high believability, wide reach, low cost	High competition ,long ad purchase lead time, creative limitations
Newsletters	Very high selectivity, full control, interactive opportunities, relative low costs	costs could run away
Brochures	Flexibility, full control, can dramatize messages	Overproduction could lead to runaway costs
Telephone	many user, opportunity to give a personal touch	relative high cost unless volunteers are used
Internet	High selectivity, interactive possibilities, relatively low cost	Relatively new media with a low number of users in some countries