http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ap/students/english/ap07_eng_...
Another timed practice essay back in April for AP prep. :P With this one, I got a little sidetracked from my essay outline when I wrote it, but I made major edits today to clarify the main ideas. I thought this should be posted on the site because the topic is something we encounter everyday and gathers quite an amount of criticism. Ads– would you say they’re a form of democracy?
(Also, if there are inaccuracies in the paragraph about ads and the economy, feel free to comment and make corrections.)
Synthesis - Advertisments as Free Dissemination?
From schools to grocery stores and the internet, advertisements are everywhere. Rarely anyone can avoid advertisements wherever they go and how can they when these marketing strategies impact us daily? Although ads are bound to have fierce critics, ads affect our economy in a huge way as well as pleading people to get involved with their communities.
Innately, advertisements help boost the economy both on a local and an international basis. According to Sesana, these marketing executives "are not selling soap or petrol, but a vision, a way of life.” These promotions help attract peoples’ desires to products, appealing them to buy the items in order to sustain the continuities of supply and demand. As a result, companies can maintain or increase jobs of production workers to meet the demands of consumers and thus stabilizing economic activities. In addition, "markets in Asia, Eastern Europe, South America, and Africa [offer] significant financial opportunities for the industry [cigarette companies]" (Shaw). In other words, industries might be able to expand their businesses abroad to maximize their profits. Due to the economic dependency of other countries, this opportunity could also boost the international economy. Often, ads help contribute funds to the media, including TV stations, radio channels, and web site domains. In return, ads are given exposure to increase the demand for products; companies gain profits from increased demands and pay the media for advertisement space again, thus continuing the cycle. Although this cycle isn’t perfectly conducted as it would seem to be, the processes work together in a way that would increase commerce interactions to benefit the economy.
Furthermore, advertisements not only include marketing products for consumers, but also causes of non-profit organizations. On TV, radio stations, newspapers, grocery products, and especially school flyers, people would hear the endless list of the organizations: Lupus research foundation, March of Dimes, Carter Blood Donations, "Green Energy" promotions, etc. The American Red Cross posters encourage people everywhere to donate blood. A common trait with these types of ads includes persuading people to get involved through taking "one. . . simple action" that won't "take much time" (Red Cross). Because of the busy schedules of our daily lives, the last thing we may want to do is to take on an enormous project that'll consume much of our time. However, the appeal of doing a few simple things a day for a virtuous cause will more likely persuade us to contribute. Thus, advertisements effectively help raise awareness of humanitarian events and community service opportunities as well as publicize non-profit organizations in order to gain peoples’ participation.
In the end, advertisements can bring benefits to our society, depending on how they're used. Even though propaganda can be detrimental, according to the critics of ads, propaganda has the potential to educate their demographics. For example, the muckrackers of the late 19th century exposed corruption of many food industries and government institutions. In addition, the movements of various groups between the 1960's and the 1970's had banners, flyers, and other sources to promote their fight for equality. "It's up to the audience to decide from their morals" (Sesana).
