Advertising and cultural transformation in america
Answers
Explanation:
THE CULTURAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT
OF ADVERTISING ON
AMERICAN SOCIETY
Commissioner Jones addresses herself to the effect of what she describes
as television's "too much and too narrow and too simple a value system"
and its impact on the national culture and values. She questions the impact
of this cultural spillover on the many diverse life styles not reflected. Commissioner Jones then questions the appropriateness and adequacy of present
regulatory patterns both public and private to deal with the social problems
raised by the cultural and value content of advertising. Having recognized
the difficulty of policing values and cultural overtones, Commissioner Jones
proposes several means by which freedom and diversity of ideas would be
promoted so that television would reflect a wider variety of values, cultures
and life styles.
The concerns raised by FTC Commissioner Jones in the article
which follows pose extremely interesting questions with regard to Canadian
television. Although for a number of reasons the cultural spillover of the
advertising view-of-life (stress on the satisfaction of needs and desires
rather than on the presentation solely of product information, external
rather than internal motivations, material solutions rather than recognition
of individual capacities, disregard for minority values, cultures and life
styles, etc.) is somewhat less marked in Canada than in the United States,
there continues to be a considerable concern in this country about the
potentially undesirable characteristics of broadcast advertising. Some notes
relating to the relevance of Commissioner Jones' comments to the Canadian
context follow:
1. What is the effect on the content and impact of commercials of the
supervision in Canada of food and drug continuities aired on radio and
television under the pre-clearance procedure instituted in 1932 and
continued today under section 11 of the BBG's broadcasting regulations?
Most of the complaints directed towards the adverse effects of hard sell are focussed on foods, drugs and cosmetics, and instead of the post hoc
controls exercised by the FTC, Canadian copywriters have been required in
these areas to observe the constraints in both the Department of National
Health & Welfare's 40-page "Guide for Manufacturers & Advertisers"
and in BBG Circular 123, December 1, 1965, as enforced by a prereview
system that probably modifies as many as 25% of the ads submitted.
Where preclearance is carried to extremes, as in the provincial and
Commission supervision of beer and wine broadcast advertising (in the
five provinces allowing it), it is arguable that the resulting ads, which have
tended to be antiseptic, uninformative and overlain with an air of unreality,
may be just as unhealthy as the unregulated alternative.