Do You Think That Advertisers Have a Moral Duty to Avoid Stereotyping People?

To add to the array of controversies that this world I have come to spill the beans about what I think is quite the important subject to discuss and open conversations about. Advertisements have been part of my life and I’m sure a lot of other people’s lives for as long as we can remember. Wether they were there to advertise meat to the American citizens during the world war or to promote the upcoming movie of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians”, ads were always a way to communicate a message. The underlying goal of all ads and commercials is to persuade individuals into buying the product or buying into their ideas. They were never there for people to go to when they needed a source of information or education. Advertisements are displayed in the media, and mass media has allowed them to be ubiquitous. During our day the amount of times we might see an advertisement is not countable. You’re driving in the highway and you see a McDonald’s billboard, you’re on the bus and you see a Louis Vuitton poster, you walk into a building and you see an etisalat ad, worst of all you go to the cinema and you sit through an hour of commercials before your movie starts. By living a life where you see an ad every where you go and at any time, it is safe to say that ads have the ability to manipulate pupils into buying their product with minimal effort. People usually are blinded by this and are tricked into these advertising regimes of white literally drilling images and slogans into our minds. This can easily change our state of mind and sometimes even opinions on the world we live in without us batting an eyelash. This is where one might find it very dangerous if advertisements where to send out “fake news” and spread stereotypes and hate dissemination against racial and gender groups.

Therefore, what can and cannot be presented in an advertisement has to be taken very seriously and sensitively. So to answer the question, yes I do strongly believe that the publishers of said commercials have the moral duty to ensure that their work is appropriate for the viewers. To keep a somewhat balance on our society and contribute to spreading love not hate, ads that present false representations and offensive assumptions about race, gender, age, beauty, and so on, should be taken down immediately as this will lead to a divide in society and more present discrimination. It is crucial that advertising discourages and not encourages discrimination, it being such big platform. By having such a big effect on our society it is our duty to ensure that this effect leads us to a better tomorrow.