Kyla Okobah
Professor Weik
English 1101
April 16, y According to Kilbourne, advertisements are inclined to exploiting human longings and desires. The desire to be loved and to love through relationships is one of the most common ways advertisements manipulate a human being. There is a famous quote from the TV show One Tree Hill that says, “People always leave.” The advertisement companies are trying to tell consumers that people may always leave, but your possessions and products will not. They will fill the void that is missing from your children leaving you or your lover no longer feeling the same way about you. Advertisements make the viewers believe that without a diamond necklace your marriage is not as valuable or you do not value your children if you do not invest in a mini van to get them to their soccer practices safely. Both of those examples are on how ad companies exploit real human emotions and reel in their customers. These advertisement companies understand human nature to the core and use human nature against humans. It is understood that relationships are messy, no matter who the relationship is with it is bound to be unpredictable. Products are not unpredictable though, they are dependable. “When was the last time you felt this comfortable in a relationship.” A shoe ad proclaims. That advert just appealed to so many of the aspects we long for according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the sense of safety, love/belonging, and esteem. It is commonly understood that most ads tend to turn people into objects, by using their bodies to sell items. Women and men are seen as sex symbols that sell everything from condoms to perfume. The problem of using the bodies of humans to sell products is that it teaches a younger generation that if their body doesn’t look just like this they will not be lusted after. That thought process causes the self-esteem of young girls to collapse. From Victoria Secret ads to the latest Dior ad women’s bodies are equivalent to the perfect product that they are selling. Obviously, perfection can not be achieved, but it can be manipulated to look that way. The problem is that the younger generation viewing these ads does not see all the deceitful techniques and manipulation that goes into making a body in an ad look the way it does, so their self-esteem shrinks. The new generation then begins to realize that our bodies are not as valued, since they can be paraded around for all to see. Kilbourne states “Advertising encourages us not only to objectify each other, but to feel passion for products rather than our partners. This is especially dangerous.” Kilbourne then links the products that are advertised like alcohol and cigarettes with a relationship with their abusers. Those who have an addiction to items like alcohol and cigarettes not only deal with the struggle of their addiction, but the continuous
