I have been of late observing a new trend in advertisements in the print and TV. One common instinct is to make them as sensational as possible to get the attention of the readers and viewers. All the advertisements are required to follow some ethical guidelines- one of them being that the advt. should not be suggestive for a risky behaviour.
This advt. in a leading English news paper by a pharmaceutical company violates that very guideline. Although the national body who is watch body to enforce ethical practices in advertisement exists, it does not have a regulatory or penalising function, but only a recommendatory role!
Human behaviour is changing! The above picture is a computer trick of photography. But when a three years old child looks at this picture, he or she is fascinated by the adventure instinct. It is not uncommon for me to hear parents tell me that their three year child attempted something which he watched in the TV! One such incident was a cycle race he saw in an advert. He saw a cycle used by a film star for racing! He too raced his cycle in the street and lost control. His face was bruised.
I wonder whether the designers of the adverts. would pause and consider the impact of what they produce on children and adolescents! I agonise over how women's body has become the commonest advertisement feature to draw people's attention! The moral fabric of a nation can be determined by the way we advertise the consumer products!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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