What's in an ad?

2. The advertising industry is a huge industry, and anyone with their eyes open can
see what it's for. First of all, the existence of the advertising industry is a sign of the
unwillingness to let markets function. If you had markets, you wouldn't have
advertising. Like, if somebody has something to sell, they say what it is and you
buy it if you want. But when you have oligopolies, they want to stop price wars.
They have to have product differentiation, and you got to turn to deluding people
into thinking you should buy this rather than that. Or just getting them to consume
- if you can get them to consume, they're trapped, you know.
It starts with the infant, but now there's a huge part of the advertising industry
which is designed to capture children. And it's destroying childhood. Anyone who
has any experience with children can see this. It's literally destroying childhood.
Kids don't know how to play.They can't go out and, you know, like when you were
a kid or when I was a kid, you have a Saturday afternoon free.You go out to a field
and you're finding a bunch of other kids and play ball or something.You can't do
anything like that. It's got to be organized by adults, or else you're at home with
your gadgets, your video games.
But the idea of going out just to play with all the creative challenge, those insights:
that's gone. And it's done consciously to trap children from infancy and then to turn
them into consumer addicts.
Noam Chomsky
What is advertising for?

3. Grace Ann Carone Advertising is
a subtle way of brainwashing.
Joe Grant Masters of illusion,
creating confusion. Is it my
delusion or is there myriad
collusion?
Kerry Chamberlin If we allow our
children to sit in their room
playing mindless games on their
gadgets we are as much to blame
for taking away their childhood as
advertising. Children have the
ability to play, what most lack is
the opportunity. We, as adults,
have the ability to give them this
opportunity. Turn off the TV, put
away the X-Box, go outside and
play.
Advertising – the bad guy?

4. Darin Layne I'm sorry Noam, but …. We had
commercial after commercial and brand
after brand and etc... kids still play outside
and it's not all lost. ...The idea that you and
I lived like a little house on the prairie is silly
and false. And Why is that childhood any
better? I think you have a selective memory.
I think you are using capitalism to market
yourself quite effectively here.
…Just that I would expect more form
someone of your reputation. Get Real
Michelle Gumm It's not advertising that
keeps kids from playing outside. It's the
realistic fear that some piece of trash
pervert will kidnap them. The drug users
who leave dirty needles in the parks.The
drug dealers and gang members looking to
recruit.
Sigvart Aaserud Midling-
Hansen Observing these posts, I
increasingly see Noam Chomsky as a
pessimist. Not in a very convincing
fashion either, see for example this
notion of "belief in the markets", where
a seller simply the market what he has
to sell and there is a want for it they will
buy. Over simplistic anyone? Figuring
out what people want and need is a
very complex task and marketing
certainly play a functional role in this
process.There is no denying the large
misuse of marketing of course, just
take a look at McDonalds, but black-
painting the entire concept of
marketing is construing it too one-
sided to say the least.
Advertising – the good guy?