ADVERTISEMENTS

							ADVERTISEMENTS


           It is almost impossible to escape advertisements. Hoardings
stare down at us from the sides of the roads, crude neon signs wink
above the shops, jingles and slogans assault our ears and finally,
pictures of washing machines, electric goods and other goods in
magazines take up more room than the letter press.

           Advertising attacks not only our eyes and ears, but also our
pockets. Certain percentage of the national income is being spent on
advertising and consequently, the costs of the products have risen.
When a woman buys a few cosmetic products, she pays 20 percent to
some advertiser or the other. In case she buys a product of a particular
brand, she may pay more, for example, If she buys aspirin, thirty
percent of what she pays may represent the cost of advertising.

           These amount seem a great deal to pay viz-a-viz the
     questionable benefits of advertising but there are also few things
     to be said in its favour. Although certain things cost more
     because of advertising, yet some other things cost more because
     of advertising, yet some other things cost less. Newspapers
     ,magazines, commercial radio stations and television broadcasts
     carry advertisements, which help the producers lower the costs of
     production. In this way, we get information and
     entertainment at lower prices, which would otherwise,
     had to be paid, for and so, what we lose on the swings, is
     gained by us on the round abouts. Apart from this
consideration, advertising, to some extent, ensures that a
product would maintain its quality. It also gives rise to
competition among manufacturers and the customers get
the benefit of choosing from a wide range of products.
Competition may even succeed, in some cases, in
reversing the influence of advertising and causing a
reduction in price.