Some people say that advertising encourages us to buy things that we really do not need. Others say that advertisements tell us about new products that may improve our lives. Which viewpoint do you agree with? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience

Advertisements have intruded our daily lives without many of us even realizing how they impact our society. Many believe they provide details of products that could improve our lives;
however
, there is
also
an argument that they indirectly compel us to buy stuff
that is
not at all necessary. I strongly believe, advertisements have in many ways misguided us and have resulted in unnecessary expenditure.
Firstly
, advertisements have generated a false necessity or pride in using a merchandise, especially when it is endorsed by a celebrity. When a favourite celebrity comes on television and endorses it, people tend to believe him and buy without any hesitation or doing any research.
For instance
, the famous Indian Cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar’s, endorsing Pepsi 10 years back resulted in a massive surge of Pepsi sales in India. These sales had no rationale behind them, as people bought Pepsi neither because it tasted good nor because it was nutritious; but because Sachin Tendulkar had endorsed it.
This
is a perfect example how adverts generate false devotion and necessities.
Secondly
, advertisements
also
tend to provide inaccurate, inadequate and misleading information about the merchandise. The intrinsic details are comfortably hidden behind the graphics, sound effects and the script in the advertisement. The Volkswagon scandal is a perfect example of misleading advertisements, where the famous car manufacturer advertised a low carbon emission vehicle in early 2000s with flashy animations with flamboyant cars running on futuristic roads. Several years later, it was revealed that Volkwagon had faked its carbon emission data in its advertisements and was ordered to pay millions of dollars as a penalty. In conclusion,
although
advertisements have their own merits of introducing a product to the masses, their evil sides comfortably overwhelm their pros. Without a government body to monitor the genuineness of advertisements, I would confidently say they do more harm than good to our society.
Submitted by vasanthcolombo on

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    • Sentence 1 - Background statement
    • Sentence 2 - Detailed background statement
    • Sentence 3 - Thesis
    • Sentence 4 - Outline sentence
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    • Sentence 1 - Topic sentence
    • Sentence 2 - Example
    • Sentence 3 - Discussion
    • Sentence 4 - Conclusion
  • Paragraph 3 - Second supporting paragraph
    • Sentence 1 - Topic sentence
    • Sentence 2 - Example
    • Sentence 3 - Discussion
    • Sentence 4 - Conclusion
  • Paragraph 4 - Conclusion
    • Sentence 1 - Summary
    • Sentence 2 - Restatement of thesis
    • Sentence 3 - Prediction or recommendation

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Topic Vocabulary:
  • encourage
  • persuade
  • manipulative
  • unnecessary
  • excessive
  • artificial needs
  • desires
  • consumers
  • oversaturation
  • impulse buying
  • financial problems
  • inform
  • educate
  • features
  • benefits
  • innovations
  • raise awareness
  • social issues
  • positive behavior
  • enrich
  • well-being
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