Paul Lutus Advertising Essay

In his article entitled Consumer Angst written in 2007, Paul Lutus claimed that â€Å"No matter how true any single advertisement is, modern advertising, taken as a whole, tells a lie — that you need the thing being advertised. † To explain his point, Paul Lutus further claims that valuable consumer goods need not be advertised because it is a necessity by itself and no promotion is needed for it to attract and obtain sales. Moreover, he explained that the quality of the product should speak for itself and there is no need to â€Å"waste company’s money asserting the obvious†. In his above-mentioned arguments, Paul Lutus obviously focuses only on one aspect of advertising which is to sell. He missed to appreciate the other function of advertising which is to inform. Advertising, as defined by Wikipedia. org, â€Å"is the form of communication whose purpose is to inform potential customers about products and services and how to obtain and use them†. The primary purpose of advertising is to create public awareness about a certain product or service that is being advertised. It aims to communicate to the intended audience that such a product or service exists. As Taflinger (1996) claims â€Å"the basic purpose of advertising is to identify and differentiate one product from another in order to persuade the consumer to buy that product in preference to another. † Advertising is usually used to create a unique image that will be identified to a product or service. The message that is being communicated usually highlights the best features of the product – its uniqueness, usability, best characteristics, etc. – that will customer’s attention to it. After providing information on the product or service features, advertising’s goal is to entice customers to try out the product. It is therefore safe to claim that the end-goal of any advertisement is to generate sales in terms of product or service. However, while it is true that every advertising campaign is aimed at generating revenue for the brand that is being advertised, it is not proper to claim that all advertisements are lies. Even premium brands such as Nike, Armani, Prada and others do advertise their products. These brands are sought after and have all proven to be of good quality. But these brands still invest on advertisement. Advertising has become an important part of today’s business. With new products sprouting like mushrooms everyday, competition has become stiff and advertising has taken a big role in allowing the product or service to compete in the market. In his article entitled â€Å"Educating the Consumer about Advertising: Some Issues† Stephen Gotlieb (1991) explains that advertising â€Å"promotes competition among producers of products and services, keeps prices low through the development of mass markets, encourages store owners to stock a variety of items, supports free expression by funding media sources, and spurs invention†. The more you are seen and understood by your customers, the bigger chance you have to stay in the mainstream. It is therefore important to get you message through, so that your product or service gets noticed. Or else, your offer will just perish. Also, with the competition getting tighter, advertisers today cannot afford to rely on false claims for their products of services. With a lot of other options available in the market, a single wrong claim will trigger the customer to try out other product. It is the role of advertising to entice customers and encourage them to try out the product. Once the customer is convinced with the advertising claim and decides to avail the product or service, it is now the role of the product to prove itself and embody what is being stated in the advertising claim. It is therefore crucial to communicate the message that best embodies the product. Once advertised, the product or service is already exposed to t he public eye and scrutiny. Unless the customer has already tried out the product or service, their perception of the product will depend on the advertisement. It will either make or break the future of the product or service depending on how you position the message about the product. Therefore, while an advertisement is typically used to create or alter the consumer’s perception of a product and induce them into buying it, it cannot be said that it is Always  a lie. For obvious reasons, advertisements only highlight the good side of the products or services. We cannot blame the advertisers to do this. While they are obviously banking on the good side of their offer, we cannot accuse them of telling us a lie. The beauty of advertising is it gives the customers the chance to evaluate the competing products or services even before purchasing it through the product claims.