A bit of common sense

The Ads of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

It's safe to say, the advertizing is a reflection of the times we live in. While I was wandering around online a few days ago, I found an ad that actually stunned me. It was an ad for cleaning supplies from the late sixties. The woman featured in the ad was wearing a space helmet and the ad line was "Women of the future will make the Moon a cleaner place to live." I get that it's from the sixties, and the ad printed before the women's liberation movement, but the idea that the society of the time must have believed this idea to some extent, that women were destined to always be maids … let's just say I'm glad I was born in the decade I was.

So what do advertisements say about us, the college student? Well first we are very sought after by companies as a demographic because we set trends for other groups. TV commercials are desperate to constantly stay on top of the college perspective. What will we relate to? What will we be interested in? The answer isn't simple, but just know the new ads, playing to the "young edge," is designed with you in mind.

Just this last January, throughout Seminole County, Florida, hundreds of kids came home with McDonald's sponsored report cards. Luckily, that didn't last long because a lot of the parents were pissed, but that still doesn't stop the fact that Ronald McDonald poked his head onto a report card. So maybe it's not even the ads themselves our generation will be remembered by, but rather the extent corporations will go to get out the message.

I wondered what people would think of our ads; whether or not they were too explicit, too politically charged, or just plain stupid. All the eco-friendly products that have been pushed recently are conveying a political message. Will the messages in our ads be outshined by the magnitude and sheer volume of advertisements that bombard our daily lives in an increasing urgency to buy more. While the ad from the sixties is completely offensive and even ignorantly comical, at least you had to go to a magazine to find it. Not in today's world.

With so much being constantly rammed down our throats, I really wonder if the system is sustainable. Americans cannot keep consuming and consuming. There is a breaking point to all this; the only question left is when?

As companies really got into the swing of capitalism and larger corporations began to take over, our money became more and more important. Hire an ad agency that will make you more money. And the eighties opened new doors for materialism in America. The economy was doing well, the rich lifestyle was glorified, and marketing became more important than ever.

Look at toy advertisements. How have they changed? What do kids care about, or at least think they care about versus just a few years ago? When I was a kid toys seemed more mechanical, but now toys all have special technological features. The popular kid's toys are videogames! And even young girls are being shamelessly marketed to. Buy Horsz or Fashion Designer or Babies games for the Nintendo DS. If you're not into electronics, buy a Bratz doll and see how your kid begins to admire and even emulate older girls wearing too much makeup and not enough clothes. At least Barbie was a doctor.