Is Advertising Brainwashing? – Intro

What role does advertising play in our contemporary lives? To which extent is it useful and where is the limit when it bothers us? What can advertising bring to our lives? In which industry is advertising needed?  Every day we are attacked by hundreds of advertisements. We notice some of them and some of them we perceive unconsciously. Some of them affect our emotional state and rational thinking and some of them leave no impression on us. Nature of each ad is different, and some could be important for us. I chose this topic because I believe it is very wide field to discuss and discover different opinions; there is not only one opinion but always many. Also children perceive media and advertising differently than adults – advertising could be dangerous to them. That is why I would like to discuss this issue. Should children be protected from advertisements? Special category in advertising can also be humor. However funny the commercials may be, there should be limits so that the commercials are not offending human dignity. How many “funny” ads are there, which are actually funny and engaging? It would be also interesting to look at the creators of advertisements – who are they, how they think and what is the effect of their work? Is there a possibility to take the ads “mechanically” and translate it from other countries? Would we understand such advertising? Which role does culture, mentality and history play in creating and perceiving ads. Advertisement suggests many controversial topics and makes a room for many discussions. Is it a trustworthy subject and does it play any role in our lives, or is it just brainwashing?