Essay on Advertising

In recent years, advertising has become ever-more pervasive as new companies mushroom all around the world. There are many different viewpoints as to the benefits and detriments of advertisements. Some say the benefits outweigh the detriments, and vice versa. In my opinion, the negative aspects of advertising outweigh the positive aspects.

The nature of advertisement is such that it leaves many loopholes to be exploited. One definition of advertisement is a method of appealing to people in order to persuade them to buy a product or service. There are many examples of how companies achieve this. The Olay brand of shampoo and conditioner relies on emphasising their expertise through qualified staff like Francesca Fusco and Thomas Taw. The Nike brand of shoes appeals to the emotional tendencies of people to buy their sports shoes. The list goes on. However, one should remember that advertising is essentially propaganda and as such is never entirely accurate. Companies have been known to misrepresent evidence. For example, real estate companies in Singapore have been known to present a distorted image of a house for sale, leaving consumers to discover the trickery. One should also remember that the advertiser always has a private agenda when creating the advertisement. Thus, it cannot be entirely trusted as there is intent to sway your opinions.

Advertisement also has its detriments. Firstly, advertisement has become so commonplace that its impact on consumers has greatly diminished. The average American sees over 3000 advertisements in a day. It seems rather improbable that one advertisement out of this 3000 will significantly influence a consumer’s decisions. Also, advertising through various forms of media is generally expensive. The company could be spending this money on improving existing products and services, pushing out new products or adding to their financial reserves. A reduction in advertisements would also mean more time for news programs on television or articles in the newspapers, both of which are more significant than advertising.

Some might argue that advertising has benefits like creating healthy competition. While I agree that such competition is beneficial to the economy, I must point out that in most cases, the larger companies can completely flood out the smaller companies by taking up a significant amount of space for their advertisements. This does not contribute to competition at all, and has a very minimal effect on the competitiveness of the economy. Others might contend that advertising can introduce people to new products or services. However, the impact would be insubstantial as many people do not read advertisements. Also, humans are creatures of habit. It is unlikely that we will change our shopping preferences even when we read about other advertisements.

As advertising becomes more prevalent, I believe that beyond a certain point, providing advertising in bulk fails to have a significant impact on consumers. I think it would be better for some of the advertising funds to be diverted to the research and development sector, used as a financial cushion or used to pay dividends to shareholders.

Sorry Ms Huang that this is late.

A day in the life of World War II

Dear Diary,

It's really been too long since I wrote in you. We got a telegram from Dad again. Mum didn't let me read it, but she seemed really relieved. She told me Dad wouldn't be coming home again this week. He's on a business trip, by the way. All my classmates' dads went on business trips too, just one week ago. Mum told me a business trip was when people went somewhere far away to do business. She seemed really sad when I asked her why Dad had to stay away for so long. Why can't they go on business trips at home? Then we could all be together again. I asked Mum where Dad went. She told me he went to Germany, and he's enjoying himself with lots of great food and living in a nice house on the grass. I asked her when we could go join him. She told me we couldn't, not yet.

And this morning, Mum was reading the newspaper and I was eating my buttered bread. I saw some words on the front. Mr Richards hasn't really taught us to read yet, but I knew some of them. One was "Germany". Mum said Dad was there, so I read some more. Mum caught me looking, and dropped the newspapers. She told me it was for grown-ups only, so she went to her room and closed the door.

Dad's chair's been empty for a real long time now, and I miss him tucking me in at night. He used to tell me stories, and I would go to sleep. Mum tells me stories too, but she doesn't tell them like Dad does. And Mum always walks me to school now. Dad used to drive me there in his car, but Mum can't drive, so we walk instead. I like it, because Mum's a great joke-teller. I miss Dad though. I wish he would just come back from his business trip. When will Dad come home?

Descriptive parargraph

It was over. The final bullet had been fired, the final platoon had retreated past once verdant hills, the final soldier had fallen bravely in his last stand. They were returning home tomorrow, pulling out of the war-ravaged land that was Germany. Two men lay in the wreckage of the aftermath, spending their final day before they were recalled. Dead bodies clad in green and brown littered the carnage, corpses lying like ripened fruit all over the ground. The acrid stench of decomposition suffused the air as it combined with the piercing burn of gunpowder that made one wrinkle his nose in disgust. There was an eerie silence, save the occasional screech of carrion eaters and the distant, whispering rustle as heavy boots trudged over them. One reached out, his hand softly coming to rest on his dead comrade's neck. He knew he was dead, knew he would not come back, knew he had gone past the point of no return. No comforting pulse was felt, sending a lance of pain into his heart. His only consolance was that his friend had died bravely for his country and his family would never want again. The other crouched a few feet back, looking on in sorrowful sympathy. A single tear wet the dead soldier's uniform. Then they stood up, gravel crunching under the stomp of army boots. With a crunch of boots on gravel, they left, never to return.

To view the picture: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8492000/8492777.stm