Question: We are surrounded by all kinds of advertising, which significantly influence our lives. Do the positive effects of advertising outweigh its negative effects?
Band 8+ Sample Answer:
(Intro) It has been proven that advertising is playing an increasingly crucial role in our daily lives, which has also resulted in a detrimental impact on consumers. While commercials and other forms of marketing may accelerate the delivery of product information and create economic benefits, these are overshadowed by ethical problems and annoyance caused to audiences.
(Body 1) On the one hand, the prevalence of advertisements may increase the propagation of information of a brand or product range and create job opportunities. Firstly, advertising helps promote the distribution of product information to customers via social media and more traditional forms such as TV or newspapers. In fact, people in the 21st century are overwhelmed by a variety of products on supermarket shelves and find it hard to make the right choices. With the help of adverts, people are provided with the essential information, so they can make comparisons between products where necessary and make wiser decisions. In addition, the boom in advertisements also helps fuel this industry. That is, more lucrative jobs in this field are created, making it a dynamic economic pillar of the society.
(Body 2) However, the demerits are more significant when it comes to deceitful sales tactics and customer satisfaction. Primarily, many companies are using advertisements as a tool to boost sales by any means. For example, By exaggerating the real quality of their products with exaggerated descriptions or misleading images, manufacturers are trying to lure customers into purchasing increasingly more products without taking their real needs into consideration. As a result, some products are left unused, bringing about a “throw-away” society as resources are wasted. Fast fashion exemplifies this perfectly. It is also noteworthy that commercials are incredibly irritating in many cases. For instance, advertisements are routinely added to films, both online and on television, effectively ruining the viewer experience.
(Conclusion) In conclusion, despite some positive economic outcomes and better-informed consumers, advertisements may raise moral concerns and frustrate audiences. Authorities should have legally-binding minimum standards for agencies to offer an appropriate amount of advertising on radio, TV or social media as well as monitoring misleading content. (345 words)
Words: Student essay, corrected & upgraded by Nick Kemp, former IELTS examiner.
Image: Robinams / Pixabay.