Introduction
Advertisement bullying constitutes a problem that arose and has increased with the introduction of public media. During the earliest newspapers, the media writers would bully certain groups, targeting maybe the pacifists during war time or the latest political agenda that sparked controversy. With the advent of radio, the bullying only increased, as communist countries exploited the medium and broadcasted messages that struck at the heart of the common people. The communists in essence bullied those who disagreed with them. They exemplified the meaning of advertisement bullying: they intentionally promoted alternative viewpoints with a tone of attack and aggression rather than reasonable and kind disagreement. Let’s consider how this problem manifests itself in current culture and propose some solutions.
Politics
The most common and possibly vehement case of advertisement bullying occurs in the context of politics. Take for example the most recent US presidential election. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney debate in person on television. They might express anger or frustration and do a bit of bullying against their opponent, which may prompt its own problems, issues that deserve discussion elsewhere. But what about advertising? How might this bullying appear in the context of advertisements?
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Advertisements do form a piece of the political world. “Political ads” constitute a common part of our speech during the election time. And they mark a fundamental method of the election process. Thus we see campaigns of video advertisements featuring the promises of Barack Obama, for example. As he walks among the common folks of the Mid-West and chats with school teachers and poor families. However, the scenes do not only appear cheerful and heart-warming (Youtube, 2012).
Obama ad campaigns also front another message. Some videos attacked Mitt Romney, claiming that he held a poor voting record, that he would not follow through on his promises, that his character was fundamentally in question. What do these messages indicate? They indicate advertisement bullying. The Obama group attacked Mitt Romney with a tone not of kindness but of aggression, and attempted to move votes from Republican to the Democratic side. And this ploy existed not only on Obama’s ad campaign, but Romney’s also appears just as guilty of advertisement bullying.
Services
Another less explicit form of advertisement bullying occurs among service providers, such as insurance or internet. These companies forward their products and services at the expense of other companies. For example, an insurance company may ask the viewer, “Are you tired of unexplained insurance charges?” and continue by accusing the competitor’s services of fraud or manipulation or disloyalty. Even if these accusations are true, the act constitutes advertisement bullying; the insurance company forwards a message of aggression and disfavor towards a competing business in order to alter their image.
Solutions
These two cases, politics and business, represent a slice of advertisement bullying. Furthermore, we have concentrated on the televised context. But bullying occurs in billboards, website ads, and even in person. However, the brief examples above provide enough clarity on the issue. In light of this problem, the bullying that takes place through means of advertisements, particularly video ads in politics and services, what solutions might we propose?
One arises from the government. Laws and policies might be passed that regulate the advertising world. These might restrict the tone of the advertisement, which must pass an examination for kindness and severity. However, this regulation would appear subjective and not account for individual contexts. What makes an ad “kind” and what makes it “bullying”? Furthermore, it is funny that the government would pass policies to regulate advertisements, since it represents one of the prime examples of bullying during the election process.
Another solution is through the private market or organizations. Certain groups will regulate the type of commercials or programs that appear on the television. For example, public television previously did not have cuss words, but now many shows use profane language. This shows that the censorship varies from time and place, and can operate as a solution for the problem of advertisement bullying. In other words, an existing or new organization might restrict bullying types of ads or television channels can refuse to broadcast such material.
Finally, we might solve the problem through becoming kinder people. Bullying advertisements are created by bullying types of advertisers. The entire problem is a human-based issue. Thus, to solve the problem you might first solve the people. If those in the advertisement industry, political, business, or wherever, become the sort of people who do not bully or wish to attack their competitors through degrading ads, then the problem might actually resolve. However, this requires a fundamental change of character and one very widespread. Is it possible? Probably, and if so, it will certainly take a lot of time and effort. But advertisement bullying only appears to increase as technology advances; thus the time for solutions is now.
- “Forward.” (2012). Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com
