Anyone who lives in America is aware of advertising. Reading newspapers and magazines, we see full-page ads urging us to buy clothes, autos, cigarettes, and kitchen appliances. Television and radio programs include commercials; we all have heard the phrases "brought to you by" and "sponsored by" hundreds of times. If we drive, we see road signs or billboards proclaiming the qualities of products or the location of restaurants or motels. If we commute on a transit system, we cannot help but notice the prominent signs displayed on the buses and subways. And in our mail, along with the bills and the letters, come shiny flyers and circulars promoting products and announcing sales. 

Advertisements in some form intrude into nearly every waking minute of our lives. We simply cannot get away from their pounding, incessant messages. Because ads permeate radio and television, we find ourselves singing their silly jingles and repeating their "cute" lines. Sellers admonish us to buy through a profusion of techniques: hard sell, soft sell, music, comedy, and appeals to all our emotions and fears. 

Some ads are even potentially harmful. Perplexing or misleading sales pitches may lure unwary buyers into financial trouble. It is always best to remember: "caveat emptor"－let the buyer beware. Many commercials go far beyond the mere transmitting of information when they attempt to transform our values and attitudes. Cigarettes ads, for example, often imply that smoking is a manly or sexy habit. It is neither. 

Because of these problems, many people have become extremely critical of commercials, especially those directed at children. As adults, we are often skeptical of what we read or hear in advertisements. Children, because they are not as mature or experienced as we are, cannot judge how reasonable or accurate ads are. If the man on TV says chocolate-covered, sugar-coated wheat toasts are healthful and nutritious, children may very well believe it. Many parents feel sellers take unfair advantage of children's inability to evaluate what they see or hear. 

Unfortunately, despite their problems, commercials and ads are an established part of modern life. Providers of goods and services will always try to persuade us to purchase what they are selling. As consumers, we must learn not to believe everything we hear or read, so that we will not be fooled into buying things we don't need.

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Advertising plays an extremely important role in our society. Perhaps most obviously, it keeps us informed about the latest products and services, thus enabling us to buy intelligently. Advertising also has a positive impact on our economy, by providing funding for the media and stimulating competition among goods and service providers. In addition, advertising can be used to promote public welfare, thus exerting a positive social impact on society. 

We as consumers benefit greatly from advertising. By reading bank ads, for example, we might decide to transfer our money from our current bank to one offering better rates or more convenient hours. When traveling, we can save hundreds of dollars on transcontinental airfares by comparing the ads in the travel section of the newspaper. 

Advertising can also be used to increase awareness in society about particular issues, and in so doing, it becomes a form of education. Anti-drug advertising such as "Just say NO", and drunk driving campaigns are just two examples of how society uses the advertising industry as a means to promote public welfare. 

In addition to the social benefits, advertising also brings huge economic benefits to society. Without advertising, the media -- including newspaper, television, radio, etc. -- would be much less vigorous. Advertising provides revenue for commercial mediums which would otherwise need to be funded by the actual consumer of these mediums. For example, a newspaper would cost up to three times as much money (since advertising provides two-thirds of the revenue of the print media), or all television, bar government funded networks, would be pay-TV (since nearly all revenue for television is currently provided by advertising). The price a consumer may have to pay to receive very cheap, or even free, news and entertainment may include sitting through a 30-second commercial break while watching a television program, or flicking a couple of extra pages in a magazine, to get through the advertisements to the articles. 

Although advertising might appear to raise the prices of goods and services, a closer look will show that it actually helps to keep prices low. Advertising stimulates economic activity, with vigorous competition between institutions and higher buying rates of products. This, in turn, leads to lower product costs for the consumer.

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