Although advertising, today, grips us fast, I make bold to argue for the proposition.
Advertisement or publicity is a powerful link between the producer and the consumer. It is an art that sometimes indoctrinates (= fixes a particular concept or idea) the users of an article with a set notion. When asked in an interview, what is the price of Sunlight, the candidates irrespective of their merit or awareness, quoted it as four shillings. The Board was shocked to discover that Sunlight was identified with the brand name, not the natural sunlight.
Naturally, because it is such a powerful instrument, its use ought to be sparing and functional. But, today, commercial agencies make a reckless use of this device. And now it has developed into Information Technology (IT).
It is a truth that anything that is exploited beyond the optimum (= desirable) limit becomes a nuisance. Faith, love, morality are all healthy human attributes. But even these degenerate if carried beyond a certain limit. It is a kind of fatuity (= excessive passionate attachment) that is counter-productive. Advertising today, is becoming subject to a similar exploitation.
During the days when poster advertisement was the only means, human life was not affected to the extent that it is today. Daily life was spent in a rhythm of its own. Men responded or not to the real situations as they considered fit. But today the advertisement media make a virtual raid on human consciousness. Anything productive or beneficial creates in us a proneness towards it. Similarly the great resourcefulness of this agent of information is gradually making us more and more wedded to it.
Today, the modes of publicity or advertisement have put on a new garb (= dress). Infosys – a new technical term of the software age – is, indeed, a miracle of science. The modern information technology has virtually eliminated (= wiped out) distance. Therefore, it is no wonder that trade and commerce has pounced = (jumped) on it as a vital substance like the hungry tiger on a live meat.
We can recall the days when the TV was only installed at public places in our country. We saw receiver antennas shaped like inverted umbrellas. Then the range was limited. But now, thanks to the satellites and to the multiple cable facilities, almost every house of the middle-income category, has access to these facilities. This advantage for publicity has given birth to a sequel not very pleasant in the ultimate analysis.
Advertisements of cosmetics hook up glamour girls. Erotic and obscene postures do their turns as corrupters of taste. None complains as it is a permissive society. Films, in general, are anything but art, and mostly vicious. Even if a good film pops up once in a blue moon (= at long intervals), it is punctuated by such disgusting and loudly obstreperous (= disturbing one’s peace) that a good guardian would better not see it. On roads, platforms, saloons or shops this modern amenity of entertainment slowly but surely makes room for itself in the human soul. Yes, it is the soul that is becoming steeped in this culture.
As a new and popular amenity the TV has virtually replaced the radio. Only a limited cross-section of consumers who are value- oriented are seen still fond of this device of older days. The new-fangled set is at times baulked (= refused admittance) of its ambition to usurp (= take forcibly) the position of its older rival. For instance, the telecast of the ‘Mahalaya at the advent of the Durga Puja looks funny and preposterous before its representation over the radio. The latter has grandeur and sonority (= musical effect of the sounds) that is enough to throw into obscurity the pretensions of the telecast to visually represent the episodes.
The children – be it of any age – bring home their taste and options and remain stuck to the TV sets. Even a random survey shall bear out the dismal truth that our schools and colleges have not yet fully woken up to the great uses to which this amenity can be put. We teach Shakespeare’s plays in colleges and even in schools. But how many of them have displayed them on TV screens?
Advertisements are necessary and a well-conducted program can haul up a nation. But the good effects seep in slowly, while advertisements that are flashy and heroic are apt to influence our children more easily. They would be copied, despite warnings, with tragic consequences.
Advertisements of ready-made cooking media or cooking stuffs are gradually wearing out a kitchen culture that has remained a pride of our country. A notion that whatever is flashed on the screen or elsewhere is creditable kills our judgment. In order to push-sale his stuff, the advertiser sometimes exaggerates. It creates a sham panic about what might befall a man if he does not use his product. Thus advertisement has to be more decent and value- oriented. But there is a rub. More money means less quality.
