Advertising is said to be the lifeline of any company or business. We
are told that without advertising, products would not be sold, that
there must be freedom of choice. We admit that there is a need for
advertising in the modern economy. But what if advertising encourages
and abets the creation of a culture that will finally end up
destroying the environment? An environment which is the lifeline, not
only of human beings but of all other species as well?
The danger of this becoming a reality is not imaginary. Because of
globalisation and the free market system, spending among middle and
upper class consumers has increased tremendously worldwide. And the
advertising industry has been largely instrumental in spreading the
gospel of consumerism. We read that the amount spent globally on
advertising in one year alone (1998) was over $430 billion, that
spending on advertising in Asia increased four-fold in the last decade
and in Latin America five-fold. Figures for Africa are not easily
available but if the city of Nairobi is anything to go by, there is no
question, seeing the increase in the number and the size of
billboards, that spending on advertising in our continent is
considerable. We must therefore not take advertising as simply the way
of doing business nowadays.
Another reason why we must be wary of advertisers and the producers
behind them is that, in their desire to get people to buy more and
more of their products, the question of ethics in advertising is often
disregarded and cultural values may subtly be subverted.
Advertisers will of course counter that no one is forced to buy
anything. This statement is true to an extent only. For cannot
advertising be called "the subtle art of persuasion?" It is not for
nothing that enormous amounts of money are spent on trying to get
people to buy certain products. The reason is that it works!
We have entitled this issue of WAJIBU "Advertising, propaganda, and
ethics". Although there are exceptions, it is our conviction that
advertising often is nothing more than propaganda for a certain style
of life, a style of life to which there are alternatives. This is an
ethical issue. We agree that it is not the role of companies and
advertisers themselves to present these alternatives, although the
preservation of the environment should be their concern as well.
However, given the lack of environmental consciousness on the part of
many multinationals (the ones who have the most money to spend on
advertising) it is all the more important that alternatives to the
consumer culture should be presented by educational institutions,
religious and civic organisations as well as by the mass media. The
question is: are these institutions immune to the power and influence
of advertising?
In a developing country like Kenya where over half the population
lives below the poverty line, do we really need reminders that the
earth's resources are limited? Have we not seen this with our own eyes
in this year of famine, of lining up for water and of electricity
rationing? Do we need to be recalled to the fact that the more we
squander the resources of the earth, the less there will be for our
poor sisters and brothers?
Concern for the future of our planet and for the many poverty-
stricken people in our midst are strong reasons for being wary of the
tricks of advertising moguls. Ways must be found to counter their
powerful influence to propel us toward an ever more materialistic
culture, a culture which will finally spell doom for the planet. This
issue of WAJIBU is meant to make you have some second thoughts, the
next time you open your paper or switch on the television. Advertising
is not just harmless entertainment!
by G. Wakuraya Wanjohi
