Don’t Blame Advertising for the Current Economic Crisis

I just read an article on Adweek entitled "Let's Blame Advertising" by Mark Dolliver, and was intrigued enough to voice my opinion on the by the number of people who are blaming advertisers for the downfall of the American economy.

According to the article, Adweek Media surveyed over two thousand adults, and an astounding 66% of the sample (7% “complete responsibility,” 26% “great deal of responsibility,” and 33% “some responsibility”) felt that advertisers were responsible for causing people to buy items that they couldn’t manage to pay for.

But, is advertising really to blame for the state of the economy?

This article reminded me of a business philosophy class discussion at Georgia State University. The class was asked to assess the morality of targeting advertising a form beer with high alcohol content to minorities in poverty-stricken, alcohol and drug infested, violent neighborhoods. It was argued that promotion of alcohol would encourage the destructive nature of the community. While I don’t think that the product will improve any of the ailments of the community, I would have to argue that the community demands that the beer (and other similarly damaging products such as hard liquor, cigarettes, condoms, etc.) be available, and advertisers have not only the right, but the responsibility to promote the product to meet that demand. If beer was not offered in the marketplace, wouldn’t consumers just go elsewhere to suffice that demand? Maybe purchase something far more harmful than beer—drugs, weapons, or other products that are far more damaging to society’s welfare.

In reference to the original Adweek article, consumers – and not advertisers – must be blamed for their own purchase decisions and thusly the downfall of the economy. Advertisers are exhibiting products that are available to the marketplace and in demand by consumers, but consumers are the ultimate decision makers and must accept responsibility for their own purchase decisions. Although the repercussions are immense and long lasting, I am hopeful that the current economic crisis will encourage consumers to learn to better manage their buying decisions.