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From: dione@ajax.lpl.arizona.edu (Matt Cheselka)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.activism,talk.environment,comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Advertising is bad
Keywords: DMA Suppression junk-mail recycling activism
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Date: 7 Feb 91 15:33:42 GMT
References: <1991Feb1.054640.1441@cs.ucla.edu> <156606@felix.UUCP> <1991Feb5.192632.20536@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>
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Organization: Lunar and Planetary Lab, U of AZ
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I don't like advertising for regular reasons:

	1. It interrupts my TV shows and movies.
	2. Billboards and posters are unappealing and add to what I like to 
	   call "City Junk".
	2. Some advertising is pretty awful and makes me gag.

There are two main reasons why advertising is around:

	1. TV stations have to be able to pay for their air time.
	2. Companies have to make sure their products are known, in order to
	   simply tell the public, "Hey y'all, we're right around to corner!"
	   (This is similar to what they do in Nogales, Mexico, except for the
	   fact that the shopowners come out into that street and start yelling
	   at you!)
           
The main delema here is the fact that this world we live in is very much
economically orientated.  There is at the moment no way around it.  I feel that
it is very simple-minded to reply to that by saying, "Well, then get rid of
money!" because that just won't work.  I wish is could.  My life would be a lot
better if money were no option.  But since it is, we must deal with it.  
Instead of fighting it, we should work with it.  Humans are intelligent enough
to know that "giving in" is sometimes a good strategy...it makes everything
a little better if we're not fighting all the time.

On the other hand, TV (and even some radio and magazine/newspaper) ads are 
really good entertainment!  We pay 6-10 dollars to go see a good movie...why
not spend a couple extra cents to see a good commercial?

Advertising is not evil.  Evil is a strong word that should only be used in
extreme cases.  There cannot be evil without good anyway.  Hitler was evil but
very intelligent.  Hussein is evil but very crafty.  My mother is evil but
I love her very much (that is, she's evil to me because she made me do things
I didn't want to do when I was a kid).

Matt Cheselka