The Distorted Mirror: Reflections on the Unintended Consequences of Advertising

TLDR

Existing scholarship synthesizes advertising’s effects into a framework of causal relationships. The article reviews humanities and social science theories on advertising’s social and cultural consequences and outlines research gaps and moral imperatives. It synthesizes scholars’ theories into a structured framework of advertising’s purported effects and causalities. The review concludes that advertising is intrusive, pervasive, and profoundly shapes society by reinforcing materialism, cynicism, irrationality, selfishness, anxiety, social competition, sexual preoccupation, powerlessness, and loss of self‑respect.

Abstract

This article reviews the work of significant humanities and social science scholars for their thoughts and theories about advertising's social and cultural consequences. In brief, they view advertising as instrusive and environmental and its effects as inescapable and profound. They see it as reinforcing materialism, cynicism, irrationality, selfishness, anxiety, social competitiveness, sexual preoccupation, powerlessness, and/or a loss of self-respect. Drawing heavily on original sources, these ideas are synthesized into a framework that structures advertising's supposed effects and causalities. Also discussed are the problems and prospects for needed research and the moral imperative for this research.