Commercialism is defined as the tendency within capitalism to try to turn everything in life into objects and services that are sold for the purpose of generating profit. Commercialism has not only taken over our televisions, but it has also taken over just about every part of our daily lives; from public restrooms to schools, from sidewalk to churches, and there are even ads on eggshells. Americans, in today’s society, are so into their materialistic possessions that they sometimes miss the world passing by them. As James B. Twitchell stated, “We buy things, we like to exchange things. We steal things. We donate things. We live through things.” (471) Over the past fifty years, commercialism has slowly taken over our lives and our society. From ads targeted at promoting teen drinking and smoking, to fast food ads promoting obesity, commercialism has become a national problem in dire need of a solution.
Although not all commercialism is bad, a good deal of it is not being presented in the right way or to the right people. A few years ago, there were many ads with a cartoon camel smoking a Camel brand cigarette. Children and teens who saw this thought that smoking was the cool thing to do and wanted to try it simply because of this one ad. The people who created the ad knowing did so trying to entice children to start smoking at an early age. They people from the cigarette companies also placed the ads in such a way that they would be easily seen by the children that they were targeting. They knew that if children started smoking early, it would be much harder for then to stop once they realized the hazards of smoking. Alcohol producers also develop ads in a similar way to cigarette companies; they create ads targeted at teens and children, and place them in such places that their target audience would be able to see them very clearly.
Not only are ads targeted at audiences they should not be targeted at, but also they are everywhere, which is another great problem. Ads have become very intrusive into our daily lives. As written by Vincent P. Bzdek of the Washington Post, “…Americans are exposed to as many as 2,000 commercials messages a day, and that children see 30,000 commercials a year.” When these numbers are calculated, the average American will see up to 730,000 commercial messages in a single year. This is a clear example of how people can have the world around them pass them by. Americans are so consumed by ads that they sometimes miss many important things in their lives.
Acknowledging that there is a problem with commercialism is simple enough, but finding a solution to this problem is a different story. One possible solution to this entire mess would be to limit the ability to reach certain targeted audiences. An example of this would not to have certain graphic commercials on certain channel. If there is a channel that is based on children’s programming, there should be no advertising that is not suitable for children to watch. Another way to limit the target audiences ability to view unsuitable advertising is to not allow graphic or violent commercials at certain times of the day when children are more likely to be watching these commercials. If it is absolutely necessary for there to be improper advertising, then it should be on when children are in bed and are not able to watch such things.