Does advertising influence people?

Today we are influenced by some adverts which are shown on TV. However, this is not the only way that they influence us. Modern films and TV shows also do it thanks to an advertising technique called “product placement”.

For example, I usually watch a TV series which is about an ordinary family. The teenagers use stylish brand clothes and the latest laptop computers and mobile phones. This automatically makes us want to buy the products we see on screen no matter if they are expensive or not.

Product placement is a multi-million dollar industry. Currently, films show so many products that the actors look like salesmen. Companies pay millions of dollars for their products to appear in the latest films, but it doesn’t appear to affect the viewers’ experience and opinion about the plot or the characters.

Summing up, this phenomenon is happening more and more and audiences seem to accept it. In addition, they think that showing good products as luxury and designer brands means popularity, whereas they don’t give so much importance to other more important aspects of the film or the TV show.