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Johan Franco
Emerald Christopher
Women's & Gender Studies
4/22/25
The Need To Regulate Advertisements
In the world of contemporary media, advertisements are everywhere and have an impact
on our decisions, attitudes, and actions. Advertising can influence cultural standards and personal
health outcomes, even though it is an essential tool for businesses to reach consumers. Our team
was given the responsibility of discussing the question, “Should advertisements be regulated?” in
light of this dichotomy. I support promoting regulation. I looked through popular media
platforms to find advertisements that emphasize the need for supervision, to support our
argument.
At first, I took a neutral approach to advertising, recognizing both the advantages and
possible drawbacks of advertising. But the more research I did, the more I realized that some
advertising strategies were harmful, especially to vulnerable groups like children. This
strengthened my opinion, making me realize that to protect the public's health and welfare,
advertisements should be regulated. As the team member in charge of finding ads that
emphasized our argument for regulation, I concentrated on finding actual cases that demonstrated
the adverse effects of uncontrolled advertising. I focused on three topics: how advertising affects
eating habits and body image, the effectiveness of policy solutions, and the broader public health
implications. ​
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The significant effect of advertising on people's views of their bodies and eating patterns
was one of the most striking findings. Popular critic Jean Kilbourne highlights how ads related to
food and body image create a “toxic environment” that alters our perceptions of ourselves and
our connection with food. These commercials often promote unhealthy eating habits and
unattainable beauty standards, which can result in a variety of problems, including disordered
eating and long-term body dissatisfaction. These revelations emphasize the need for legislative
action to mitigate these negative consequences.
I looked at London's effort in 2019 when they made an effort to ban marketing for meals
high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) on its public transportation systems to investigate policy
reactions. By limiting exposure to advertisements for unhealthy foods, this policy seeks to curb
the rising incidence of childhood obesity. Public health groups, Transport for London, and the
Greater London Authority had to work together to implement the strategy. The goal of the ban
was to promote healthier eating habits and better nutrition choices among locals by reducing the
availability of high-fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) items. I looked at research analyzing the results of
London's advertising ban to determine the effect of these regulations. Research showed that
when the policy was put into place, households bought fewer high-calorie items, resulting in a
considerable decrease in the purchase of unhealthy meals. These results suggest that laws
governing advertising can effectively influence consumer behavior and improve public health
outcomes. Such data supports the claim that carefully regulating advertising can have real
advantages.
My personal opinion on advertising regulation was significantly impacted by the research
I did. It mostly came from the Nike women's Ad, which propelled the message that women could
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do anything they put their mind to. Nike did this by using female athletes to put together a video
saying they could overcome any obstacles. This type of advertising is impactful to the youth, and
seeing some of their favorite athletes can really make a difference and empower everyone. The
ethical need to put controls in place was brought home by seeing the real harms that some
advertising methods create, especially to vulnerable groups like children and teenagers. The
practicality and value of regulatory strategies were proven by the success of policy interventions,
such as London's advertising ban. As a result, I went from being an unbiased observer to
supporting advertising regulation because I saw how important it is for advertising public health
and special well-being.
The research I have done on the impact of advertising on social norms and individual
health habits, along with examining effective regulatory measures, emphasizes the need to
regulate advertising. What I was able to find gave me a deeper understanding, allowing me to
personally connect with some of the struggles people have faced with false advertising. For
example, I once bought a Spider-Man web shooter because the commercial showed that it
worked and actually shot webs, but when I got it, I instantly realized it was no good, and the
webs were fake. I find it very scary how believable false advertising can be, and just because you
don't get influenced doesn't mean you can't one day. While we know it can be extremely
dangerous for teens and children, we must realize how dangerous it can be for the elderly. Often,
the elderly watch TV and see advertisements that are influencing them to take a particular pill,
for example, viagra or even “tuberculosis” pills that are generally not healthy for these people.
At the end of the advertisement, they explain all the possible side effects of the drug, but do it in
a high-speed voice, which doesn't allow you to process the information or hear it all. As we
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know, elders might already be challenged with limitations, and they might not even catch the fast
voice explaining the side effects. If anyone you know has ever fallen victim to a false
advertisement and it made them realize the danger, you understand the need to advocate for ad
regulations. There will be a day when you see an advertisement and criticize it for being
misleading.