Senseless Censoring in Advertising
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SENSELESS CENSORING OF ADVERTISEMENTS
Advertisements are promotional tools used by any organization to spread awareness about their products. Censoring is done to maintain the quality of the advertisements. It is expected that companies would adhere by the cultural and ethical value of the society they are showcasing the advertisement in. It is when the advertisements cross an arbitrary line that censoring is required. It happens at times that an advertisement is offensive to a culture, class or gender. This is when the censoring plays an extremely important role in preventing companies from toeing the line and having a negative influence on society. But the censoring has to be judicious and has to keep in mind the progressive mindset of people of this day and age. These days it is often seen that censoring is done by whims and fancies of the concerned people. Censoring should not just be used as a tool to wield unrequited power and influence. It is often seen in advertisements that swear words are censored despite them being aired at non- prime times. It is absurd that such censoring be done today where such language can be heard in a common man’s language. There was an advertisement by United Colors of Benetton of world leaders kissing each other as a symbol of love and connect in an endeavour to bring all the people of this world together. This advertisement campaign had pictures of Barack Obama kissing Hugo Chavez and Hu Jintao. The reaction to this advertisement by the American government was so dismissive that the campaign was immediately withdrawn. It was important to look into the message conveyed instead of the specifics. Another interesting phenomenon pertaining to censorship is the Streisand Effect whereby strategies employed in hiding or censoring a product/advertisement/information often backfire and; on the contrary, lead to its unintended publicity. This is named after Barbara Streisand, whose attempts at suppressing the photographs of her house in Malibu,California in turn led to more publicity of those photos. So, at times senselessly censoring might eventually result in that particular advertisement going viral. Facebook went one step in their latest example of senseless censoring. Nirvana in celebrating the twentieth century of their platinum album Nevermind put up the original album cover of the album on their official Facebook account. The album cover featured a three-month-old something toddler swimming naked in the pool; a sight that parents of these new-borns see every day. However the photo was taken down and the account was sent a notice by Facebook. It stated, "Facebook does not allow photos that attack an individual or group, or that contain nudity, drug use, violence or other violations of the Terms of Use”. It is as if Facebook is trying to tell the future parents that the life changing moment when they would first see their new born would be completely offensive. Even though the policy is in the right place it is the execution which must be checked. This is why senseless censoring should be avoided.
Advertisements are promotional tools used by any organization to spread awareness about their products. Censoring is done to maintain the quality of the advertisements. It is expected that companies would adhere by the cultural and ethical value of the society they are showcasing the advertisement in. It is when the advertisements cross an arbitrary line that censoring is required. It happens at times that an advertisement is offensive to a culture, class or gender. This is when the censoring plays an extremely important role in preventing companies from toeing the line and having a negative influence on society. But the censoring has to be judicious and has to keep in mind the progressive mindset of people of this day and age. These days it is often seen that censoring is done by whims and fancies of the concerned people. Censoring should not just be used as a tool to wield unrequited power and influence. It is often seen in advertisements that swear words are censored despite them being aired at non- prime times. It is absurd that such censoring be done today where such language can be heard in a common man’s language. There was an advertisement by United Colors of Benetton of world leaders kissing each other as a symbol of love and connect in an endeavour to bring all the people of this world together. This advertisement campaign had pictures of Barack Obama kissing Hugo Chavez and Hu Jintao. The reaction to this advertisement by the American government was so dismissive that the campaign was immediately withdrawn. It was important to look into the message conveyed instead of the specifics. Another interesting phenomenon pertaining to censorship is the Streisand Effect whereby strategies employed in hiding or censoring a product/advertisement/information often backfire and; on the contrary, lead to its unintended publicity. This is named after Barbara Streisand, whose attempts at suppressing the photographs of her house in Malibu,California in turn led to more publicity of those photos. So, at times senselessly censoring might eventually result in that particular advertisement going viral. Facebook went one step in their latest example of senseless censoring. Nirvana in celebrating the twentieth century of their platinum album Nevermind put up the original album cover of the album on their official Facebook account. The album cover featured a three-month-old something toddler swimming naked in the pool; a sight that parents of these new-borns see every day. However the photo was taken down and the account was sent a notice by Facebook. It stated, "Facebook does not allow photos that attack an individual or group, or that contain nudity, drug use, violence or other violations of the Terms of Use”. It is as if Facebook is trying to tell the future parents that the life changing moment when they would first see their new born would be completely offensive. Even though the policy is in the right place it is the execution which must be checked. This is why senseless censoring should be avoided.
