Can advertising tell about a country
Advertising plays an important role in modern society. Advertisements covering every aspect of social life can tell a lot about a country by the marriage of substantial information and colorful expressive forms. Although many disagree with the title statement, I believe that we can learn a lot about a country’s economy, culture and beauty spots simply by advertising.
Advertising offers a great amount of economic information about a country. Take commercial advertisements for example, they unveil many direct and useful economic messages: major commodities, service level, living conditions, and so on. Undoubtedly, politicians, businessmen and citizens will all take advantage of these helpful advertisements.
Advertising also reveals greatly distinctive traditional culture about a country. It can easily be attained by observing advertisements associated to art, literature, custom, and social ritual, which have been deeply rooted in a country’s unique history. For example, advertisements for some articles used in a Chinese wedding reflect their way of thinking, an appreciation of harmony, and a peculiar taste for wedding clothes. Advertisements of those kinds can thus show plenty of cultural heritages boasted in a country.
Furthermore, advertising helps people learn more about a country’s beautiful scenery. Advertisements about travel serve this purpose perfectly. Information and knowledge about various resorts might be obtained by happening to see a photo advertisement posted on a wall by some travel agency. Advertisements on television, on the contrary, frequently provide us many opportunities to watch all kinds of unusual beautiful places we may never have thought of before.
All the above evidence supports the undeniable fact that advertising can tell a lot about a country. I must admit, however, some advertisements become more or less homogenous around the world due to the tendency of globalization. Some even fail to signify any special characteristics that are essential for a country when they need to do so. But all in all, no one can ignore the abundant and useful information about a country afforded by advertising.
