Government Intervention in Advertising; Where is the Line Drawn?

When it comes to advertising, we naturally think of commercials, social media posts, announcements on the radio, and catalogs from our favorite stores. The purpose of advertising is for a company or organization to show off their products, the great benefits and fun that can be had with their products, but what about the consequences? The resulting illnesses and bodily effects smoking has on an individual, the horrifying danger of a gun in a household with a child, or the painful and debilitating addictions associated with alcohol and gambling. The real question is, who draws the line, and where?

Advertisements are intrinsically valuable to society, as it is one of the most impactful aspects of the modern era. Advertisements shape our view of products around us and thus the view of companies and organizations worldwide. Without advertisements and marketing, it would be nearly impossible for companies to grow naturally and would alter the world around us drastically. Obviously, there are some things that can't be said in advertisements, as well as things that shape our opinions about these companies, but who decides where the lines are drawn? To a certain extent, the companies themselves must be held responsible for safety concerns, use of illicit language, and assure that all claims that are made are true. Although some companies would not care, as humans we know that children should not be playing with fire, or certain chemicals, or weapons of any shape. It is the responsibility of these international companies to assure safe practices are used in the case that their products are potentially harmful to children or humans. A dilemma in these types of situations tends to arise, if companies must post warning labels, not use their desired language, or to overall be limited in what they can use to advertise their products, they will tend to not sell as many products. This lack of sales or decreasing of sales due to advertising laws and regulations is not necessary loved by these companies.

Advertising is something that needs to be regulated. Government intervention into the businesses specifically in The United States of America has been an ideal that has been fought for and against since the founding of our nation. The main concept of advertising is to reach as many people as possible and interest them in a product. Thus, why it makes the most sense for regulations for advertising to be set by the federal government, as to assure that advertising does not differ drastically from state to state. Although many states have very different views on politics, weapons, and various other products, it is in the countries best interest that these advertising regulations are handled by the federal government. Due to this control, the government would be able to create different levels of protection for things that can be said and shown in advertisements, in effort to fairly allow for companies to advertise their products. Also assuring that these companies report the potential dangers associate with their products, as well as assure that they do not speak in any way that would hurt the reputation of other companies.