Some of the most creative people on the planet are in advertising. I especially like the Super Bowl ads each year. I regard it as just another form of entertainment. Am I being manipulated? Probably. But I'm not conscious of actively buying a good or a service purely based on the advertisement. Of course, everyone thinks that... So, to answer your question, I do not find advertising immoral.

If psychology was taught from primary school, then I'd agree in "Buyer Beware", however it ain't. Starting from simple mirror neurons to basically, mind control, advertising is psychology.

Of course!

Me: Immoral, the dishonesty is what really gets to me though, not the little stuff.

Also Me: Hides the axe body wash.

Advertising is necessary to the extent that it informs consumers of an available product or service. It has evolved into a different animal altogether. The deceitful manipulation you describe is the norm. It not only preys on insecurities, it works on creating them. The worst of the lot? Advertising prescription drugs to the general public. "Ask your doctor..." Again, the aim is to create a "need" in someone's life without regard for safety, let alone ethics. The FDA, charged with public safety related to pharmaceuticals, is staffed largely by executives from the industry. The monster into which advertising has grown is the ugliest manifestation of capitalism.

OK, this is out of my book Saving Gaia coming out soon. The book is about saving the planet from devestaton brought on by humans, technology and uncontrolled consumption. Advertisers and marketers use the same methods as hardcorp Nazis coming to power before WWII. The brains behind the propaganda was the best educated of the junta, Joseph Goebells, with a Ph.D. in philosophy. His most famous line which everybody knows is: Repeat and repeat a message until it's believed without thinking. This is why marketers repeat the same TV commercial over and over. They don't care how many times you've seen the stupid bullhit. It's reminescent of brat kids nagging their mothers until she eventually gives in and buys the unneeded stuff.
But Goebells' other maxim is much less known: The most effective propaganda is best disguised as entertainment. This is what really pisses me off about TV marketers. Look at all the stupid fake animals, animatrons and phony cartoons that somehow talk more effectively than a boring annoucer/pitchman and get you to buy the bullship stuff. Goebbels was an evil bastard and he's the marketing man's mentor.

Mostly just obnixious.

Take a boat ride a few miles out in the ocean. Take some sort of underwater camera device and you'll see tons and tons of garbage, mostly nonbiodegranable plastic. There are millions and millions of tons of it. I blame the advertisers for this. They're using modern technology to induce people to buy and use up stuff they don't need—disposible razor blades, for instance.

Advertising is a part of doing business. Honest services or products use informative advertising to let you know that they are available, how they work and what they can be useful to you for. Dishonest advertising is immoral. Pressure tactics, false claims and scams use advertising to bilk the unsuspecting out of their money.

Initially I was dead against advertising, but then I realised just how hungry I was, and as we all know, you're not you when you're hungry.

I like this one on If Fast Food Commercials Were Honest:

You already know the anwser

False or misledign advertising, at lest in my mind, is immoral.

Immoral yet legal. What a society! Fluff. It's psychology and it can sway an entire society. It's why governments use propaganda.

It is said that the best career path is in anthropology. Businesses hire anthropologists to help them target their products to customers. I think some form of advertising has been around for millenia (the pyramids were probably built to send a message). With our huge population and need for lots of jobs it is more and more difficult for one idea/item to stand out hence more stealth advertising. Snake-oil sales are definately immoral. Here is a fun group that has been around a long time. [adbusters.org]

In general no it's not immoral to get a product or service some publicity. Successful business doesn't absolutely depend on it, but it helps. Word of mouth has always been the most honest form of advertising, but not the most effective.

The immorality comes into play when using tactics of fear, rejection, or flat out lies to sell a product. The advertising market has always been polluted with people who don't mind selling a lie or a scam to turn that extra dollar. Tactics advertising is based on pure greed.

A company with a conscience should be able to advertise their product in a way that is truthful. A simple cut and dry "this is what it is and how it works", if you will.

I haven't watched tv commercials in years.(DVR) And if I do want to watch a tv show live.A hour show has 20 mins of commercials,a half hour show 10 mins. worth,so I just pause that amount of time and fast foward through commercials...

I do not mind that they advertise but when they show the same add tern times in a row every day i wow to never use it.

I quit watching TV 2 years ago. It changes your view of a lot of things when you disconnect from the manipulative brainwashing that comes from TV. The media tries to tell you everything from what kind of soda will make you cool to what kind of person you should be attracted to, They try to shape your opinion about everything, what kind of car you should have or how many. They rarely state any logical reason why one is better than the other. Just put a half naked model next to a Budweiser and damn I've been drinking the wrong beer. It's all very manipulative and wrong. It goes a lot farther than advertising too.

If it is based on societal norms.... society is well aware of decptive advertising, is that normal? Is the advertising harmful in any way? Is the advertisement immoral or is the person who made the ad immoral? Can ads bed deceptive, sure, are all deceptions immoral, no. Just some things to think about.

As a rule, I do not believe advertising is immoral. Are there some unethical companies? Yes. Do they employ questionable tactics in advertising sometimes? Yes. However, the industry is regulated and advertisers may not make false claims about products. Obviously, they often IMPLY some fantastic things about their products, but as has already been mentioned here, the choice is ultimately the consumer's. No one forces you to buy anything. Thank goodness we live in a country where we actually HAVE the choice to buy one product over another based on its own merits. Sometimes we have to do our own due-diligence as customers and that can be a pain. But immoral? I don't think so.

Yes it's immoral. It's possible and legitimate to simply make people aware of what you're selling and the REAL benefits of the product. It's another one entirely to create irrational desires for things people didn't even know they needed (which generally amounts to making them think they need things they actually don't).

It's immoral because most people don't see or understand the manipulation (another way terminal skepticism serves me well). It stands out so prominently to me that I get angry. For example, I love motorcycles and their ads are just fucked! All I want is clear shots of the bike and specs. What I get is goofy looking hipsters riding to coffee shops. It's like this with just about all ads. This bullshit lifestyle bandwagon ads. Rant over. Yes, it's immoral and I hate 99% of all ads I see or hear.

A resounding "yes." Businesses use allowable tactics, and it makes them money. Is it good for business owners? Yes! Is it good for human nature? No!

Ninety-three percent of communication is through body language, and Albert Mehrabian's study has shown that if there is ambiguity between our words and our body language, we subconsciously believe body language. Politicians (and lawyers) now are schooled in body language (watch Secrets of Body Language), and it's not far to the next step for those in power to manipulate words and body language to fool masses of people to their own end. That will happen, because capitalism creates competition, but it also creates greed. It is greed that contributes to the downfall of our society.

I refuse to watch adverts, avoid whenever I can.