Unethical Advertising

Advertising agencies are starting to let anything go when it comes to promoting their product, even if it involves doing things that they know they really don't approve of. For example, they are starting to make kids games, such as life and monopoly,come with credit cards instead of cash so that they can learn the brand at a young age. To me, this is wrong. I feel like if they are going to have credit cards in the game they should teach them about a credit card. They should have finance charges, and interest and payments so that the kids can learn how to actually use one. Cash on the other hand taught kids how to count money and the value of it, knowing how to only buy things that you actually had the money for. Also that is just wrong to think about branding the cards in the kids heads so that they would want one when they get older.
Another example of advertising going against ethics is a lot of the weight loss commercials. They are very untruthful and manipulative. They never really tell you all the side effects such as when you quit taking the pill you gain weight faster, and they are bad for your heart. Also they make it seem like all you have to do is take their product. You really have to exercise along with the product to get good results.
Another thing that I think that the advertising companies do that is very unethical is the way they advertise prescription drugs. They make the commercials seem like the pill they are trying to sell will solve all your problems with some side effects. They don't necessarily tell you that this certain anti depressant will make you severely depressed when you try to get off of the medicine. Also I feel like now a days everyone is prescribed some kind of anxiety, depression, or other kind of medicine. There aren't any commercials showing the negative part of the medicine. For example, one of my close friends has recently went to a psychologist and she has put her on praxyl for anti depression. I feel like now a days doctors are prescribing more and more anti depressants for everyone. They make it seem like everyone needs to get on prescriptions to help get over depression. This is not the case, those meds actually make people more depressed in the long term and while they are on the medicine it alters their personality. An example is this praxyl that she has been prescribed, when she gets off of it it will make her severely depressed and she actually has to go through lower doces before she can just get off the medicine. They didnt mention these side effects before they prescribed her the medicine and until she started taking it. Also the ADD commercials make everyone feel like they have ADD. The commercial where they man lays in bed at night and thinks about all the stuff he has to do or what he did that day and cant sleep, is false advertisement. Just because you lay at night and think about everything you need to, does not make you ADD, it is just a simple part of being human, everyone does it, but it does not mean you need to be put on a medication to help with it. I think there should be more commercials talking about the side effects of the pills, and not just the nausea, upset stomach and other side effects like this, but the real side effects, such as your body becomes dependent on the pills even if you really don't need them, and how hard it is to get off of them once you start taking them.