Abstract:
Marketing is a universal management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer
requirements profitably. Advertising is used as the core of marketing in the present context.
This paper focused on the topic that the advertising as information or manipulation and proving
the fact that the modern advertising techniques are manipulative. The topic has narrowed down
to sub topics such as advertising, the importance, characteristics, advantages and disadvantages,
the highest advertising investments and the ethical aspects. The paper has collected qualitative
and quantitative data; primary sources including the views of experts, interview sessions,
observations and the secondary sources through the measurements of advertising growth. The
modern advertising methods has restricted the freedom of choice of consumers by the power of
manipulative advertising. The psychological techniques are being used including creating a
subconscious motivation via conveying a subliminal message, creating perception through
selective attention, selective distortion, selective retention and priming. The learning techniques
are being persuaded through repetition including operant conditioning through positive
reinforcement, classical conditioning through celebrities and brand ambassadors. The consumer
behavior is influenced in related with AIDA concept &PLC through psychological
manipulation and emotional appeal. The purpose of this paper is aware the target audience to
realize the techniques of manipulative advertising by their free choice of decision making. The
customer has to choose the best product or the service through realizing the disadvantages it
can cause to the community and avoid the influence of harmful products and services. The
unethical manipulative advertising will effect physically, financially and socially. The
mechanism of investment in advertising and the impact of economic growth will be discussed.
The ethical aspects of manipulative advertising depends on the service or the product and relies
on the theme of the company. The customer should realize the product or service which is
harmless to him by differentiating its’ value to the society. Manipulative advertising is not
unethical but it depends on the factor which the product is harmful or harmless to the society.
