The Modern Need for Advertising Literacy and Transparency

David Ogilvy makes many cases for the necessity of advertising, for example, acting as a subsidy for informational platforms or a guarantee of quality. But advertising is no longer what it used to be. Rather than appearing in the form of a billboard or a brief break in a radio show, it now pervades nearly every space we interact with in daily life, especially our technological lives. Hyper-targeted advertising as a result of internet data-tracking and cookies infringes on our privacy. Social media provides a new series of platforms for corporations to both advertise and collect data on users. Regulations must be enforced to keep advertisements from further encroaching on our thoughts and behaviors. I propose we aim to enhance advertising literacy and promote corporate transparency.

Advertisements are already regulated to a degree in the United States. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) oversees advertisements and has a set of rules in place, stating that ads cannot be fraudulent or deceptive. Advertising to children under 13 is strictly regulated under COPPA. Ads for particular products are banned as well, such as cigarettes on television or other media overseen by the FCC. However, these regulations are insufficient in the new era of increasingly encroaching and pervasive advertising tactics. To truly protect consumers and promote a healthier advertising landscape, we must explore new approaches to address the evolving nature of advertising.

Advertising Literacy

The First Amendment limits governmental organizations from making extensive regulations concerning advertising practices. Therefore, much responsibility falls on the consumer. Promoting media/digital literacy, or more specifically, advertising literacy, is an important step in ensuring a regulated marketing environment. Also, building from the consumer up is what will actually give companies the motivation to change. An ad-literate consumer will ideally demand data transparency.

According to Malmelin, advertising literacy hinges on four core tenets: informational, aesthetic/visual, rhetorical, and promotional.

Informational literacy involves “assessing the credibility and validity of information” one encounters in advertisements (133). It also encapsulates discerning ads from non-ads, especially in the case of native advertising, for example.

Aesthetic literacy “refers to interpreting and understanding advertisements as a source of aesthetic pleasure and entertainment. One aspect of advertising literacy is thus the ability to use the media for personal needs, such as relaxation or seeking out new experiences”. In the last fifty years, the aesthetic dimension of advertisements has taken hold over the rhetorical or promotional components (134). Fully interpreting an ad requires viewers to have an understanding of the complexities of visual reference an advertiser may be alluding to or showcasing. It is primarily due to this part of advertising that one may partake in activities like ‘watching the Super Bowl just for the ads’ or flipping through an ad-heavy travel magazine.

Rhetorical literacy can be defined as “the ability to understand different means and strategies of persuasion in advertising and marketing communications in general” (136). This has become a daunting task for older generations in recent years as many ads have taken on a more youthful vernacular or connotation as younger generations’ buying power increases. Rhetorical literacy also involves identifying an ad’s target audience and the “tones and visual expressions” dedicated to particular groups. As businesses continually adapt their persuasive strategies, consumers, in turn, must develop increasingly sophisticated literacy skills. This constant evolution of literacy then fuels an ever-intensifying competition for consumer attention.

Finally, promotional literacy “helps consumers weigh and evaluate the commercial forms, functions and objectives of the media in general” (136-137). This becomes increasingly important especially as promotional media becomes more diluted and less obvious—such as in the form of native advertising, influencer sponsorships, or guerilla marketing.

Packard argues that advertising agencies exploit our subconscious desires and vulnerabilities to manipulate purchasing decisions (3). Building up personal defenses in the form of media literacy, especially rhetorical literacy, gives the consumer a fighting chance against these large corporate entities focused on selling us their product, no matter the cost. Louis Cheskin, as quoted in Packard, states that the customer “generally acts emotionally and compulsively, unconsciously reacting to the images and designs which in the subconscious are associated with the product” (8). Encouraging buyers to make rational purchase decisions shaped by critical analytic thought instead would lead to a lessened impact of manipulative advertising practices and hopefully a more productive advertising sphere.

While most ads should be approached with some degree of skepticism, one particular example would be the recent rise in greenwashing. Especially in the fashion sector, many companies have introduced a new ‘sustainable’ line or product in an effort to compensate for their otherwise environmentally harmful practices. In 2021, Adidas released a redesign of their classic Stan Smith shoe that they marketed as made from “50% recycled materials” accompanied by an “End Plastic Waste” logo. A French Advertising Ethics Jury found the campaign to be in violation of their rule requiring ads be accurate and not misleading. They also require substantial evidence to back up sustainability claims, which Adidas did not have (“French Advertising Watchdog”).

Advertising literacy can act as a shield against false or overemphasized claims like those often employed in greenwashing. Discerning consumers, equipped with the knowledge to dissect marketing tactics, would hopefully not take unsubstantiated claims at face value. They would investigate further before making impulsive purchase decisions under the guise of a more sustainable choice. Some consumers may prefer to remain blissfully unaware, choosing to believe the narratives presented to them. But hopefully democratizing advertising literacy practices will mitigate this and encourage the majority of the consumer base to make better-informed and conscious purchasing decisions.

Another notorious example where consumers could have benefitted from advertising literacy is the Fyre Festival. The marketing was clearly aggressive, with some attendees spending up to $100,000 on tickets. A lot of the promotion hinged on endorsement from celebrities and influencers such as Bella Hadid, Emily Ratjakowski, and Kendall Jenner. They painted a feeling of exclusivity with videos of yachts and promises of exclusive parties (Baggs).

The social proof likely caused consumers to suspend critical judgment. Advertising literacy teaches us to question the motives behind endorsements. Are influencers and celebrities genuinely enthused about the product or experience, or are they simply being paid to promote it? Advertising literacy also encourages us to be wary of "fear of missing out" (FOMO) tactics. It reminds us to step back and assess whether a product or experience is genuinely valuable, regardless of its perceived exclusivity. Additionally, it encourages us to look for reviews or do extensive research, looking beyond glossy images and promises. Making advertising literacy easily accessible, if not required in some regard, will help create a more aware citizenry and hopefully reduce catastrophes like Fyre Fest.

Some ideas for ways we could implement advertising literacy education include incorporating it into school curricula, public awareness campaigns, and “workshops and seminars tailored to specific age groups and demographics” (“What are ideas”).

In schools, students already learn concepts such as rhetorical persuasion techniques, archetypes (target markets), and argumentative writing. Rather than letting these topics stand alone in lesson plans, educators could tie in advertising and media themes, allowing pupils to see the application of these concepts on a broader scale. If advertising literacy were to stand as a separate lesson, it could involve kids deconstructing ads, creating their own, or participating in simulated marketing campaigns (“What are ideas”).

Outside the educational system, public service announcements (PSAs) could reinforce messaging and reach broader audiences. Publishing announcements on a variety of platforms, especially in places where ads are frequently run, will ensure enough people see them. They could bring awareness to advertising tactics and encourage critical thinking while highlighting the impacts the ad industry has on consumer behavior and individual purchase decisions (“What are ideas”). They need to be engaging and personal enough so viewers feel like it applies to them, and do not merely ignore it assuming they are above advertisers' methods.

Lastly, workshops and seminars tailored to specific age groups and demographics would likely be the best approach for older generations. They could teach subjects similar to what students learn in school and go more in-depth than PSAs. These sessions could point out what digital natives already know, but digital immigrants tend to overlook (Prensky). Showing how to differentiate between authentic and paid content, or looking out for obvious scams could be largely beneficial in this segment.

Transparency

It is no secret that websites track data via cookies and use them to more accurately target users for advertisements. Google transparently allows users to see their “My Ad Center” to ostensibly control the types of ads they see and gain access to the information Google has collected on them. While the younger generation seems to be more at ease with data collection, the general consensus, especially in older age groups, is that this surveillance is an invasion of privacy. The deeper we get into the digital age, the more data there will be to collect and aggregate on users, allowing firms to hyper-individualize ads and products, making them harder to escape, ignore, or discount (Turow 7). Therefore, as we move forward, encouraging transparency from companies about their data collection and usage practices will be crucial in maintaining a healthy balance between personalization and privacy.

Aguirre proposes the idea of a “personalization-privacy paradox” that users face. Essentially, the paradox can be defined as how “personalization can…enhance…consumer engagement with the firm” but it can also “heighten privacy concerns because consumers worry about how their data are collected and used…. Thus, firms must use the information that they collect in a strategic manner to balance this personalization-privacy paradox” (Aguirre, Abstract). This fundamental tension defines the advertising industry in the modern era. We deem it unethical in many regards, yet still find it helpful—and in fact, even use it to help us construct our online identities and strengthen our sense of self.

John Cheny-Lippold introduced the concept of “algorithmic identity” in 2011. This is the idea that our online activities, from search history to social media interactions, are constantly being tracked and analyzed by algorithms to create a digital representation of who we are. This algorithmic identity then shapes the content we see, the products we are offered, and even the opportunities presented to us. It exemplifies the aforementioned paradox: on one hand, it allows for personalized experiences and targeted recommendations; on the other, it raises concerns about control, manipulation, and the potential for discrimination based on these algorithmically assigned profiles.

This datafied identity ties in with Turow’s “The Daily You”. It pigeonholes consumers and shapes not only their experience as a shopper but also their worldview. Turow argues that users consistently receiving ads reflecting a “lower-class status” like ads for used cars or “regional vacations” may have a narrower “sense of the world’s opportunities”, which can actualize in user’s lives in a variety of harmful ways, such as worrying “that you are falling behind in society’s estimation of your worth” (6). This can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, and lead consumers to have feelings of anxiety and inadequacy. Turow also asserts that targeted marketing is “performing a highly controversial form of social profiling and discrimination by customizing our media content on the basis of marketing reputations we don’t even know we have” (2). It can cultivate a feedback loop in which shoppers in lower socioeconomic classes are only shown, say, job postings for blue-collar jobs or predatory financial products, keeping them stuck in that level of society while wealthy citizens receive ads for Bentleys and brokerage firms.

This draws a parallel with Williams’ argument in Stand Out of Our Light, in which he states that our attention is currently facing a crisis of censorship (16). We are pushed so much hyper-personalized content that it restricts exposure to diverse viewpoints and ideas, advertisements or otherwise. A cyclical pattern often emerges in which individuals become increasingly isolated within their own informational spheres, reinforcing existing biases and hindering a comprehensive understanding of the world.

An example of the eerie nature of user tracking is its seemingly predictive capabilities. In 2012, Target mailed a teenage girl a booklet for baby coupons. Her father found it and demanded to speak to a manager, asserting they made a mistake, when in fact his daughter was pregnant. Target, in the previous years, had honed in its algorithms to look for signifiers a woman may be pregnant, such as an uptick in lotion purchases or specific supplements. They identified giving birth as a time in people’s lives when their consumer behavior and where they shop typically shifts, so they wanted to position themselves as a one-stop shop for new mothers. Since this incident, they have become more subtle with their coupon placement, and now mix them in with coupons for seemingly irrelevant items so it does not seem as personalized (Hill).

In many ways, this tracking is actually helpful. But revisiting the paradox, the excessive personalization makes us feel like we are being watched and surveilled by these corporations. Therefore, policies such as allowing users to ‘opt-in’ and making all the data collected clear and easy to find can reduce some of the unsettling feelings this may stir up. Additionally, businesses should focus on delivering genuine value through personalization, ensuring that the benefits outweigh any perceived privacy risks. Coupons are actually beneficial, as shoppers save money, whereas forty-five ads for the same dress a user clicked on one time a month ago, are less helpful, and may actually steer them in the opposite direction.

The Cambridge Analytica and Facebook data scandal serves as another cautionary tale about the potential misuse of targeted advertising and the critical need for data transparency. During the 2016 US presidential election, Cambridge Analytica harvested personal data from millions of Facebook users without their consent, often through seemingly innocent personality quizzes. This data was then used to create detailed psychological profiles, which were leveraged to deliver highly personalized political ads designed to manipulate voters' emotions and opinions (Confessore). Data would also highlight which issues were of importance to voters, and if they were supporters or swing voters. When a user went to look up information on the Iraq War, for instance, the recommended top search result would read “Hillary Voted For The Iraq War - Trump Opposed It” (Lewis and Hilder, para. 16). The microtargeting of these ads raised significant concerns about the ethics of such practices and their potential impact on democratic processes. In politics especially, this can create echo chambers, wherein citizens believe that most others share their views, when in fact they are just exposed to a disproportionate amount of content aligning with their leanings.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal exposed the lack of transparency around data collection and usage by advertisers, prompting calls for stricter regulations and increased user control over personal information. It also highlighted the importance of advertising literacy, particularly in the political arena, where manipulation can have far-reaching consequences. The scandal served as a reminder that the power of targeted advertising must be balanced with ethical considerations and transparency to protect individuals from manipulation and uphold the integrity of democratic discourse.

The actionable steps companies should take to promote digital transparency in the targeted advertising sphere include clear opt-in/out policies, consumer data control, accessible privacy policies, data minimization, and purpose limitation. Google does a good job at promoting (or at least feigning) transparency. Allowing users the opportunity to view exactly where their data ends up and using it only for essential purposes will mitigate the opacity of current practices. Granular data control would also make consumers feel more comfortable knowing they have some say over what is collected and analyzed (“Can you give”). Implementation could be done either through governmental policy, or perhaps in a more free-market way, if the general media-literate population called for it. Though the potential for performative transparency exists, these measures can generate a more empowered consumer base and promote better practices going forward.

As the advertising industry becomes ever more involved in our daily lives, on- and off-line, we need to encourage an informed population via advertising literacy education and data-use transparency. Ingraining generational ad literacy education through in-school lesson plans, PSAs, and workshops will increase consumers’ ability to critically examine advertisements and make more mindful purchasing decisions. Requiring corporate transparency in data-tracking practices would allow internet users more freedom and say over what advertisements they are exposed to, and ideally lessen the disparities that can result when users get placed into a targeted box. The field of marketing hinges on its manipulative, shady ability to encourage buyers to purchase items they do not need. Hopefully, as we dive deeper into the digital age, we strike a sustainable balance between a thriving economy and a critical consumer base.

Works Cited

Aguirre, Elizabeth, Et al. “The personalization-privacy paradox: implications for new media.” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2016, 33(2), 98-110. 10.1108/JCM-06-2015-1458. Accessed 12 May 2024.

Baggs, Michael. “Fyre Festival: Inside the world's biggest festival flop.” BBC, 17 January 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-46904445 . Accessed 12 May 2024.

“Can you give me some actual solutions to promote data transparency?” prompt. Gemini, 12 May version, Google, 12 May 2024, gemini.google.com/app .

Cheney-Lippold, John. “A New Algorithmic Identity: Soft Biopolitics and the Modulation of Control.” Theory, Culture & Society, 2011, 28(6), 164-181. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276411424420 . Accessed 12 May 2024.

“Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule ("COPPA").” Federal Trade Commission, https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule-coppa . Accessed 11 May 2024.

Confessore, Nicholas. “Cambridge Analytica and Facebook: The Scandal and the Fallout So Far (Published 2018).” The New York Times, 4 April 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-scandal-fallout.html . Accessed 12 May 2024.

“French Advertising Watchdog Finds that Adidas' Ad for "Recycled" Stan Smith Sneakers is Misleading.” The Fashion Law, 9 August 2021, https://www.thefashionlaw.com/french-advertising-watchdog-finds-that-adidas-ad-for-recycled-stan-smith-sneakers-is-misleading/ . Accessed 12 May 2024.

Hill, Kashmir. “How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did.” Forbes, 16 February 2012, https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/?sh=67ec378b6668 . Accessed 12 May 2024.

Lewis, Paul, and Paul Hilder. “Leaked: Cambridge Analytica's blueprint for Trump victory | Cambridge Analytica.” The Guardian, 24 March 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/23/leaked-cambridge-analyticas-blueprint-for-trump-victory . Accessed 12 May 2024.

“My Ad Center.” Google Ad Center, https://myadcenter.google.com/home?sasb=true&ref=ad-settings . Accessed 12 May 2024.

Ogilvy, David. Confessions of an Advertising Man. Atheneum, 1963. Accessed 8 May 2024.

Originals, adidas. “0:02 / 1:00 adidas Originals | End Plastic Waste | STAN SMITH, FOREVER.” YouTube, 23 March 2021, https://youtu.be/WCC0fh-zcSY?si=I4B8bDx23D7N7Yo8 . Accessed 12 May 2024.

Packard, Vance. The Hidden Persuaders. Penguin Books, 1974. Accessed 8 May 2024.

Prensky, Marc. "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1", On the Horizon, 2001, Vol. 9 No. 5, pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816 . Accessed 12 May 2024.

“Title 15, Chapter 36 - Cigarette Labeling and Advertising.” Federal Trade Commission, 1966, https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/statutes/federal-cigarette-labeling-advertising-act-1966/federal_cigarette_labeling_and_advertising_act_of_1966.pdf . Accessed 11 May 2024.

“Truth In Advertising.” Federal Trade Commission, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising . Accessed 11 May 2024.

Turow, Joseph. The Daily You: How the New Advertising Industry Is Defining Your Identity and Your Worth. Yale University Press, 2012. Accessed 12 May 2024.

"What are ideas to promote more advertising literacy?" prompt. Gemini, 11 May version, Google, 11 May 2024, gemini.google.com/app .

Williams, James. "The Age of Attention." Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy. Cambridge University Press, 2018. 14-16