Several studies have been conducted to find out people's attitude towards advertisements. Unsurprisingly most of the results reveal a mild to extreme negativity towards advertisements. What if the advertising industry were to take immediate action henceforth and stop making advertisements as of today? Marketing executives value their customers and their customers value their favorite brands. However, as research shows a growing negativity toward the ad industry, a world without advertisements could become desirable.
An alarm rings to wake you up, the television switches on and programs stream past without a single disruptive advertisement. The newspaper lies open on the kitchen table brimming with articles line to line, devoid of the advertisements that provoke such a strong irritation within you. No more discounts, no more coupons, just pure media content. This is good news for the millions of banner blinds. There will be no more banner and display ads suggesting brands you might need as if the ad industry knew what you were in need of.
Each time you enter a store the products on the shelves are unfamiliar and the shopping is selected according to need. With certain super premium brands, sharing your experience with your social peers will be totally up to you in order for you to gain recognition which comes with the particular brand after it was purchased since there won't be any ads navigating you to any aspiration sphere as they used to.
Consumers and customers will be empowered to make their own choices without being manipulated by unnecessary ads. Your mobile will no longer have any display ads, and your laptop screens can be crystal clear: no more buzzing images, no more suggestions, no more desperately shaking tags and images screaming, "Buy me!" Social media will allow you to have a frank discussion about brands, and your choice of purchase can purely be based on your peer's recommendation or your own choice. YouTube will finally stop all the irritating pre-rolls, so you won't have to skip your purely hated ad and then watch a truly touching commercial which had over 50 million hits within a week, since advertising is bad. You will be healthier as you'd have to walk down to the store and find out if there are any items on sale since your mailbox will no longer be filled with product catalogs.
Oh, and the streets will only have names and traffic signs -- no more disturbing billboards and giant posters of creatively done but disturbing images. Broadway and Trafalgar Square will finally have no neon signs advertising various brands and will only feature non-commercial information people truly want. Finally, shoppers will be able to decide where to shop and what to buy in a clean undisturbed, commercial-free universe.
I don't know if it is just me, but I think the lack of advertisements, good or bad, can trigger chaos and social disturbance, since they serve as navigation points that we may or may not want to accept. As such, the challenge is to imagine what all those empowered customers will do when they are free from ads. Just think about it.
Enjoy your Christmas shopping.