What would happen if any form of advertising was suddenly declared illegal?
In:
Hard to imagine. “Any” would probably include things like a product catalog. Or a hand-written “We serve home-made pancakes for breakfast” on the door of a family owned cafe. Or the cafe’s sign, even.
At some point this starts becoming a hindrance, because you certainly want to know where you can have breakfast and what they sell.
But banning billboards and TV ads would certainly be possible. I suppose there’d be far less impulse purchases, and companies would try to work around it by getting their customers to spread the news for them in various ways.
The world would be better for it. People would lose jobs, yes but I think that’s the only down side.
The goods in my eye are the redirection of the resources to make them and the reduction of their invasive nature on everyone’s lives.
Imagine though, the amount of people dedicated to the research of selling products and what they could be do if they focused on feedback and human relations. I imagine more products with longer lives and better uses.
In 2 states billboards s are illegal. Hawaii and Vermont?
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TV and going to the movies would get more expensive. Google and Facebook (and anything free online) would cease to be free. Smart TVs would cost a lot more. Anything that is supported or subsidized by ads changes to a real, direct cost to the end user.
Medications would get much cheaper. Anything that uses lots of ads to get sold gets cheaper and more targeted in sales.
Services and products that heavily rely on ads to influence and reach markets have to completely shift their model. I’m thinking of insurance, lawyers, fast food, drinks, junk food, etc., all have to move to a much more word of mouth model. Loopholes will be found to exploit this to the maximum with social media influences and celebrities.
It’s simple to presume all those in marketing would be out of jobs, but I don’t think that would be entirely true. Marketers and designers would shift efforts from creating and placing ads into making the product or service more appealing and something people will talk about and recommend.
Marketing concepts like “top of funnel” become less relevant. Concepts of “beacons”, “sparks”, and “viral” get way more relevant and scientific.
That would be the end of free tv. It’s all paid for by commercials. Same with YouTube. You’re going to have to start paying a lot for entertainment
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