How can Judging and evaluating advertisements requires critical thinking because?

Answer 1

It is unclear what the asker means by the wording. Advertisers try to get people caught up in their emotions and to suspend their logic and critical thinking. Many people do things in the heat of the moment that they won't ordinarily do, so if you can get someone in that frame of mind, you can persuade them to buy, support, or do almost anything. That is what the Nazi Party did. They used Propaganda to get people to eventually commit atrocious acts.

Now, if you can keep the agenda in mind, the advertisement loses its power. If you have children who wants every advertised toy, one way to reduce that is to teach them why there are advertisements. Advertisements exist to get you to buy their product or service and to convince you that you need it. Tell them that the advertisers want to make them feel left out and excluded because they don't wear or own a particular item. Show them that advertisers want to control their minds, and get them to see how being controlled by a group makes you feel bad.

Some of the critical thinking would involve asking oneself what the advertiser wants you to do and who it will benefit. It would involve asking yourself what they want you to believe. For instance, a tooth product company might want you to believe your teeth are not white enough, make you hate yourself or others who have "yellow teeth," or get society to hate you to extort you into buying their product and then prove to you how much you need their product (according to their agenda). If there is a political ad, they might say nasty things about their opponent or spin their good qualities into something bad. So then you should research the other guy to see if the things said are true. You should read things from the other point of view and directly from the source, and not merely from the media or the critics.

You'd also have to look at any extremist language, catastrophic thinking or sensationalizing. For instance, there is a lot of talk about a "war on Christmas." When those in the media are saying that, you'd have to ask yourself if it is really a "war" against the holiday, or merely competition from other holidays. Saying Happy Hanukkah is not saying you hate people who celebrate Christmas or seeking to eliminate the holiday. So pushing for the recognition of other people and holidays is not intended as an attack on what most others believe.

Or you can apply this to the news. If you see a high profile "racist killing," there are important things to ask. The first is if you have all of the information available. For instance, take the Rodney King beating. The new sources first showed only an edited version that only showed the beating, with no context given. The left out the previous 3 minutes of the high speed chase and the fact that he was under the influence of street drugs which can cause aggression. Maybe the police were a bit too aggressive, but the media left out a lot of information which would likely have prevented the rioting which occurred next. Even the counter actions were sensationalized when the White trucker was dragged out of the truck and beaten, and everyone was calling that attempted murder. But the videotape cleared his attackers of attempted murder, though they still had assault charges, since the video proved the attackers were not acting in their own mind and could not form intent. That man didn't wrong them and they had no desire to kill him, but the adrenaline and the angry crowd influenced them to randomly attack someone. Thus we come full circle back to where this discussion began, where advertisers try to get people into a mindset to where they impulsively buy the product without thinking about whether they really need it.

Answer 2

Judging and evaluating advertisements requires critical thinking because it involves analyzing the message, identifying persuasive techniques, assessing the target audience, and understanding the potential impact on consumer behavior. By applying critical thinking skills, individuals can recognize any misleading or manipulative tactics used in advertising and make informed decisions about the products or services being promoted.

Answer 3

truth in advertising laws ensure the accuracy of information in advertisements