Pre – Intro: The purpose of this introduction is to help set a stepping stone into my research paper. It will be one way to help me organize my thoughts and give an overview of what my research will involve. This will also help my reader to get a good grasp of what I will be discussing in my paper. My introduction will be different from my overall project because, it is just a brief overview of concepts I will be later discussing more in depth. I hope that I will be able to give my reader a good understanding of my paper. I also hope that I will not lose focus within my paper. My targeted audience will be the journal I submit my paper to.
Advertisements are used day after day by businesses trying to get themselves out into the world. They are a way of self exposure for the company to get their name out there and draw in consumers. There are numerous decisions made and questions asked before an advertisement is seen by the public eye. It may not be realized by many consumers just how strategically planned these advertisements actually are. Advertising is what brings consumers to be intrigued into purchasing a business’s product or service. An interesting concept about advertising is that, it affects people in different ways. Also, different industries advertise their products by using different methods that they feel to be most profitable. This leads me to my question, “how do advertisements done in the cosmetic industry affect a white, American, catholic, 20 year old woman?” Some advertisements can create a controversial misconception for consumers. In other words, what you see is not always what you get. While researching, I came across an article titled “Makeup’s Ugly Secrets.” This article is one example of how an industry can mislead their consumers into thinking that a certain product is one thing, when it is actually the complete opposite. The cosmetic industry is one of the nation’s largest and most profitable enterprises (Rose Marie Williams). The cosmetic law requires that the labels they put on their products, should have the ingredients listed in descending order of prevalence, and should be easily read and understood under “normal conditions of purchase” (Rose Marie Williams). However, the cold hard truth is that these labels are actually not easy to read or understand (Rose Marie Williams). Instead, these labels contain confusing scientific terms for ingredients that only a chemist could make sense of their use (Rose Marie Williams).
The advertising done in the market industry is constantly changing with the new advances being made in technology. However, advancements in technology could pose a problem for the advertising industry. According to a survey conducted by IBM, they learned that “increasingly empowered consumers, more self-reliant advertisers, and ever-evolving technologies are redefining how advertising is sold, created, consumed and tracked” (Internet Wire). Companies that are still using traditional advertising methods may risk an increase in revenue declines (Internet Wire). Another issue is that consumers have grown tired of “interruption advertising,” and keep gaining more ways to control how they interact, filter, distribute, and consume their content and associated advertising messages (Internet Wire). IBM feels that advertisers will need to invest heavily in “consumer analytics and automation” to allow them to get more facts about ways to reach their consumers (Internet Wire). I think that this may be one of the many reasons why there are so many false advertisements created.
I think that my research is important because it is of relevance to all white, American, catholic, 20 year old women just like me. Driving down the street seeing a billboard, looking through a magazine waiting at the doctor’s office, or walking through a shopping mall, are just a few of many examples where one may see an advertisement representing that cosmetic industry. This just shows how large of a part the cosmetic industry plays on this group of women’s lives. Advertisements done in the cosmetic industry have already been researched regarding numerous issues. However, my particular research will focus on the elements as to how the advertisements done in the cosmetic industry influence me personally. Since I will be discussing how these advertisements personally affect me with the information that I am knowledgeable about, it will make my research unique.
Works Cited
“IBM Predicts the End of Advertising as We Know It. ” Internet Wire. (Nov 8, 2007): NA. General OneFile. Gale. Indiana University of Pennsylvania. 17 Feb. 2010
http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=IPS&docId=A170919280&source=gale&userGroupName=indi68545&version=1.0.
Williams, Rose Marie. ”Makeup’s ugly secrets.(Health Risks and Environmental Issues). .” Townsend Letter: The Examiner of Alternative Medicine. 271-272 (Feb-March 2006): 140(3). General OneFile. Gale. Indiana University of Pennsylvania. 17 Feb. 2010
http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&docId=A143164538&source=gale&userGroupName=indi68545&version=1.0.
Post – Intro: I think that my introduction could definitely use some revision. One of the things that I may consider revising is, adding more sources in my intro to help explain some of the details about my paper. I do not want to give too much information from my sources though, since they will later be explained in my paper. Another thing I may do is explain more of why my research topic is so significant. I think I did make my audience aware of how my topic specifically affects me.
