The free paper caught my eye as I was trundling into work on the bus this morning. I never normally pick up the freebies because, well, I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to journalism (don’t get me started). However, the enormous headline “BANK AID” actually made me pick the paper up for once and low and behold I discovered there has been a £1.9 trillion bailout across the world for the financial turmoil meltdown armageddon that’s currently got everyone’s knickers in a twist. That is the equivalent to £288 for every man, woman and child on the planet.

Does advertising have anything to do with this ridiculous fiasco? Well, on the face of it perhaps not. “It’s all the banks’ fault!” everybody crys with a note of conviction in their voice while watching the financial institutions impode upon themselves like a flimsy house of cards.

But I can’t help thinking that advertising has an important part to play in our bloated Western society.

As Adbusters has so often pointed out, our consumption driven lifestyles in the West are not sustainable. All this buy!, buy!, buy! mentality was bound to end in tears sometime. And perhaps that time is now. Advertising as an entity, although not the sole perpetrator, certainly has had its part to play when it comes to ushering people into the banks to snap up credit cards, loans, overdrafts, et cetera so they can instantly afford to purchase that iPod, flat screen television, pair of £200 shoes, or whatever other luxury that floats boats. And we as advertisers have had our part to play in this downward spiral.

Of course, I am over simplifying the situation – this is an incredibly complicated topic after all and I am obviously no economist. There’s plenty other finger pointing to be had, no less to ourselves for quite happily rolling around in the credit that’s been so freely available before now without considering the consequences. God forbid we actually save money in order to revel in the warm feeling a shiny new purchase affords because, well, that’s just too much work and there’s free credit nooooow!

There is always the opposite side of the coin which I use as ammunition when I am attacked for working in the ad industry (once even by a lawyer, can you believe it?). In times of economic recession advertising is a hugely beneficial animal as it helps people build confidence and coaxes them to part with their hard-earned cash and this in turn helps stabilise economies, yadda yadda. So, as advertisers I suppose it’s our duty to roll up our sleeves and start inspiring people to start spending again and trust the banks if we want a return to the gluttonous but enjoyable living we were so used to. Take these guys for example, they’ve got the right idea!

Claire Connachan is a junior copywriter. She works for an ethical advertising agency in Glasgow, Scotland.

Article Tags: advertising ethics | banking | consumption | economics | global financial crisis
Filed under: advertising