Truth in advertising? Pro-Life ad in Highlander questionable
Highlander Editor
Issue date: 11/24/08 Section: Perspectives
Outside of the university, advertising can sell and say whatever it wants in any way it deems appropriate, within the confines of the law. However, I believe there ought to be higher standards for on-campus advertising, especially in this newspaper and on the website.
Tonight, as I was writing, I decided to jump on the website and see what was being advertised: computers, online degrees, anti-binge drinking, credit cards for college students, car financing, domain names, cell phones, the newspaper subscriptions, sunglasses, career websites, women's podcasts, accounting software, movie rental, car rental, fast food, clothing, and shoes.
Generally these things are good, but the consumerism that often accompanies them is not. Some products, like credit cards and car financing, are more questionable than the others as foolish borrowing has become a seductive and chronic trend for citizens and institutions. Some of the ads also seem silly or run counter to the mission of the undergraduate college, like online degrees and clothes, which either don't come from the university or may be made by sweatshop laborers.
The Highlander website ads concern me less than what appears in the paper, due to the fact that another party likely controls the content of those ads, which is a whole other matter. In looking back through this year's papers, a vast majority of the ads were for events sponsored by Regis or a department within it.
One ad in the print paper caught my attention for several different reasons which I will discuss. The ad, entitled "Pro-Life means action on behalf of all human life" and sponsored by www.catholics-united.org, appeared in two issues of the Highlander before the election.
While the elections are now thankfully over, the advertisement made statements that I found to contain questionable reasoning, which I know had the effect of misleading some Catholics who are rightly and thankfully concerned with promoting the common good.
Tonight, as I was writing, I decided to jump on the website and see what was being advertised: computers, online degrees, anti-binge drinking, credit cards for college students, car financing, domain names, cell phones, the newspaper subscriptions, sunglasses, career websites, women's podcasts, accounting software, movie rental, car rental, fast food, clothing, and shoes.
Generally these things are good, but the consumerism that often accompanies them is not. Some products, like credit cards and car financing, are more questionable than the others as foolish borrowing has become a seductive and chronic trend for citizens and institutions. Some of the ads also seem silly or run counter to the mission of the undergraduate college, like online degrees and clothes, which either don't come from the university or may be made by sweatshop laborers.
The Highlander website ads concern me less than what appears in the paper, due to the fact that another party likely controls the content of those ads, which is a whole other matter. In looking back through this year's papers, a vast majority of the ads were for events sponsored by Regis or a department within it.
One ad in the print paper caught my attention for several different reasons which I will discuss. The ad, entitled "Pro-Life means action on behalf of all human life" and sponsored by www.catholics-united.org, appeared in two issues of the Highlander before the election.
While the elections are now thankfully over, the advertisement made statements that I found to contain questionable reasoning, which I know had the effect of misleading some Catholics who are rightly and thankfully concerned with promoting the common good.
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