A STUDY ON THE SOCIAL EFFECT OF ADVERTISING ON THE NIGERIAN STUDENTS

Advertisements affect our daily lives and as technology and the practice of marketing has developed over the course of history, we have become exposed to greater amounts of product and service campaigns. The purpose of advertisements is to educate the consumer with the goal of ultimately selling the product, and many companies and organizations would not be able to survive without the use of advertisements. Ultimately, it is a necessity for a business to prosper in a competitive market, but there are possible side-effects for the consumer that are beyond the intentions to buy. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the effects advertisements play on the college student in particular. Different static/multimedia advertisements have been shown to various college students ranging in gender and background to discover the comprehensive ramifications of specific promotions to study the moral and ethical impact that advertisements play on students¶ moral intent. An analysis and conclusion will be given, along with ideas for possible future studies. Recommendations will also be stated for marketers to be morally responsible for the advertisements they portray so the audience is not effected in a way that can lead to unwanted consequences. Ultimately, the results did not support the original hypotheses, leading to thoughtprovoking questions concerning our current marketing practices and the effectiveness of static and multimedia advertisements on college students. Future studies need to take place to reveal advertisements influencing the audience at hand