What are people saying about...
Mon, 02-22-10 - 10:01pm by CarleneK
Cancer treatment commercialized
Riding the Staten Island Ferry, you may have noticed a disturbing advertisement. 60,000 people per day ride the ferry from St. George Terminal in Staten Island to Whitehall Street in Manhattan, not including weekend days. These ferry riders are bombarded with posters placed on the walls that alert them of where they themselves, or their loved ones, should seek the best cancer treatment. The harsh capitalist society of the U.S. has been under critique for some time, especially by those living outside of America. While commonly viewed as a land of great opportunities because of the mobility available to individuals, it is also viewed as a land of harsh, crude, capitalism. Maybe it is wrong to be upset that ads for cancer treatment are plastered all over the walls, because if advanced treatment methods can save a person, then why should they not be publicized? It just seems a tactless, and intrusive form of advertisement displaying the fact that corporations are willing to do or say anything in their power to achieve monetary success. Are there not better ways to spread the word? These abrasive marketing schemes seem to be a nasty invasion of the corporate world into our personal lives. As cancer research advances and researchers are discovering more about the causes, it seems that emphasis should be placed on preventing cancer rather than promoting specific locales where one should receive treatment. According to the World Health Organization, global cancer rates could increase by 50% by year 2020. What can we do to prevent this?
3 comments
Thu, 02-25-10 - 08:23 am by KBenardello
There are arguements for both sides
There has been a lot of controversy over the past few years over whether or not companies should promote their medical treatments/cures directly to the public. I think they should to some degree, so patients know the different options they have available to them when they get sick. This company probably felt that since so many people ride the Staten Island ferry, it would be a great way to advertise.
But on the flip side, patients may become so desperate for a cure that they'll persist any treatment they find, even if their doctors disagree with it. Companies care more about their profits than their patients' health.
Wed, 02-24-10 - 10:10 am by LexSays
This makes no sense
Advertising is meant to inform consumers of their options, to make them aware of new products or services. I absolutely think there should be more advertising that lends itself to helping society.
Now would you have been offended if the advertisement had been for Ben & Jerry's or Doritos? Think of all the times you see ads plastered on the walls throughout the city for "fun" products. We accept these and tune them out.
so why should it matter that the advertisement is for cancer treatment? I for one would prefer more of these ads. I hope I would never need it, but at least this will help me to find a treatment to say my life.
2 replies
Thu, 02-25-10 - 07:00 pm by CarleneK
The advertisements are like any other advertisements, using marketing schemes to achieve your money. I feel it should be presented in a more tactful way than these posters; I mean, it just doesn't seem credible when it's done in this fashion. It seems like it's a marketing ploy, and people may be spending a lot of extra money on this kind of treatment ("the newest technology"). I feel a doctor's recommendation among other things would be something I trusted more than a random advertisement.
Thu, 02-25-10 - 09:09 am by nesportsfan12
Why are they unlike, you might ask? Well they fall under the types of things that are usually advertised in America, IE goods and services, so in that respect, I suppose you have captured the one similarity. The difference is that I do not have NEED of Ben and Jerry's and/or Dorritos when I'm hungry in the same way i have NEED of medical treatment when I'm ill. Other foods might better suit my needs, but ultimately, ice cream and chips WILL sustain me, regardless. Hence, my decision is inconsequential. If I am diagnosed with cancer, I am not going to go to a heart specialist, nor am I going to go to a gynecologist. Here, it does matter which service I choose (even though all three options of oncologist, cardiologist and gynecologists fall under the same category of the medical profession). By this reasoning, wouldn't advertisement be a good thing? Nope. I have been diagnosed by a fully trained doctor. This means that he will likely be aware of the services available to me, and might even be able to recommend one over the other. Advertisements are based on superlatives. When riding the ferry you see hundreds of different ads selling the same service- AND CLAIMING TO BE THE BEST AT IT! How can this be? They cannot ALL be the best. If you've followed me carefully, you will understand that my doctor's recommendation to me is at least based on his knowledge of physical ailments. The recommendation of all of these contradictory advertisements is based on their desire TO SELL A PRODUCT. Do you see the difference yet? If not, I've wasted my time.
PS: Advertising is rarely, if ever, aimed at helping society.
Tue, 02-23-10 - 01:12 pm by antoniom626
Shouldn't there be both?
Shouldn't there be ads telling you where to go if you have cancer because it is a step towards trying to fight the disease and then there should be ads trying to prevent it. No matter what some people do, there will always be people who are going to get cancer even if they tried to prevent it. But i do agree that the United States is very capitalistic and shouldn't focus all their energy on trying to get money.
2 replies
Thu, 02-25-10 - 08:58 am by nesportsfan12
Wed, 02-24-10 - 10:34 am by CarleneK
Also, these advertisements that claim a new form of technology and in this way, suggest that higher success rates of being cured are likely, are manipulating people. I found an interesting statistic. In the article "Cancer Center Ads Use Emotion More Than Fact" that appeared in the New York Times in December, the advertisement of one cancer treatment facility over another seems to be useless given the following statement: "Cancer experts interviewed for this article say there are no comprehensive statistics showing that any one elite medical center has better overall cancer success rates than its competitors."
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