A European Realization

Last summer I spent three amazing weeks in Italy. While I was there, I learned and experienced so many new and exciting things. I visited many different places and took the time to embrace the culture. Not only did I get to walk the stone paths of Rome, shop in the famous streets of Milan, and get lost in the alleys of Venice, but I also took tours of the Vatican, rode vezpas, ate too much gelato, and had mass with the pope.

During those three weeks of adventure and excitement, I noticed something that greatly separated the United States and Europe; their advertisement and use of media is far more risqué than that of the United States. As I looked around at all the bulletin boards and posters covering the walls, I realized that the models were half dressed, if dressed at all, and they promoted things that the United States would never allow to be advertised. The commercials in Europe were extremely revealing and used sex as an everyday promotional object. Although this form of advertisement came as a shock to me, I noticed that this was normal to Europeans.

The United States is very conservative when it comes to advertisements and the media. Although our society has become more revealing, we still consider the current advertisements to be pushing the limits, and some are even banned from airing. Whereas, in Europe, revealing pictures and half naked models are an every day appearance. This is because Europeans have grown up with these images and the freedom with the use of media; therefore they are more liberal with the different forms of advertisement.

It is nice to see more freedom in the media, but if the United States were given the same freedom, it would not come across as calmly as in Europe. Due to our conservative nation, there would be an uproar among many because we are not used to this form of advertisement. The need to push beyond the limits would cause our advertisements to take this freedom a step too far and cause more chaos in the industry. Therefore, I think that the United States should stick to its guidelines and stay conservative, because although revealing ads suit some countries, it does not work well in others.