Investment Ads: Emotional Atyachar

Every time I come across an investment ad, I get the feeling they are inflicting nothing short of Emotional Atyachar on the target audience.

Consider the state of the retired guy who is watching TV with his wife and he comes across the ad where this old guy in the ad whips out two tickets and says "Tumhe Singapore Dikhane Ke Liye" to his wife. What are the chances that the retired guy in real life feels like a loser?

Or consider the ad where the daughter is shown buying a car for her dad. There are many other ads that go on similar lines.

I know what goes on behind the scene; I used to belong to the advertising field. But something about these ads make me feel uneasy. Do these products that they advertise really deliver in such a manner? Is it OK to take such creative liberties in the case of selling an investment product that could make or break lives? Is the Target Audience of these ads financially literate to evaluate the investment options when they go to actually buy them? After all, we are not selling a soap or a toothpaste or a television - these decisions have a deeper impact on people's lives....

I don't know. Of late, I feel ads are just laying it thick. They are pushing the envelope on creating aspirational ads. After a point, it becomes simply too manipulative.

And of the lot, the investment ads take the cake. I just hope people do the required due diligence before they hand over the money.