Vatican official says ads effective, but power not always used well

Published: 2003-10-28

BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNS) -- Advertising has become one of the most creative, effective forms of communication, but its power is not always used for good, a Vatican official told advertisers. "I am a fan of advertising, even though I'm not much of a consumer," said U.S. Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. The archbishop spoke Oct. 28 at a conference in Brussels marking the 50th anniversary of the World Federation of Advertisers, a group that includes about 50 national associations of advertisers and about 30 international corporations. "Because you're really trying to get people's attention, advertising is among the best communication being done in the world today -- through production values, through design, through choices of words and images," he told the conference.

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