Final answer:
Home and Garden TV (HGTV) is the best example of a mass media advertising channel due to its broad reach and demographic diversity. Television advertising influences wide audiences and impacts social norms significantly, making it an effective platform for advertisers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The best example of a mass media advertising channel is Home and Garden TV (HGTV). Among the options listed, HGTV has the widest reach as it is a television channel with a large audience demographically diverse, and accessible to nearly every U.S. household.
Magazines such as Cosmo Girl, USA Today, Skateboarder Magazine, and Weight Watchers also serve as advertising channels but are either niche in focus or have a smaller, more targeted readership. In contrast, television channels like HGTV reach broad audiences and can target their advertising through sophisticated data, making TV a highly functional way to engage with the consumer market. The influence of television advertising is significant, as it delivers messages to a wide audience, significantly impacting social norms and consumer behavior.
When designing advertisements, it is important to be mindful of the messages being sent about eating, body image, and weight, and to ensure that healthy signals are provided to both males and females. Constant exposure to mass media, including television, can significantly affect people's perceptions and behaviors.