Advertising

In the eyes of the business world and of many economists, advertising serves an indispensable function. It helps consumers to choose among competing products. Also, by spurring demand for products, it extends the possibilities of mass production and thus leads to economies of scale and to lower consumer costs. Indeed, advertising is sometimes depicted as “the engine of prosperity”.

Advertising informs consumers about the existence and benefits of products and services, and attempts to persuade them to buy them. The best form of advertising is probably word-of-mouth advertising, which occurs when people tell their friends about the benefits of products or services that they have purchased. Yet virtually no providers of goods or services rely on this alone, but use paid advertising instead. Indeed, many organizations also use institutional or prestige advertising, which is designed to build up their reputation rather than to sell particular products.

Product advertising may be described under three headings:

1. descriptive;

2. persuasive;

3. both descriptive and persuasive together.

Descriptive advertising gives the most important facts about the product. It is the cheapest form of advertising and is used a lot by the small traders selling through the local paper. It will usually say:

1. what the product is;

2. how much it will cost;

3. where it may be obtained.

Persuasive advertising tries to persuade people that the product which is being advertised has a special quality or usefulness which makes it much better than other similar products. It is used a lot in television advertising where consumers are persuaded to think that if they buy that product they will become very popular or very happy.

This is the area in which advertising is often criticised. Advertising is sometimes misleading. Although it is illegal for advertisers to make untrue statements about their goods, services or prices, they still make their wares seem unduly attractive. They pander to our egos and our vanities. They create a demand which would not otherwise exist.

It is easy to say, “I'm not influenced by the adverts! ” Everyone is influenced to a certain extent. There was recently some research on subliminal advertising. The word 'coffee' flashed on the television screen. It happened so quickly that no-one was aware it had happened. For just a fraction of a second it registered on the viewers' subconscious. The result? A surprising number of people chose to make coffee at that precise moment. Of course, it could have been a coincidence but it was highly unlikely.

Any paid form of non-personal communication through the mass media about the product by an identified sponsor is advertising.

Sponsors are people or firms that pay for radio or TV programmes in return for advertising. Sponsors may be a non-profit organization, a political candidate, a company or an individual. Advertising is used when sponsors want to communicate with a number of people who cannot be reached economically and effectively through personal means.

Mass media used include magazines, direct mail, radio, television, billboards or hoardings, newspapers where advertisements are placed. Advertisement is an announcement in a newspaper, on television, or on a poster about something such as a product, event, or job. The forms advert and ad are also used. Advertisements on the radio and TV are called commercials. Classifieds, flyers, handbills, junk mail and spam are also forms of advertising. Classified advertisements (also classifieds or want ads) are small adverts placed in a newspaper by people wishing to buy or sell something, to find a job, etc. Handbills are the type of advertisements used by local traders. They are expensive in labour costs and not very effective. Junk mail is advertisements that you receive through the post, which you have not asked for and which you do not want. Spam is unwanted e-mail advertisements sent to a large number of people. Virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Commercial advertising media can include, street furniture components, web banners, mobile telephone screens, shopping carts, web pages, bus stop benches, human billboards, town criers, sides of buses, banners attached to or sides of airplanes, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, etc.

The British Code of Advertising Practice exists to protect the consumer from being deceived and misinformed by advertisements. Their slogan is: “All advertisements should be legal, decent, honest and truthful”.

Vocabulary Focus

Ex. 1. Choose the right words from your active vocabulary.

1. The best form of advertising is probably … advertising.

2. Many organizations also use … or … advertising, which is designed to build up their reputation rather than to sell particular products.

3. … advertising gives the most important facts about the product.

4. … advertising tries to persuade people that the product which is being advertised has a special quality or usefulness which makes it much better than other similar products.

5. It is … for advertisers to make untrue statements about their goods, services or prices.

6. Advertising which invisibly registers information on the viewers' subconscious is called ….

7. Advertisements on the radio and TV are called ….

8. … are small adverts placed in a newspaper by people wishing to buy or sell something, to find a job, etc.

Ex. 2. Complete the following table by using the missing forms.

Ex. 3. Match the words in column A with their definitions in column B.

Ex. 4. Put these four media types into the correct place in the table.

a. junk mail b. TV c. newspapers d. billboards e. spam