Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or

take some action upon products, ideas, or services. It includes the name of a product or service and how that product or

service could benefit the consumer, to persuade a target market to purchase or to consume that particular brand. These

messages are usually paid for by sponsors and viewed via various media. Advertising can also serve to communicate an

idea to a large number of people in an attempt to convince them to take a certain action.

Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of their products orservices through branding, which

involves the repetition of an image or product name in an effort to associate related qualities with the brand in the minds

of consumers. Non-commercial advertisers who spend money to advertise items other than a consumer product or service

include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Nonprofit organizations may

rely on free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement.

Modern advertising developed with the rise of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mass media can be

defined as any media meant to reach a mass amount of people. Different types of media can be used to deliver these

messages, including traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor or direct mail; or new

media such as websites and text messages.

In 2010, spending on advertising was estimated at more than $300 billion in the United States[1]and $500 billion

worldwide[citation needed].

Internationally, the largest ("big four") advertising conglomerates are Interpublic, Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP.

Public service advertising

The same advertising techniques used to promote commercial goods and services can be used to inform, educate and

motivate the public about non-commercial issues, such as HIV/AIDS, political ideology, energy conservation and

deforestation.

Advertising, in its non-commercial guise, is a powerful educational tool capable of reaching and motivating large audiences.

"Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest—it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for

commercial purposes." Attributed to Howard Gossage by David Ogilvy.

Public service advertising, non-commercial advertising, public interest advertising, cause marketing, and social

marketing are different terms for (or aspects of) the use of sophisticated advertising and marketing communications

techniques (generally associated with commercial enterprise) on behalf of non-commercial, public interest issues and

initiatives.

In the United States, the granting of television and radio licenses by the FCC is contingent upon the station broadcasting a

certain amount of public service advertising. To meet these requirements, many broadcast stations in America air the bulk of
their required public service announcements during the late night or early morning when the smallest percentage of viewers

are watching, leaving more day and prime time commercial slots available for high-paying advertisers.

Public service advertising reached its height during World Wars I and II under the direction of more than one government.

During WWII President Roosevelt commissioned the creation of The War Advertising Council (now known as the Ad

Council) which is the nation's largest developer of PSA campaigns on behalf of government agencies and non-profit

organizations, including the longest-running PSA campaign,Smokey Bear.

Types of advertising

Paying people to hold signs is one of the oldest forms of advertising, as with thisHuman billboard pictured above

A bus with an advertisement for GAP in Singapore. Buses and other vehicles are popular mediums for advertisers.
A DBAG Class 101 with UNICEF ads at Ingolstadt main railway station

Virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Commercial advertising media can include wall

paintings, billboards, street furniture components, printed flyers and rack cards, radio, cinema and television adverts, web

banners, mobile telephone screens, shopping carts, web popups,skywriting, bus stop benches, human billboards,

magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses, banners attached to or sides of airplanes ("logojets"), in-flight

advertisements on seatback tray tables or overhead storage bins, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens,

musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers,doors of bathroom stalls,stickers on

apples in supermarkets, shopping cart handles (grabertising), the opening section of streaming audio and video, posters,

and the backs of event tickets and supermarket receipts. Any place an "identified" sponsor pays to deliver their message

through a medium is advertising.

[edit]Digital advertising
Television advertising / Music in advertising

The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format, as is reflected by

the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events. The annual Super

Bowl football game in the United States is known as the most prominent advertising event on television. The

average cost of a single thirty-second TV spot during this game has reached US$3 million (as of 2009). The

majority of television commercials feature a song or jingle that listeners soon relate to the product. Virtual

advertisements may be inserted into regular television programming through computer graphics. It is typically

inserted into otherwise blank backdrops[10] or used to replace local billboards that are not relevant to the remote

broadcast audience.[11] More controversially, virtual billboards may be inserted into the background[12] where none

exist in real-life. This technique is especially used in televised sporting events[13] [14] Virtual product placement is

also possible.;[15][16] Infomercials: An infomercial is a long-format television commercial, typically five minutes or

longer. The word "infomercial" combining the words "information" & "commercial". The main objective in an

infomercial is to create an impulse purchase, so that the consumer sees the presentation and then immediately

buys the product through the advertised toll-free telephone number or website. Infomercials describe, display, and

often demonstrate products and their features, and commonly have testimonials from consumers and industry

professionals.
Radio advertising

Radio advertising is a form of advertising via the medium of radio. Radio advertisements are broadcast as radio

waves to the air from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Airtime is purchased from

a station or network in exchange for airing the commercials. While radio has the obvious limitation of being

restricted to sound, proponents of radio advertising often cite this as an advantage.

delivering marketingmessages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads that

appear on search engine results pages,banner ads, in text ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, online

classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam.

Covert advertising, also known as guerrilla advertising, is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment

and media. For example, in a film, the main character can use an item or other of a definite brand, as in the

movie Minority Report, where Tom Cruise's character John Anderton owns a phone with the Nokia logo clearly

written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo. Another example of advertising in film is in I,

Robot, where main character played by Will Smith mentions his Converse shoes several times, calling them

"classics," because the film is set far in the future. I, Robot and Spaceballs also showcase futuristic cars with

the Audi andMercedes-Benz logos clearly displayed on the front of the vehicles. Cadillac chose to advertise in the

movie The Matrix Reloaded, which as a result contained many scenes in which Cadillac cars were used. Similarly,

product placement for Omega Watches, Ford, VAIO,BMW and Aston Martin cars are featured in recent James

Bond films, most notably Casino Royale. In "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer", the main transport vehicle

shows a large Dodge logo on the front. Blade Runner includes some of the most obvious product placement; the

whole film stops to show a Coca-Cola billboard.