Essay on Advertisement in 500 Words
“Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your family to read.” ~David Ogilvy
Advertising is the art of communicating impersonal messages to a large chunk of people at the same time. It is done by companies to market their products. The way the message is presented to the audience is known as an advertisement or an ad.
An ad aims to increase the awareness of the product in the people’s minds and urge them to purchase it. The first advertisements ever used can be traced back to the Egyptians.
They used papyrus to write slogans and offers related to fruits, vegetables and clothes. Thomas J. Barratt is popularly known as the father of modern advertising and is most famous for his campaigns of Pears Soap.
Various Ways of Advertising
The most common and known advertising technique is through the medium of television. Advertisements are played in the ad breaks between shows and movies. A lot of various products are advertised on television, including motor oil, mobile phones, food products, milk powders, etc.
Although this is a digital era and everything is being done paperless, still many people love the feel of a magazine or a newspaper in their hands.
Advertising through print media is an excellent option as it reaches people who are slightly elder and have more disposable income. Example, cosmetic product companies like Olay advertise their anti- ageing creams in women’s magazines.
Radio advertising is also one of the oldest modes of advertising. It was first started in the United States. The advertisement for a product is played in designated breaks between songs or radio shows. For example, a lot of real estate companies make use of this form of advertising.
A company can also make use of direct marketing strategies for advertising. In this, emails are sent directly to prospective buyers through the net. Some companies even post letters, along with brochures and coupons to attract buyers. Cell phone text messaging and calling has also become quite common. Many restaurants make use of this technique.
In a recent survey, it was found that almost 1 in every 4 people had a social media account. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter cannot be ignored while advertising.
Social media has a great reach. It has the capacity of reaching millions of people with just a simple photo, tweet or post. Many small businesses take the help of social media to advertise their products as it is very economical to do so.
Companies can also resort to sponsorship’s. Many companies sponsor players, sporting events, charitable events and business conferences. This is a good way of associating the brand with a cause at minimal investment. Examples include Pepsi sponsoring IPL and Adidas sponsoring Messi.
Benefits of Advertising
Advertising helps create and generate demand for new products. It allows manufactures to reach economies of scale as the greater number of units to be made, the lesser each unit costs.
Through advertising, companies can build a product image, reputation and goodwill, which can benefit it in the long run. Most of all, advertising helps the company to get the message across to their intended audience.
The audience gets information about the product, which helps them make an informed choice. Advertising also helps contribute productively to the economy. It generates employment in the form of photographers, actors, editors, etc.
The negative side of advertising
Advertising can have a negative impact, especially on children and teenagers. Many companies, like Thumbs Up show famous actors performing dangerous stunts. When exposed to such advertisements, children think of trying those stunts themselves. This can prove to be fatal and life-threatening.
Small children start cribbing when they see an attractive toy on the television and pester their parents to purchase it for them.
Advertisements like those of fairness creams create self- doubt and lead to lower self-esteem in young girls. The advertisements show that as soon as a girl becomes fair, she gets a job.
This makes them feel that having a light skin tone is critical to succeed in life when it actually is not true. Advertisements from online shopping sites can also be harmful as they may result in impulse buying. You may end up purchasing something that you did not need.
Conclusion
Advertising has both pros and cons. It is an invaluable marketing tool and firms should use it wisely. They should not advertise false or untrue information.
Similarly, customers should not interpret the wrong meanings of advertisements. They should look at it more for informational purposes. They shouldn’t base their buying decision solely on the ad. Instead, resort to purchasing something only when the need arises.
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