Kinds Of Mass Media Advertising

By Author: Adela
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All advertising identifies a product, service, or idea; differentiates it from related products, services, or ideas; associates it with things we value; induces us to participate in the creation of its claims; and repeats its key Omega Replica concepts. Most ads also are part of a campaign, and all employ slogans in some form. Yet despite these similarities, ads can be divided by type.

The regulations governing some ads (for example, political) differ from others (commercial and PSAs—public service announcements); the space or time to air some ads must be purchased (commercial, political, and advocacy or issue ads), but others (PSAs) are aired at no cost to the producer; and the objectives of different types of ads range from marketing a corporate image to electing a candidate. Therefore, here we differentiate in general terms the different kinds of advertising.

Obviously, some of these types overlap. Some ads sell both a product and a service, for example, and some PSAs urge us to vote, an appeal that may benefit one candidate or party more than ...
... another. Distinctions are also complicated by advertisers' deliberate blurring of image-building ads and PSAs. Similarly, product ads occasionally incorporate actors playing politicians whose reelection is ensured by judicious use of a certain brand of toothpaste or mouthwash. In general, however, categories are a useful way of understanding the special forms an ad can take.

Ads can be classified by the product they sell (service, goodwill, or special product ads); whether the time or space in which they run is purchased (commercials) or provided by the outlet as a community service (public service announcements the type of information they provide, the types of appeals they make, and the types of regulations that govern them (advocacy and political ads).

Product Ads
Some ads market a product or a product line. Ads for Dairy Queen, for example, create a world filled with Dairy Queen Products and their ingredients. Mountains of chocolate and fields of fresh strawberries, pineapple, and bananas are all part of this world. Some of the ads argue that we ought to participate in this world without identifying specific products. Others tell us about a special kind of sundae or a banana split.

The televised ads for Dairy Queen illustrate well the purpose of an ad for a product or product line. By showing us the texture of the fresh fruit, the vibrant colors of the strawberries, and the rich "rivers" of chocolate, the ads preview the product, familiarize us with the product's name, and induce us to experience the sensations of eating the product. Although the world is a miniature one, the close-up shots create the illusion that there is actually a tropical retreat with larger-than-life fruit and mountains of chocolate. The world in close-up is the size of our television screen.

A food is a consumable commodity with which we've all had experience. The function of food is clear. Consequently, the strategy of an ad for food is generally to make the food appear as delectable as possible. But what is the Cartier Santos Replica function of a camera or of a specific type of film? Ads for Kodak cameras and Kodak film define and clarify the function of photography and at the same time personalize it. Kodak's ads tell us that Kodak is a means of preserving the best of the past by making it possible to save and treasure memories. Ads for Kodak show us symbolically important events in the lives of believable people and demonstrate the way in which film makes it possible to preserve those events. In the ads for Dairy Queen, the product is an end in itself. We see the product. We want the product. We buy and consume the product. Kodak could, of course, show us an unexposed roll of Kodak film, but such a strategy would be impersonal and would provide no rationale for purchasing the product. So, instead, Kodak shows us what the film and the camera make possible.