It is impossible to imagine our television, newspapers, radio, Internet and even streets without advertisements. Nowadays advertising plays an important role in modern life and in the life of every person. We can’t imagine our life without advertising because every day we hear or see advertising, we try to find information we need in hundreds of advertisements. Even when we go for a walk or just shopping we see a lot of different advertisements in the streets. I think that "Advertising” is a very interesting topic, because in the XXI century every minute of our life is connected with advertising. It is hard to believe but the origins of advertising antedate the Christian era by many centuries. One of the first known methods of advertising was outdoor display, usually an eye-catching sign painted on the wall of a building. From this unsophisticated beginnings in ancient times advertising has turned into a worldwide industry.
The word "advertising” comes from the French word "reclame". Advertising if to speak a simple language, serves to notify in various ways (sometimes all available) the new goods or services and their consumer properties, and is directed to the potential consumer, paid by the sponsor and serves for promotion of its production and ideas. Advertising is a part of communication activity of a firm, alongside with publicity and stimulation of selling. Advertising unessentially imposes the goods on the buyer. Sometimes it simply forces to recollect the last concrete mark or the name of the goods or service when the customer makes the choice. At the beginning the consumer decides to choose from what, and already then what mark to prefer, on the basis of the representation about it, a stereotype or a developed image of concrete mark of the goods or service. There are a lot of definitions of the word "advertising”. For example, advertising is collective term for public announcements designed to promote the sale of specific commodities or services. Advertising is a form of mass selling, employed when the use of direct, person-to-person selling is impractical, impossible, or simply inefficient. It is to be distinguished from other activities intended to persuade the public, such as propaganda, publicity, and public relations. Advertising techniques range in complexity from the publishing of simple, straightforward notices in the classified – advertising columns of newspapers to the concerted use of newspapers, magazines, television, radio, internet and other communication media in the course of a single advertising campaign. In the US alone in the late 1980s approximately $120 billion was spent in a single year on advertising to influence the purchase of commodities and services.
Advertising has achieved the greatest blossoming in the United States of America. American advertising leads the world not only in volume of business but in the complexity of its organization and of its procedures. Modern advertising is an integral segment of urban industrial civilization, reflecting contemporary life in its best and worst aspects. Having proved its force in the movement of economic goods and services, advertising since the early 1960s has been directed in increasing quantity toward matters of social concern. The continuing cancer and antidrug abuse campaigns are only two examples of the use of the advertising industry as a means to promote public welfare.
The basic underlying advertising idea is the idea of human needs. Need is the feeling of shortage of something experienced by the person. If the need is not satisfied, the person feels like destitute and unfortunate. Unsatisfied person will do one of the following things: either will be engaged in search of the object, capable to satisfy his or her need, or will try to muffle it.
The second initial idea of advertising is the idea of human requirements. Requirement is the need which has accepted the specific form according to a cultural level and the personal features of the individual. Requirements of people are practically boundless,but resources for their satisfaction are limited. So the person will choose those goods which will give him or her the greatest satisfaction within the framework of his or her financial opportunities.
The inquiry is the requirement supported by purchasing capacity. So, for example, in Europe automobile " Volkswagen " personifies an elementary automobile, a low purchase price, and "Cadillac" - high comfort, luxury and prestige. Russian people choose "Zhiguli" as they have no opportunity to buy such expensive cars and "Zhiguli" gives them the greatest satisfaction for money available for them.
And, at last, human needs and requirements and inquiries suggest about the existence of the goods for their satisfaction. The goods are everything, that can satisfy requirements or needs and they are offered to the market with the purpose of gaining the attention of the consumers, purchasing, using or consuming.
The structure of advertising contains the following five basic moments:
The first one, it possesses the ability to draw attention. It is very important to draw attention of readers by headings and televiewers by a video series. It is necessary to find out whether advertising influences those categories of potential consumers for which it is designed.
The second one, the force of influence of advertising on the emotions of consumers. It is necessary to know what feelings are born in them under the influence of advertising, whether the advertising argument is successful and whether it is made correctly.
The third one, how strong is the force of influence. We should admit whether the consumer will run to buy these goods after viewing advertising or will continue sitting in an armchair in spite of the fact that he or she likes advertising it and there is a necessity to purchase the advertising goods.
The fourth one is its informative value. We must be sure that the advertising is stated clearly, the utility of promoted thing is shown correctly and profoundly.
And the last, the fifth one, we should know for sure whether the person will want to read the message or to see an advertising roller up to the end. We must know how effectively advertising gains attention of the people.
Nevertheless, we should admit that advertising actually enriches our lives. Commercial television is able to provide us with free programmes thanks to its advertising revenues, local newspapers and magazines derive also much revenue from advertising, which allows them to exist. At least, advertising makes people mind go far in their creativity, generating over and over new interesting ideas.
At first when trade began to develop wide and fast advertising was oral. Traders, dealers and vagrant handicraftsmen offered their highly praised goods and various services in eager rivalry filling with shouts the streets of their cities and towns. The early advertising was carried out by the city heralds or town/city criers. "Golden Age" of ancient Greece saw many heralds who went along the streets of Athenes, proclaiming about sales of slaves, cattle and other goods.
One more early version of advertising was a brand which handicraftsmen put on their goods, such, as pottery. As rumours brought information of a skilful handicraftsman, buyers started to search for the goods with his brand. Today for the same purpose trade marks and branded names are used. In the process of centralization of manufacture value of a brand constantly grew.
We can see advertisements in the early documents of written history. During excavations on the territory of the countries belonging to the Mediterranean region archeologists found the signboards informing on various events and offers. The Romans painted walls with announcements of gladiatorial fights, and the Phoenicians painted rocks on routes of different trade processions, in every possible way praising to the skies their goods. One of the inscriptions on the walls of the house in Pompeii highly praised one outstanding politician and called people to give their voices for him voting that time. All these things are predecessors of modern outdoor advertising.
The first advertising in written form is considered to be information on Egyptian papyrus which tells about the sale of the slave and nowadays this papyrus is kept in the British Museum in London.
Advertising began long before the Christian era. One of the first known methods of advertising was the outdoor display, usually eye-catching signs painted on the wall of a building. Archaeologists found many such like signs, in the ruins of ancient Rome and Pompeii. An outdoor advertisement excavated in Rome offers property for rent, and one more found advertisement painted on a wall in Pompeii calls the attention of travellers to a tavern situated in another town.
Messages of commercial character were drawn on rocks along trading ways. Greeks engraved advertising messages on stones, copper, bones and they cut them out on wooden columns. The stone column with the inscription on it: "Here I live, Minos, from the island Cyprus. On favour of Gods I am allocated with the ability to interpret dreams for a very moderate pay” was found in the ruins of an ancient Egyptian city Memphis. A fine example of announcement: brevity and market capacity.
In medieval times word-of-mouth praise of products gave rise to a simple but effective form of advertising, the use of so-called town criers. The criers were citizens who read public notices aloud and were also employed by merchants to shout the praises of their wares.
A turning point in the history of advertisement was 1450 when a printing press was invented that allowed to multiply advertisements quickly and qualitatively. The advertizer did not need to produce extra copies of the advertisements. The first printed announcement in English appeared in 1478.
In 1622 advertising received powerful stimulus as the first newspaper in English began to be printed. It was called "Weekly News ". Later Edison and Stel started to issue a newspaper "Tatler",and they did a lot for spreading advertising. Edison printed the following advice to advertisers: " Great art of correctly written advertisement consists in searching correct approach in gaining the attention of the reader giving him the right kind of sales message, creating preference for it, persuading him to buy the advertising thing".
A major mark in the development of Russian advertising was 1703 when under Peter’s I decree the edition of the first Russian newspaper began. Many newspapers were published and a lot of advertisements were written in them. In 1878 in Moscow a businessman Mettsel put forward a slogan "Advertisement is a motive force and power of trade”. And he established the first advertising office.
In volume and technique, advertising made its greatest advances in the United States of America. In the early stages of American advertising nationwide promotion was impractical because the nation itself was underdeveloped and lacked transcontinental transportation, distribution, and communications systems. Eventually, however, certain types of manufacturer conceived the idea of bypassing wholesalers and retailers and reaching the consumer through direct advertising, mainly by means of catalogs. The pioneers in this field were seed companies and book and pamphlet publishers. Mail-order houses appeared in 1870s. To the present day they have continued to expand their business through direct-mail catalog and flyer advertising, although some of the biggest houses sell also through retail outlets.
Railroads and steamship lines were also among the early users of advertising in the United States, not only to praise the luxury and comfort of their ways of travel but also to publish their schedules and rates.
In the 19th century two types of advertisement dominated: printed (calendars, lists, price-lists) and external (signboards of shops, taverns and warehouses).
In Soviet times such outstanding persons as V. Mayakovsky and V. Kustodiyev were engaged in advertising.
Here are some examples of advertising texts by Mayakovsky.
Всё, что требует желудок,
Тело ил ум, -
Всё человеку предоставит Гум.
Тому не страшен мороз зловещий,
Кто в Гуме купит теплые вещи.
Кооператор! Торгуй книгой!
Свет и знание в деревню двигай!
In 1925 in Paris Mayakovsky and Rodchenko were awarded with silver medals for advertisements at the International Art Industrial Exhibition.
After World War I advertising developed into a business so big that it became almost a trademark of America itself in the eyes of the world. This expansion was stimulated by many technical improvements.
The increased use of electricity led to the illuminated outdoor poster. Advertising was used increasingly by public-relations specialists as an important means of communication. The invention of radio in 1920s stimulated the development of a new technique of selling by voice.
The most significant development was television, a medium that forced the advertising industry to improve its techniques of selling by the use of visual devices as well as by voice.
Advertising is a kind of activity which purpose is realization of marketing or other industrial tasks of enterprises and public organizations by distribution of the information paid by them, generated so that to render influence on mass or individual consciousness, causing the reaction of the chosen consumer audience.
In the USA and other industrially advanced countries the word "advertising" means advertisements in mass media (in press, by radio, TV, on panelboard advertising) and is not distributed to the actions promoting sales, - "sales promotion ”, the prestigious actions aimed at a gain of goodwill of the public, - "public relations”, and also on specific area of advertising activity roughly developing recently, which essence in the directed communications of the manufacturer with the consumer - "direct-marketing".
In domestic practice the concept of advertising is wider. Exhibition actions, commercial seminars, packing, printed products, distribution of souvenirs and other means of stimulation of trading activity is included in it.
It is necessary to give the following definitions of advertising activity:
International - modern activity of firms of industrially advanced countries, focused on the foreign markets in view of their features;
External economic - activity of the domestic enterprises and the organizations in the foreign markets, reflecting modern practice;
Internal - activity of the domestic enterprises and the organizations serving a home market.
Proceeding from definitions of advertising, it is possible to allocate its main elements :
1. Advertising is paid.
2. It is carried out with the use of mass-media or special announcements.
3. The advertizer is precisely established.
4. Advertising informs and agitates for the goods or services.
Advertising has two basic functions:
Transfer information about the goods and services to consumers and acquaint potential clients with it.
Any advertising gives information about the promoted goods or service, a place of sale, the price to its customer. In the market the opportunity of choice of the most favourable offer is given to the buyer. Possessing this choice advertising has essential advantage.
For example:
The buyer has received a certain sum of money as an unexpected premium. He enters a market and searches for the goods or service which he can obtain for the money (or searches for a place where money can be put on storage). Having seen advertising in the morning paper he decides to buy the TV set. From advertising of the enterprises engaged in manufacturing of TV sets, he receives information on TV sets of this or that brand, their advantages. We admit the buyer has already chosen what he wants to buy. Having read a local morning paper, he can find out advertising about the existence and whereabouts of those shops which sell TV sets which are interesting for the buyer and about the prices for them. Having compared all the conditions of sale, guarantee repair, etc. he comes to the shop he has chosen and buys its brand of the TV. Thus it is possible to see that advertising is a very important source of information for the buyer.
Propaganda of the given goods or service for the benefit of buyers. This function consists of the influence on mentality of the person with the purpose to call in him a desire to buy the given goods or service. With the help of advertising the advertiser achieves that the consumer has a desire to buy such a thing, to make such charges which would not take a place under normal conditions, i.e. the latent requirements wake up.
Any advertising to some extent carries out the first function because always gives the information to the customer about the goods or service. Partly advertising is designed for propaganda of the goods or services, but this advertising also carries the information of the existence of the advertiser, his or her goods or service and the information for the benefit of the given goods or service.
Practically, all advertising is designed for such subject of the market, as housekeeping. It certainly does not mean, that only housekeeping use advertising because the object of the advertisement can be not only the user of the goods or services, but also industrial enterprises, and also the state. However advertisement most of all is used in housekeeping.
Advertising gives the information to the consumer about the seller or his goods, the prices for these goods, information about the place of sale. For many consumers local advertising became the assistant and the guidebook on shops. Also advertising often "tells" about improvements of the goods, changes in quality, etc.
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