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] Television
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 footballgame 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. Virtual product placement is also possible.
[13][14][edit] Infomercials
An
infomercial is a long-format television commercial, typically five minutes or longer. The word “infomercial” is a portmanteau of the words “information” and “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.
[edit] Radio advertising
Radio advertising is a form of advertising via the medium of
radio.
Radio advertisements are broadcasted as radio waves to the air from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Airtime is purchased from a
stationor
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.
[edit] Print advertising
Print advertising describes advertising in a printed medium such as a
newspaper,
magazine, or trade
journal. This encompasses everything from media with a very broad readership base, such as a major national newspaper or magazine, to more narrowly targeted media such as local newspapers and trade journals on very specialized topics. A form of print advertising is
classified advertising, which allows private individuals or companies to purchase a small, narrowly targeted ad for a low fee advertising a product or service.
[edit] Online advertising
[edit] Billboard advertising
Billboards are large structures located in public places which display advertisements to passing pedestrians and motorists. Most often, they are located on main roads with a large amount of passing motor and pedestrian traffic; however, they can be placed in any location with large amounts of viewers, such as on mass transit vehicles and in stations, in shopping malls or office buildings, and in stadiums.
[edit] Mobile billboard advertising
Mobile billboards are truck- or blimp-mounted
billboards or digital screens. These can be dedicated vehicles built solely for carrying advertisements along routes preselected by clients, or they can be specially-equipped cargo trucks. The billboards are often lighted; some being
backlit, and others employing spotlights. Some billboard displays are static, while others change; for example, continuously or periodically rotating among a set of advertisements.
Mobile displays are used for various situations in metropolitan areas throughout the world, including:
- Target advertising
- One-day, and long-term campaigns
- Conventions
- Sporting events
- Store openings and similar promotional events
- Big advertisements from smaller companies
- Others
[edit] In-store advertising
In-store advertising is any advertisement placed in a retail store. It includes placement of a product in visible locations in a store, such as at eye level, at the ends of aisles and near checkout counters, eye-catching displays promoting a specific product, and advertisements in such places as shopping carts and in-store video displays.
[edit] Covert advertising
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
Nokialogo 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 and
Mercedes-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 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer“, the main transport vehiche shows a large
Dodgelogo on the front.
Blade Runner includes some of the most obvious product placement; the whole film stops to show a
Coca-Cola billboard.
[edit] Celebrities
This type of advertising focuses upon using celebrity power, fame, money, popularity to gain recognition for their products and promote specific stores or products. Advertisers often advertise their products, for example, when celebrities share their favorite products or wear clothes by specific brands or designers. Celebrities are often involved in advertising campaigns such as television or print adverts to advertise specific or general products.
The use of celebrities to endorse a brand can have its downsides, however. One mistake by a celebrity can be detrimental to the public relations of a brand. For example, following his performance of eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, swimmer Michael Phelps’ contract with Kellog was terminated, as Kellog did not want to associate with him after he was photographed smoking marijuana.
