ADVERTISING
1.Advert, advertisement or ad?
All these forms of the words are correct but ad is mostly used in spoken English only. You should also be aware of a common pronunciation problem:
- advert
- advertise
- advertisement
This means that you make an “iss” sound when say advertisement. This is a very common mistake and one way to avoid it is to say and write advert.
2.Different forms of advertising
Television commercial: The BBC is perhaps unique for not carrying any commercials.
Radio spot: Radio stations make most of their revenue by selling airtime in the form of radio spots.
Billboard: Most major highways now have billboards by the roadside advertising everything from soap to gas.
Flyer: It can be very effective to hand out flyers.
Small ads/ personal ads: Not all advertising is commercial, many newspapers carry small ads for personal services.
Trailer: The trailer, as often as not, is actually better than the film itself.
Product placement: We are not always aware that we are being “sold” a product; for instance, when products are placed in films.
Promotion: The two for the price of one promotion can often be very misleading.
Endorsement: Many sports stars earn the majority of their income from endorsing various products.
Sponsorship: It is unarguable that tobacco firms should not be allowed to sponsor sports events.
3.Adjectives to describe advertising
Witty/ humorous: The idea is that if you can make someone laugh with a witty advert, then they will be more likely to buy the product.
Memorable: Almost all the best adverts are memorable in some way.
Persuasive: Some ads are extremely persuasive and we find we buy products we do not really need.
Misleading: Although there are regulations against this, many adverts are still misleading.
word-of-mouth: It is frequently said that the most effective form of advertising is word-of-mouth advertising.
4.Other related words
Regulation: Most people would accept that the advertising industry needs some form of regulation.
Advertising agency: Advertising agencies frequently do extensive market research to discover what attracts consumers.
Target: The difficulty comes when adverts target young children who are too easily influenced by them.
Consumers: It can also be argued that consumers are able to decide for themselves what to buy.
Brand awareness: Advertising is essential for companies that need to build their brand awareness.