Mass media advertising survey

Mass media advertising survey

            The demand for particular goods is always influenced by the advertising strategy employed by the organization selling a specific product. Advertising is a marketing strategy that aims at promoting a service, product, or a project. Advertising has four significant roles; to persuade consumers to purchase a particular product, to remind consumers about the existence of a specific product, to inform consumers about the presence of a particular product in the market.  Every day people encounter advertisements in several places. The major media channels used for advertisement include radio, televisions, internet or video games, recordings, mobile phones, and various print media. The purpose of this paper is to expand our understanding of various mass media advertising strategies and their efficiency.

How many ads of all types/media did you see and in what media did you see them?

In the past month, I’ve interacted with advertisement messages from all of the various mass media outlets. For instance, advertisements about Coca Cola, a soft drink company operating in over 200 countries all over the world, has been regularly aired on television. The company also advertises the soft drinks on social media, cinema, and films. Another popular advertisement on TV is the KFC streetwise advert that has been airing on television in the past month. These advertisements on television usually appear in between the regular programming hours. The use of Television in advertising, in both national broadcast networks and local TV channels, broaden the audiences reached by the advertising messages. Notably, most companies and organizations make use of several advertising strategies to ensure that advertising messages reach a wider audience.

Several advertisements have also appeared on print Medias such as brochures, billboards, newspapers, and magazines, flyers and posters. Most companies in the real estate sector make use of this advertising strategy since it can appeal to the audience’s imaginations, and the visual effects usually are long-lasting as compared to the other advertising strategies. In addition to the appeal to the audience’s eyes, this advertisement strategy always leaves a tool for reference in cases where clarification and inquiries arise. Advertisements about cars and automobiles majorly appeared on films and cinemas. Print media advertising is also commonly used by educational institutions since they can show a list of the programs they are offering, and they can be used when making future references. These cars are often used as part of the film production appeal to the audiences who may be interested in purchasing the vehicles.

Most online shops such as eBay, Amazon, Alibaba make use of the internet to advertise their products. Their advertisements messages often appear as pop-ups on websites visited by internet users. The advertisements are placed in interstitial spots on a webpage. Some of these websites are promoted by Google in its many online applications such as YouTube, Chrome browser, Gmail, google plus, and many others.

Despite most people considering the use of radio in advertising as an outdated strategy, this method remains to be one of the most effective ways of delivering advertisement messages to a broader audience. Radios offer the convenience of delivery since one can continue with their activities while still listening to the advertisement message. Radios help to expand the reach of a new product or a sponsored event.

Which specific ad was the “best/smartest/most effective”? Which specific ad was the “worst/stupidest/least effective”?

I considered the Nike’s, ‘Dream Crazier’ advertisement to be the most effective advertisement. This ad is launched in 2018, features 49ers quarterback player Colin Kaepernick. This ad message made use of an emerging trend in marketing referred to a cause marketing. The ad signaled the brands move into this type of advertising. This year saw a famous tennis legend, Serena Williams, starring in this year’s version of the advertisement. The ad encourages women in sports against unfair stereotyping and gender bias. Despite the scandals and unfair criticism faced by Williams in 2018, which also led to court battles, she starred in the ad giving an unapologetic message. Some of the criticisms included a catsuit worm by the athlete at the French Open due to pregnancy complications, which resulted in her unfair punishment contributing to her loss at the US Open final. The ad impressed me by its emotionally evocative music and writing.

The worst ad was the ad by Pepsi when it trivialized social justice movements. This ad which aired on April 2017. The ad debuted Kendal Jenner having a photoshoot. Jenner then spotted a protest across the streets and decides to join in. She is later seen to walk up to a police officer controlling the protest and gives the police officer a Pepsi, therefore stopping the demonstrations and the socio-economic conflicts. This advertisement was not effective since Pepsi mistook social justice movements as chances to sell the soda. This move appeared to be disrespectful to the activists who have sacrificed and suffered because of protests and change. Black Lives Matter supporters were not involved in the apology. Instead, Kendal Jenner apologized to the public, which further damaged Pepsi’s reputation. This ad came amidst several protests and riots all mover America and was considered insulting and insensitive to use serious social issues to sell a product.

Did any ads seem particularly designed to make you feel bad/worse about yourself in some way? If so, which ones and in what way?

The ad by protein world, ‘beach body’ made me feel bad about my body and physique. This advertisement was by a health supplement supplier, Protein world. The ad was released all over New York and London billboards showing a girl wearing a bikini. The ad had a slogan, ‘are you beach body ready.’ The advertisement aimed at promoting the supplements to people who wanted to have a perfect beach body picture for summer. This ad promoted body shaming. The ad received numerous criticisms from several feminist groups who argued that the choice of words in the advertisement insinuated that the only perfect beach body was the picture of the lady in the ad. The ad may have resulted in depression and loss of self-esteem, especially in people who considered themselves not to have the perfect beach body.

Nivea’s white is purity ad also made me feel bad about myself. In advertising their new invincible antiperspirant, the company used the tagline, ‘white is purity.’ The ad showed a white woman who was wearing white looking out through the window. The choice of words in this advertisement was poorly chosen, bringing the notion of racism. This advertisement was also widely criticized and withdrawn from being aired.

Your personal reflections on mass media advertising and its role are society and culture

Mass media advertising forms a persistent part of our day to day existence. Advertising has a significant impact on how people perceive and analyze their lives, their world, and themselves (McKenzie et al, 2018). Mass media advertising acts as a significant social medium that is responsible for bringing changes in beliefs, morals, buying patterns. For instance, it affects people choices in what they wear, like,  eat,  go, or whatever they do.

Advertising poses several positive and negative impacts in the society (Chan, 2016). The negative impacts of advertising include misinterpretation. Misinterpretation occurs when the dramatization of an ad leads to falsely representing the image.  False images can also be spread by advertising. Some advertising messages may give unrealistic and unattainable images (McKenzie et al, 2018). These images, in turn, affect how people perceive themselves. Advertising messages may contain unrealistic expectations of drugs and the resulting side effects. These advertisements fail to warn the audiences about the side effects of using such drugs. Mass media advertising may also promote harmful products such as alcohol and cigarettes.  These advertising platforms are considered a significant learning platform for youths, which may influence them to engage in drugs.

In conclusion, advertising provides several advantages to the various groups in society. Advertisements messages may give information on public health (Chan, 2016). Buyers are also able to learn about the truth about certain products in cases of comparative advertising (McKenzie et al, 2018). Advertisement messages can be used to encourage investors in investing in a particular product (Chan, 2016). The company’s image is enhanced in advertisement messages. The ad may influence salespeople, investors, and retailers to conduct business with the company resulting in economic growth.

Reference

Chan, K. (2016). Social issue of advertising. City University of HK Press.

De Mooij, M. (2018). Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes.          SAGE Publications Limited.

McKenzie, M., Bugden, M., Webster, A., & Barr, M. (2018). Advertising (in) equrality: The         impacts of sexist advertising on women’s health and wellbeing. Women’s Health        Issues Paper, (14), i.