Media & Its Toll On The Advertisement Industry

Considering that media is very influential in today's society, it plays a huge role in the advertisement industry. However, we may not consider that a piece of media such as billboards, shows, and/or movies advertise as much as commercials do. Unless you pay close attention, you will not see that certain company's are sold on the big screen. Whether its on an item of clothing, or food and/or drinks, brands and companies use these forms of entertainment to sell consumers their products. 

Billboards are the oldest form of advertisement. While passing by in your choice of transportation, billboards are almost everywhere to be seen. With technology advancing by the minute some billboards also play videos, which capture a consumer's eye even more. Ads are meant to persuade consumers into buying things, yet almost always consumers are persuaded into buying products that they do not need. 

TV shows and Movies usually carry the heaviest weight of advertisement. Not only do TV shows advertise within the show but every five minutes the show takes a quick break to show you at least 10 different ads. The typical 1 hour show is usually 45 minutes, meaning that the other 15 minutes were dedicated to show the audience many commercials of things that they most likely do not need. 

Movies that show on TV are the exact same and the duration of the movie feels like forever due to these pesky commercials. Although not all ads are worthless, some actually advertise things that consumers may need. When you're going to the movie theatres however they’re never used to be actual commercials other than the common coming soon promos & trailers but now there are a whole bunch of ads including newest technology ads, album ads, and more. Popular and even unpopular website have jumped on the bandwagon with tons of annoying little ads & pop-ups. One of the most popular sites YOUTUBE has become number one for showing ads before videos. Luckily sometimes these ads are skippable however some you'll have to watch for the duration of the ad. 

As much as ads may deem annoying they have strategies to appeal to their consumers. Those of which include using rhetorical tools & propaganda techniques. Persuasion is rhetoric therefore rhetorical tools are used throughout advertisements in the media to persuade consumers into purchasing their product/service. 

Ethos (also known as ethical appeal) is used in some commercials that incorporate propaganda techniques such as Appeal to Authority, Beautiful People or Cult of Personality. For example if David Suzuki, a well known environmentalist were to be selling a product for soil/fertilizer, chances are that the audience/consumers would be convinced and believe the commercial since it is using a person who is worthy of respect and knowledgable in the environment industry. Teens may also be targeted by Beautiful People or Cult of Personality because they are very much so affected by celebrities and the Hollywood World. They may also be persuaded by Bandwagoning because most Teens may do almost anything to fit in and join the bandwagon! Pathos is also used in many ads that persuade people to donate money to their cause. If they use images of kids from Third World Countries who suffer from diseases and/or famish it gives the audience an emotional appeal and somewhat uses the propaganda technique transfer to evoke an emotional response from the audience.

In their entirety ads may be overdone but think about it - If there were no ads nor commercials to advertise a product/service chances are that it will not sell as much. Lastly today’s food for thought.. Did you know that we each see more advertisements in one year than people 50 years ago saw in a lifetime ?