Advertisements operate at
many levels and have
specific roles to play at each of these interfaces.
Advertisements are powerful channel of information and communication. If
harnessed carefully, they can be used as potential tools to fight a number
of social evils. Advertisements that are used to draw the attention of
the general public towards a particular social issue are called Public
Service Advertisements or Public Service Announcements (PSA).
PSAs are generally sponsored by non-profit institutions,
civic groups, religious organizations, trade associations, political
groups, etc. With a central focus on public welfare, these kinds of ads
highlight social issues. Commercial advertisements sponsor
goods, services and concepts by using various communication media.
The invention of the printing press ushered in the era of
modern advertising. With the introduction of the concept of sales personnel
in the 18th century, the present form of advertising began to
evolve. Advertising agencies, working on a commission basis, were
chiefly responsible for this evolution.
Consumer durables, perishables and services form the largest
group of items advertised. The major advertising media are:
newspapers, magazines, television and radio, business publications,
billboards, and circulars sent through the mail. With the advent of and the
wide availability of electronic mail and access to the World Wide Web
in the 1990s, the Internet has also become an important
advertising avenue. Traditional means
of communication, such as street plays and puppet shows, are also used
for spreading messages with a social cause in both the urban and
rural areas of the developing countries. |
