Advertisement Questions (Term Paper Sample)

BUS 317: Advertising Student's Name Course University Professor Date Question 1 Define Advertising in Your Own Words A personalized definition of advertising is only as accurate as understanding the various important features of an advertisement. Advertising may be defined as a structured form of communication from a specific media type meant to persuade the targeted audience to take action, usually purchase a good or service. As such, advertising is essentially structured communication informing potential buyers of the need to purchase a good or service, albeit creating an association between the good or service sold with a problem (Bossche, 2016). The product is usually presented as a solution to the perceived problem(s). An advertisement's main characteristic features include a structured type of composed communication, propagated through a medium, specifically targeted to potential consumers, and is paid for by the company offering the product. It is one of the most important and evolving strategies used to get the attention of potential customers to gain market share. An Example of an Advertisement That Has Influenced My View as A Customer of the Organization One of the most memorable ad campaigns of all time, Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ Ad campaign was a series of commercials and brand sponsorship campaigns that began in 1988. It formed the basis of Nike’s brand image with a deliberate personalized message that encompassed universal sentiments among the fitness community (Peters, 2009). It resonates with feelings of people interested in fitness (the target market) showcasing resilience, grit, and consistency, hence the success- Nike’s market share increased from 18% to 43% in 10 years from the start of the campaign (Peters, 2009). An Example of an Ad Campaign That Had a Negative Impact on Society The picture is a 1920s poster ad of a frozen dessert (Picaninny Freeze) from Hendler Creamery Co. that uses negative, derogatory, and stereotypic depictions of African American children (Martyris, 2015). The cheap candy was directed towards black children, showcasing them in a negative light. It contributed to the validation of racist opinions in society. Question 2 A Specific Ethical and Legal Responsibility of an Advertiser Advertising, in itself, is an ethical paradox. It is an ethics juxtaposition because its main purpose is persuading a potential customer to purchase a product, not necessarily telling the potential customer the entire truth regarding a product or service in terms of the merits and demerits of using the products (Sungbom Lee, 2012). There are numerous companies and advertisement campaigns that have fallen to the temptation of deliberately altering the truth about a product or service, hiding demerits that backfire into PR Disasters. As such, one of the most important ethical facets of advertising should be truthfulness on the part of the advertiser. Truthfulness on the use and experience of a product aids in cultivating trust, a foundation of recurrent clients. It also aids in discouraging deceptive business practices. A company might deceptively claim their products meet client quality, safety, and social responsibility expectations, such as sustainability, to gain market share (Sungbom Lee, 2012). Truthfulness helps in leveling the playing field for competition’s sake and enables customers to make informed choices when selecting substitute brands. An Example of an Advertisement Campaign That Reflects This Ethical Responsibility- Volkswagen The image is one of Volkswagen’s posters as part of its ‘Clean Diesel’ Ad Campaign- an intense advertisement campaign that began in 2009 till 2015 that falsely claimed select models used specific technologies to produce low-emissions and were generally environmentally friendly (Pemberton, 2015). The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued the company after it was unveiled by the EPA that the company had programmed the vehicles to reduce nitrate oxide emissions during lab testing and not while in use by customers (the vehicles emitted more than 40 times the measured nitrogen oxide emissions during lab testing). The $61 billion lawsuits significantly tarnished the company’s image, resulting in plummeting sales and reduced market share (Pemberton, 2015). Question 3 Types of Advertising Changes in the Last decade (2010 to 2020) As already established, advertising is one of the most important aspects of operations- companies and small businesses pump large amounts of money into advertising with the sole intention of appealing to target audiences and persuade them to purchase a product. The main gist of the evolution of advertising in the past decades and before is following mass attention. Advertisements generally follow and conform to emerging communications media, cultural precepts, and changing client aspects. Globalization and Technology Globalization and the sophistication of communication technologies have significantly influenced advertising, revolutionizing the industry in the past decade. The internet and surge in the popularity of social media platforms in the past decades have shifted people’s attention from conventional mass media platforms like television, radio, and newspaper (Cho & Park, 2019). This meant advertising in these platforms had experienced the biggest drop in terms of expenditure by companies, customer reach, and revenue of advertising firms. Also, as the textbook suggests, companies prefer smaller, regional creative brands and personalities that are popular to specific audiences on a social media platform. This trend is exemplified by YouTube, which has created an ecosystem fueled by advertisements- companies target customers...