What are adverts and what are the different media types?

Updated: Nov 18, 2020

Ever wondered about adverts and why they are created and the different types, well keep reading.

Adverts are “short messages inserted into the flow of a broadcast programme, or in a magazine or newspaper. These messages invite the audience to consider the advertising proposition” (Advertising by Iain MacRury, Taylor & Francis Group 05/02/2009 page 3). This basically means adverts are created messages within different media types that create an emotional response within the audience to trigger a desired positive response for the company.

This info-graph shows the journey of an advert. It shows how adverts are created by feedback from customers from previous adverts. The feedback will allow the sender to know what the receivers liked and disliked, meaning the sender can create the best possible advert for the receivers as they know what works well and what doesn’t in terms of advertising. This will help create the best marketing communication which happens if the receivers decode the message and understand the meaning behind the advert the way the sender intended them to.

It is suggested “that advertising is a specific and ‘stereotypical act of communication- a genre’” this means that people class advertising as a genre, this is because within advertisements “there remains a formal stereotypical sameness, including but not restricted to:

- repeated typical purposes (to sell, to inform, to gain attention);

- repeated typical communications situations (between producers and consumers);

- and repeated typical communications intent (to represent products in terms of and by association with distinct cultural meanings).” – (Advertising by Iain MacRury, Taylor & Francis Group 05/02/2009 page 5-6)

Adverts normally follow 1 of these 4 aims which are:

1. Sales response- “price based ads aiming to provoke purchases”

2. Persuasion- “ads that work to persuade consumers of the brand or products functional superiority”

3. Involvement- “ads that aim to highlight and dramatise cultural values”

4. Salience: “ads that aim to get consumers’ attention”

(Advertising by Iain MacRury, Taylor & Francis Group 05/02/2009 page 44)

Different media types for adverts:

TV- this is the most common known advert as almost all TV channels have advert breaks in them. As much as these can be effective most people don’t have focused attention on the TV during adverts as they will normally do something else like make a cup of tea

Film- Played in cinemas before films start- mainly focused on new films being realsed

Radio- Effective as On average a listener tunes into 20.7 hours of Live Radio per week.

Newspaper- Depends on age target as to if it is effective- not commonly read now a days

Magazine- same as newspaper

Billboards- effective if they are eye catching but easily missed

Flyers- can be effective if eye catching but most end up in the bin

Social media posts- can be targeted to audience so can be very effective

Websites- same as social media

Photos copyrights:

Watching tv (https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-7/television-capturing-americas-attention.htm - 28/10/2020)

Halifax (http://www.tvadvertsuk.com -28/10/2020)

Cinema ( https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7564897/Cinemas-tweak-film-start-times-force-watch-30-minutes-ads.html- 28/10/2020)