Read this text carefully, and when
you have finished,
click
here
ADVERTISING
We all have the feeling of being constant targets for advertising. We
see posters in the streets and tube, find our letter boxes cluttered with
prospectuses and leaflets, are obliged to sit through the commercials at the
cinema and listen to the jingles on radio and TV. Our newspapers are full of
adverts too-from the full-page colour ads in the glossy magazines to the more
austere classified ads, for situations wanted and situations vacant.
When we pick up an extra packet of chewing-gum at the cash-desk of the
supermarket , or go into a shop to buy a pullover or raincoat, merely because
there is a mark-down on the label, we have responded to point-of-sale
advertising. The ad man appeals to all the facets of our character: the desire
to save, to escape to a beach or skiing resort, to keep fit or to lose weight,
the desire for comfort or luxury, to own status symbols or to emulate the way
of life portrayed on the hoardings.
The advertiser works on our reflexes and impulses, training us to
recognize brand images and trademarks instinctively. Well thought-out
conditioning activates sales; it is easier, for example, to pick up a pack of 6
bottles of beer than it is to take just 3. Advertising creates new needs and
converts luxuries into necessities. Despite inflation and the rising cost of
living, we somehow manage to stretch our purchasing power, often saving on
essentials to buy non-essentials: families will simplify their menus but still
fall for the latest gadgets or household appliances seen on the”box”.
Come what may, our standard of living just has to be maintained!