When we talk about an advertisement we are talking about a message that is intended to let other people know about a product, something that has happened or anything else, but always for commercial purposes. They usually come from companies and always have one goal: to convince others about what they are advertising.
What is
An advertisement for products or services is usually made in a visual, auditory or audiovisual way to convey your message. What they want is to communicate a message and the announcement must follow a series of guidelines to be correct.
Features
Ads must meet a series of characteristics to be effective, below we are going to comment on these characteristics so that you take it into account:
- Creativity: la creativity it is essential in all aspects. Because with a series of creative strategies you can create a greater impact on the people you are targeting. In this way they stimulate consumption.
- Duration. It does not have to be very long to be effective, ideally it should last between 10 seconds and a minute. When the minute is passed and the duration is up to 5, it is so that people receive more complete information. When it lasts more than 5 minutes, then it is emulated to a television program.
- Audience. The advertisements are aimed at a specific audience and this must be taken into account for their realization and dissemination (age, culture, sex, tastes, etc.).
- Function. The function will make the product more or less visible in the market to which it is directed. There are also advertisements with the aim of reflexión social in order to improve society.
Elements of advertisements
Advertisements usually have elements in common to make it more attractive, and most importantly: so that the public remembers it and can comment on it with others. Here are the most important elements:
- Slogan. It is the most important part because it is what defines the brand. It should be short and easy to remember, as well as catchy. This way you can differentiate the brand from the competition. It will have to be positive to capture the attention of the public. An example of a slogan could be: "Red Bull gives you wings" or "Rexona does not abandon you".
- Image. Image is essential because at a visual level it is what identifies and differentiates one brand from another. It can be a logo that describes the brand and the products or services it offers. An example is the billboards that you can see on the road or in big cities.
- Message. The message is essential because it is what transmits the information that the brand wants to convey to the public. The message will have to be adapted to the audience to be reached and therefore the message and content have to be well thought out. We are not only referring to the words, but also to the sounds and images that are used. It usually has hidden messages so that people feel that they discover the message that you want to convey. The important thing is to persuade. For example, queue ads that try to reach the heart of the public is one example.
- Logo or brand. This is about the symbol that differentiates that company from others. It is usually made up of images, letters, or a combination of both. This provides identity to the company and has specific colors so that they can be easily identified. In this way the company, once its achievement is recognized among the public, it is easier to spread and be successful. For example, the brand of Mr. Wonderfull, Coca-cola, McDonald's, etc.
Examples of banner ads
Next we are going to give you some examples of advertisements so that you understand even better what we mean. They are brands that you will surely know:
- United Colors of Benetton
- Coca-Cola
- Nescafé
- Nike
- Adidas
- Ford
- Rayban
- Rolex
- Samsung
- Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),
- Nintendo
- Microsoft
Advertisements FAQ
Advertisements always have a message promoting a product or service, and what matters is that the audience or absence becomes potential consumers so that in this way, the company is successful. Next we are going to talk about some frequently asked questions that you need to know.
- What is an advertisement for children? Children and adolescents are the most susceptible to advertisements because they lack critical thinking and believe everything they see or hear, even if it is a lie or it is only trying to persuade to get the advertising company to have financial benefits.
- What are the elements of an advertisement? As we have mentioned above, the main elements are: the slogan, the image, the message and your logo or brand.
- What is the purpose of the banner ads? They always want to publicize an existence of a product or service.
- How to make an advertisement? To be able to make an advertisement, you always have to know the audience you are targeting. Once the audience is known, you have to define objectives, make a good design that is striking, make the client believe that this product or service needs it at all costs (even if it is not like that), that the audience feel identified and that think that what is offered is a solution for your life.
The importance of critical thinking
It is essential that people, that is, that the audience has critical thinking so that they do not "need" everything they see in the ads. You must know how to differentiate what you need from what you don't, and most importantly: know how to differentiate real ads from those that are not.
On many occasions, companies try to reach the audience by making them believe that they need their product to improve their lives, such as perfume, clothing or an appliance. The audience must have sufficient criteria to identify the products that you may really need in your life from those that you don't need at all.
What do you think about when you see an advertisement? Do you like to see them or are you one of the people who only looks for the products if you need them?