BASICS OF ADVERTISING
UNIT 1

TOPIC 1: Advertising: Definition, Types and Functions

DEFINITION
● Any paid form of non personal presentation of goods, ideas and services by an identified sponsor –
American Marketing Association

● The ​paid a​ spect of the definition reflects the fact that the space or time for an advertising message
generally must be bought. Exception: PSA (space or time is donated by the media)

● The ​Non-personal ​component means that advertising involves mass media that can transmit a
message to large group of individuals, often at the same time.

● Identified Sponso​r :Advertising is done for an identified sponsor or the advertiser or the client who
invests money for promoting his product/idea/service.

● Derived from Latin word ad verter which means ‘to run towards’ or ‘to attract attention to’.

● The easiest definition of advertising is that it is a public announcement. In earlier times,

advertisements aimed at announcing birth, death, engagements with little or no intention to persuade.
However, gradually it evolved as a form of persuasive communication.

● In a free market economy, it becomes important to have such communication as it helps the public in
making intelligent choices.

● Dorothy Cohen​ in 1988 defined advertising as:Advertising is a business activity, employing creative
techniques to design persuasive communication in mass media that promote ideas, goods and
services in a manner consistent with the achievement of the advertiser’s objectives, the delivery of
consumer satisfaction and the development of social and economic welfare.The definition covers
both aspiration and functional aspects of advertising.

 
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Roles Of Advertising
● Marketing Role:​ Marketing is a business process that aims to satisfy the consumer needs and wants
through goods and services. And in order to do so, advertising lets the message out to take that big
role in marketing to promote the goods and services.

● Communication Role:​ No product and/or service can move without the proper dissemination of
information. This is one role of advertising that transmits the needed information about the goods or
services to the target market.

● Economic Role:​ Advertising plays a big part in the price elasticity of products and services.

● Social Role:​ Advertising plays an important role in shaping the society. It helps in bringing changes
at social level. The moral/social appeal in advertising helps in creating awareness about social issues.
It also motivates the society.

Functions of Advertising

1.Advertising helps in increasing consumer base of an organization, that is, it tries to increase the demand for
its products. Advertising, in such a case, aims at turning non-users into users (eg. Ads of mineral water,
mouth wash, deodorants etc); attracting users of a competitive brand (eg, Ads of Colas, mint candies,
detergents etc) and retaining existing customers ( both through product Ads, reinforcing the message and
also through corporate Ads like Airline Ads.)

2.Advertising helps in increasing primary demand (eg: Ads for milk, eggs, vegetables, meat products, gold,
diamonds etc where a product not a particular brand is high lightened for eg: Doodh Doodh Doodh, Piyo
Glass Full)

3.Advertising aims at increasing usage. It attempts to generate sales by highlighting the variety of uses of a
product and the frequency of use (eg: Ads highlighting the various uses of mixers and grinders, shampoo
Ads (Loeral Shampoo, five problems, one solution, Milkmaid (a Nestle Product) Ads showing how to make
different recipes.

 
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4.Advertising also aims at reducing time between purchases (eg: Ads encouraging customers to stock items
before they run out, such as keeping in stock an extra toothbrush before the old one becomes soft or
changing refrigerator deodorant before the machine starts giving unpleasant odour.)

5.Advertising helps to identify products and differentiate them from others. It aims at communicating
information about the product, its features and the time of its availability. It induces consumers to try new
products and suggests a variety of uses for the same product. It also stimulates the distribution of a product
and builds brand preference and loyalty.

Arnold M. Barban and Samuel Watson Dunn ascribe three functions to advertising:

1. The first steps create the awareness and knowledge function and relate to Information and Ideas.
2. The second steps create liking and preference function, which lead to a favourable attitude or feeling
towards the product.
3. The final two steps create the conviction and purchase function and generate action and finally lead
to the acquisition of the product.The three functions are directly related to a classic psychological
model, which divides behaviour into three components or dimensions:

1.The cognitive component-the intellectual, mental or rational state

2.The affective component-the emotional or feeling state

3. The conative or motivational state –the striving state

 
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TOPIC 3: TYPES OF ADVERTISEMENT

Types Of Advertisement

 
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1. CONSUMER ADVERTISING
● ​Also called Brand Advertising

● Targets buyers of consumer products who purchase them either for their own use or for their
household’s. - SMGC, FMGC, consumer durable

● Purchase made for personal consumption or for household purpose

2. INDUSTRIAL ADVERTISING
● Ads issued by manufacturers/distributors to the buyers of industrial products

3. PROFESSIONAL ADVERTISING
● Advertising targeted to professionals such as doctors, lawyers, dentists, engineers, or
professors to encourage them to use a company’s product in their business operations. It
might also be used to encourage professionals to recommend or specify the use of a
company’s product to the end-users.
● There are certain products where the consumers themselves are not responsible for the buying
choice
● Example: pharmaceuticals where the decision is made by the doctors while the consumers are
the patient

4. TRADE ADVERTISING
● Ads directed by the manufacturers to the distribution channel members, such as wholesalers
or retailers
● It aims at motivating retailers or wholesalers to stock more or to attract new outlets

 
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1. LOCAL ADVERTISING

● Small firms may like to restrict their business to State or Regional level.

● Some firms may first intend to localize their marketing efforts and once they achieve success,
they expand the market

2. NATIONAL ADVERTISING

● National advertising is done by large companies on a nation wide basis or in most regions of
the country. Most of the advertisements of well known companies and brands that are seen on
prime -time television or in other major national or regional media are examples of national
advertising. The goals of national advertisers are to inform or remind consumers of the
company or brand about its features, benefits, advantages, or uses and to create or reinforce
its image so that consumers will be predisposed to purchase it.

● When manufacturer think their target is the entire country.

● Generally large and established firms belong to this category

● For example: Cement companies, Hindustan Lever, Brooke Bond, Escorts

 
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3. GLOBAL ADVERTISING

● International advertising is conceived as a response to global marketing enabling the agency

to channelize advertising from transnational corporations into transnational media. The same
product brand that was once sold nationally can now be sold to the whole world backed by
the same advertising. E.g. Coke has been using the same standardized advertising in all
countries. Pepsi adopts the common theme to the national culture.

1. PIONEERING ADVERTISING

This form of advertising is designed to stimulate primary demand for a new product or product
category (McDaniel et al, 2006). It is heavily used in the introductory stage of product life cycle
when a new product is launched.

This type of product advertising provides in-depth information of the benefits of using a product or
service. It is often used to create interest and to increase the public‘s awareness

2. COMPETITIVE ADVERTISING

 
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The goal of using competitive advertising is to influence demand for a specific brand. The advertisers
usually provide information regarding a product’s attributes and benefits which may not available
from competing products (Yeshin, 1998). Even when other brands own the same attributes or
benefits, advertisers often create an impression that their products are somehow ‘much better’ than
other, similar products available in the marketplace.

3. COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING

Comparative advertising compares two or more competing brands on one or more specific attributes,
be it directly or indirectly (McDaniel et al, 2006). Comparative advertising gives consumers a logical
decision factor as most of them do not want to make decisions (MacArthur and Cuneo, 2007). This
way, by comparing one company’s brand with other competing brands in the advertisement, the
company most likely helps the consumers to choose which brand they would prefer to use.

1. PRINT ADVERTISING

 
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❖ Classified text ads are certainly the most popular of all because there are various benefits

that come with it. A classified advertisement in a newspaper is priced based on words, lines

and characters. Factors like background colours, screen border and ticks also can influence

the overall rate of the classified ads. Classified text ads are ideal for all types of advertising

especially matrimonial ads.

❖ Classified Display ads are priced on per square centimetre and are a bit costlier than the

regular classified ads. These ads offer higher visibility and response rate because advertisers

can use their brand logos and have a border to their ads to make it visually appealing. These

ads usually have size restrictions and are ideal for obituary ads and recruitment ads.

❖ Display ads garner a lot of attention which is why they are costlier than classified ads and

classified display ads. These ads do not have size restrictions and can occupy full page as

well. These ads are ideal for branding, promoting business, recruitment campaigns, real estate

projects, promoting retail chains and education ads.

2. RADIO
❖ Live Read

A format where you can hear commercials read in real-time online by a radio
announcer, a type of commercial also known as a live read. This type of advertisement
is more effective with a really popular on-air host because advertisers hope that the
host's voice will carry extra weight with the show's audience.

❖ Sponsorship

Many radio stations implement sponsorships for certain types of radio segments, such
as traffic, weather, or sports scores during halftime of the big game. It will generally
sound something like this: 'This hour's weather update brought to you by Beach
Rentals. Call Beach Rentals for all of your vacation needs.

❖ Produced Spot

A produced spot can either be a straight read of your advertising message or a read
that incorporates multiple voices, sound effects or a jingle. A jingle is a short, catchy

 
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song about your company. These typically tell listeners where to find your business or
your products and can be funny, serious, or informative

3. TV
❖ Spokesperson

Essentially, a spokesperson ad employs a single person to represent the product, company or brand.
The theory is that viewers will connect with the spokesperson psychologically in a way they would
not connect to a product or service. These ads can feature a local or national celebrity talking about
the business, which works as a basic celebrity endorsement. The business owner might also take on
the role of spokesperson. This approach ties the credibility of the business directly to the credibility
or reputation of the business owner. In other cases, the spokesperson uses the product or service and
offers a testimonial

❖ Demonstration

Demonstration commercials are a staple of television advertising. Demonstration ads take advantage
of the visual element of television by showing viewers what the product can do in context. For
example, if you sell cleaning products, nothing communicates why the viewer should buy more
effectively than showing the products remove dirt and grime. An effective demonstration ad must
reiterate the product name; otherwise, it runs the risk of the viewer remembering the effect, but not
the product itself.

❖ Problem-Solution

Businesses also use the problem-solution commercial approach to good effect, in large part because
of its versatility. This approach overlaps with the demonstration ad for products, but also works for
services that rely on a skill-set. A tax preparation service, for example, could run an ad that featured a
disgruntled-looking person surrounded by tax forms. The ad cuts to the person going to the service
and then getting a refund check. Good problem-solution commercials should always accomplish one
goal: identifying the business or product as the right solution to the problem.

❖ Infomercials

Infomercials operate as the television analogue of the long-form sales letter. This falls beneath the
direct-response approach to advertising, in which the commercial asks the viewer to call or write-in
to place an order. Infomercials employ a hard-sell approach that highlights product features and

 
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benefits, often with hyperbolic language, while minimizing problems or limitations. Infomercials can
range in length from a few minutes to a half-hour. This advertising approach works best with
physical products that are new to the market.

4. NEW MEDIA
❖ Search Engine Results pages
❖ Banner Ads
❖ Pay per click Ads
❖ Text Ads
❖ Rich Media Ads
❖ Social Network Ads
❖ Online Classified Ads
❖ E-mail marketing

5. OOH
❖ Billboards: attract pedestrians and motorists
❖ Mobile Billboard : Vehicle mounted billboards or digital screens
❖ Sheltered outdoor advertising: combines indoor with outdoor advertisement by placing large
mobile structures in public places on temporary basis (Pull strategy)
❖ Ariel Advertising: Uses aircrafts, balloons, airships (skywriting)
❖ Street Advertising: got prominence in The UK (3D Pavement Advertising)

 
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TOPIC 4: Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Advertising: ASCI &

AAAI Code
Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Advertising

Before studying about ethical and regulatory aspects of advertising, it is important to understand what ethics
are and how they are different from laws.

Ethics, also described as moral philosophy, is a system of moral principles which is concerned with what is
good for individuals and society.

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior.

Nobody will be punished when they violate ethics; but whoever violates laws is going to receive punishment
carried out by relevant authorities.

Ethics is concerned with good and bad with reference to a particular culture at a given point of time. It
represents a set of moral principles and values. Morality is concerned with the right type of conduct. It
represents a set of principles of right and wrong behaviour.

Ethics in advertising

means a set of well defined principles which govern the ways of communication taking place between the
seller and the buyer. Ethics is the most important feature of the advertising industry. Though there are many
benefits of advertising but then there are some points which don’t match the ethical norms of advertising.

An ethical ad is the one which doesn’t lie, doesn’t make fake or false claims and is in the limit of decency.

Ethical Advertising contains truth, not absolute truth, but socially accepted standards of honesty as truth. It
has to be right in its approach and claims. Consumer consciousness also pressurises the advertiser to be
ethical and truthful.Ethical advertising can shift the demand curve to the right and unethical advertising can
shift the demand curve of a firm to the left.

Unethical Advertising

Using advertising in a way that is misleading and uses false claims to get the public to buy the product they
are trying to sell is unethical, because of its misuse of the information that is presented to the public.

Advertising is considered unethical when there are:

 
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1.Untruthful claims: Ads offering mixtures and substances which promise loss of weight, growth of hair,
growth in height, sexual energy make plenty false claims.

2.Exaggerated claims: the exaggeration in consumer advertisements is not only in the headlines, body copy
and slogans but also in the strong visuals. The mouth watering visuals of television Ads of ice creams, cakes,
biscuits, chocolates, jellies and yogurt are created with models that have nothing to do with the look, the feel
and the taste of the actual product.

3.Unverifiable claims in a language that is ambiguous: Advertisements of energy drinks like Red Bull (gives
you wings) is an unverifiable claim.

4.The use of misleading labels and names: Indian advertisers have frequently to be warned by multinational
companies not to use the brand names and lebels of their products. The use of misleading labels is best
illustrated in advertisement of T.S.Watches where the fullstop between S and W is almost invisible leading
to the impression that watches advertised are the internationally renowned brand “Swatch”.

5.The use of Testimonials or endorsements: Advertisers pay handsome fees to film and sports personalities
who have nothing to do with the use of the product ot the service, to endorse their products. The Nawab of
Pataudi promoted Gold Cafe, Amitabh Bacchhan endorses a Navratan Hair oil, Salman Khan wears a Relaxo
Hawai Chappal! Do these stars really have something to do with the product?

6.Creating erroneous impressions: Advertisers frequently exploit the weakness of Indians for foreign
products by giving a foreign brand namesuch as “Park Avenue” or“Cambridge” to their products or by
getting Europeans or Americans to endorse Indian products.

7.The use of sex, especially the use of women as sex objects, to advertise products that are targeted by
men-products such as cars, bikes, after shave lotion, underwear.

8.Alcohol and tobacco advertising: Advertising of alcoholic drinks and tobacco are prohibited in the
broadcasting media and in the cinema. These products make appearance indirectly through advertisements of
soda, glasses, music CDs and mineral water. These indirect Ads are called surrogate advertising.

ASCI
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) established in 1985 has adopted a Code for
Self-Regulation in Advertising. It is a commitment to honest Advertising and to fair competition in the

 
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market-place. It stands for the protection of the legitimate interests of consumers and all concerned with
Advertising - Advertisers, Media, Advertising Agencies and others who help in the creation or placement of
advertisements.

ASCI has one overarching goal: to maintain and enhance the public confidence in advertising. ASCI seeks to
ensure that advertisements conform to its Code for Self-Regulation which requires advertisements to be:

Guidelines:

1. To ensure the truthfulness and honesty of representations and claims made by advertisements and to
safeguard against misleading advertising.
2. To ensure that advertisements are not offensive to generally accepted standards of public decency.
3. To safeguard against indiscriminate use of advertising for promotion of products which are regarded
as hazardous to society or to individuals to a degree or of a type which is unacceptable to society at
large.
4. To ensure that advertisements observe fairness in competition so that the consumers need to be
informed on choices in the market place and the canons of generally accepted competitive behaviour
in business are both served.

Examples of registered complaints:

1. Azafran Innovacian Ltd (Azafran D’fend SPF 50+ Crème): Theadvertisement’s claim, “SPF 50+”,
was not substantiated with evidence of the claimed SPF values. The claim is misleading by
exaggeration and likely to lead to grave or widespread disappointment in the minds of consumers.

2. Hindustan Unilever Ltd (Lifebuoy Soap):

The television advertisement when seen in totality creates an impression that Lifebuoy is
recommended by doctors. This is emphasized by the celebrity posing as a doctor wherein she
states “doctor se suno” and in the last frame of the TVC showing four persons in white
coat giving an impression that doctors have endorsed this product. In view of the Code of
Medical Ethics prohibiting doctors from endorsing any product and in absence of any market
research data indicating that medical professionals in general recommend the advertised
product, such visual presentation was considered to be misleading by ambiguity and implication.

3. Lovely Professional University: The advertisement’s claim, "University with unbeatable

placements", was not substantiated with verifiable comparative data of the advertiser’s institute
and other similar institutes, and is misleading by exaggeration. The claim, "Packages of over
Rs one crore", was not substantiated with evidence to prove that students immediately after
passing out from the Lovely Professional University were offered the claimed package. The

 
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claims are misleading by exaggeration and exploit the consumers’ lack of knowledge and are
likely to lead to grave or widespread disappointment in the minds of consumers.

AAAI
On September 21, 1945, 60 years ago, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) was registered as
a society in Calcutta. 4 agencies from Calcutta: D J Keymer, General Advertising Agency, J Walter
Thomson Co. and Press Syndicate and 3 agencies from BombayAdarts, Lintas and National Advertising
Service were the signatories in the registrar’s office doing the honours. Initially the registered office of the
Association was located at 37, Chowringhee, Calcutta. Calcutta, under the British Raj, was a vibrant
commercial city. In 1961, the AAAI office was shifted to Bombay. In such an era, these were some real bold
men, who felt the need to create a platform to promote advertising, as a professional activity!

In summary, AAAI, over the last six decades, has stood by its members and have protected their business
interests, be it in dialogue with Government, media bodies or advertisers; AAAI has regulated its members
in the orderly conduct of their business affairs, whenever the need arose; And last, but not the least, AAAI
provided a platform for training of advertising professionals, recognition of creative work through its
coveted Triple-A Awards and honouring outstanding advertising men through its AAAI-Premnarayen
Award.

objectives

❖ To benefit Indian consumers and to protect their interests by helping ensure that advertising is honest
and in good taste.
❖ To benefit Indian advertisers by promoting their sales, increasing their sales and increasing
productivity & profitability, to stimulate business and industrial activity.
❖ To benefit media by establishing sound business practices between advertisers and advertising
agencies and each of the various media owners.
❖ To benefit the nation by harnessing advertising for the good of the country, its institutions, its citizens
to co-operate with the Government in promoting its social objectives and in the task of
nation-building.
❖ To question advertising that is wasteful and extravagant to make it possible for the small
entrepreneur to grow through advertising and to compete with the biggest to encourage market and
media research to serve society by meeting its social responsibilities.

 
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❖ To encourage the interest of young individuals in the business of communication, to assist in
education and training programmes and to provide information of benefit to members. Non-members
are also provided this service for a fee.
❖ To establish a common platform in building and sustaining the prestige of the advertising profession
and to serve as a spokesman against unwarranted attacks or restrictions on advertising.
❖ To establish a forum where representatives of advertisers, advertising agencies, media owners and
Government can meet on mutual ground and examine problems of mutual concern.
❖ To offer effective co-operation and liaison with Government officials and bodies for the purpose of
broadening their understanding of the role of advertisers, advertising and advertising agencies.
❖ To co-operate with Government bodies in discussion of matters such as taxes, radio and TV
advertising, legislation, political campaign advertising, controls on pharmaceuticals, tobacco or
liquor advertising and other subjects of similar complexity and sensitivity.

UNIT 2

TOPIC 1: