Nowadays, advertising is pervasive. From the moment people wake up until the moment they fall asleep they are bombarded with all kinds of advertisements. Ads appear on the TV and radio, on billboards, newspapers and magazines, on the Internet. Considering this, Tellis (2004) implies that advertising plays an important role in our economy and society. He also arouses the questions – Does advertising really work? Is it a weak or strong force? Is it just a background noise or does it have a great influence on people's minds? The purpose of this essay is to discuss the main theories of ‘how advertising works' in order to give answers to these questions.
First it will discuss the two schools of advertising – strong and weak. This will be achieved by elaborating different expert views and presenting the effect modules that support and explain the two schools. Then, one of the modules will be applied to a current advertising campaign in order to analyse advertising in the 21st century. Jones (1990) claims that advertising is a strong force that has a great influence on people and positive impact on sales.
He believes that advertising can convince people to buy a particular product. Jones suggests that advertising is a strong promotional tool that works by: ”persuading people to buy, creating and building brands, differentiating between brands and increasing sales” ( Jones, In Pickton & Broderick, 2005:599). However, Ehrenberg et al (1997) sees advertising as a weak force. He argues that advertising cannot persuade people to buy a product or use a service but only reinforces already existing habits, defends companies from losing market share and maintains brands.
[...] Maybe it will work with other people, too. To sum up, I do not strongly support either the strong or the weak school of advertising. However observing how much money companies spend on advertising, and how it affects me, I suppose it works in one way or another! References: Ambler, T. (2000) ‘Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice: How Ads Works'. International Journal of Advertising. 19(3) [Online] Available at: http://www.warc.com/ArticleCenter/Default.asp?CType=A&AID=14260&Tab=A [Accessed: 08 November, 2008]. Ehrenberg, A. (1997) do consumers come to buy a new brand'. [...]
[...] Over the years these two views of how advertising works has been analysed and criticized by many experts, including King (1967), Ambler (2000) and Weilbacher (2001). In the following paragraphs this essay will discuss in depth the arguments and views of both sides of the discussion. On January in a debate in London between Jones and Ehrenberg, Jones states that advertising has a great influence on consumers psyche. He comments that it is capable of affecting brand choice and persuading people to buy when the consumer is in a store closely after seeing an advertisment. [...]
[...] International Journal of Advertising. 9(3). [Online] Available at: http://www.warc.com/ArticleCenter/Default.asp?CType=A&AID=5170&Tab=A [Accessed: 08 November, 2008] Jones, J. & Ehrenberg, A. (2000) ‘What is Effective Advertising: Two Viewpoints'. WARC Conference paper. January [Online] Available at: http://www.warc.com/ArticleCenter/Default.asp?CType=A&AID=13727&Tab=A [Accessed: 08 November, 2008]. King, S. (1967) research evaluate the creative content of advertising'. Admap Magazine. June [Online] Available at: http://www.warc.com/ArticleCenter/Default.asp?CType=A&AID=1677&Tab=A [Accessed: 08 November, 2008]. McDonald, C. (1992) How advertising Works. London: The Advertising Association in association with NTC. In Ambler, T. (2000) ‘Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice: How Ads [...]
[...] According to Jones (1990) advertising is capable of improving the rate of sales not only of brands but also of complete products, such as cigarettes or alcohol. He assumes that growth in market is quite common for companies. However, Ehrenberg et al (1999, in Ambler 2000) has a different view. He believes that advertising is employed defensively. Its purpose is not to increase sales but to retain existing customers. He also argues that there is no such thing as ‘market growth'. [...]
[...] Ehrenberg, A., Barnard, N., Kennedy, R. & Bloom, H. (1999) ‘Brand advertising as publicity'. Maiden Outdoor Masterclass November. In Ambler, T. (2000) ‘Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice: How Ads Works'. International Journal of Advertising. 19(3) [Online] Available at: http://www.warc.com/ArticleCenter/Default.asp?CType=A&AID=14260&Tab=A [Accessed: 08 November, 2008]. Ehrenberg, A., Barnard, N., Scriven, J. (1997) ‘Differentiation or Salience'. Journal of Advertising research. 37(6). November/December. pp. 14. Business Source Complete. [Online] Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=2&hid=106&sid=9c97b135-e091-4658- bdba-87bde4b1778d%40sessionmgr107 [Accessed: 07 November, 2008] Feldwick, P. (1990) ‘What should we measure'. Admap Magazine. [...]
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