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Текст 12 Advertising

Advertising is the businessman's tool for convincing the public to buy products. In the beginning, it was a basic and crude tool. Craftsmen relied on word of mouth, crying out to passersby to extol the virtues of their wares. As time passed advertising became more refined and sophisticated Newspapers, magazines, radio, and television introduced a vast audi­ence to the many new products developed through exploration and technology.

Advertising probably began when civilization evolved from agricultural com­munities and people began producing goods to offer one another. In ancient times, spoken publicity was a recognized Institution as a means of bartering for goods. Public criers pro­claimed information of articles for sale along with news of current events. Greek criers were often accompanied by both vocal and instrumental music. Egyptian criers drifted through the streets of Alexandria announcing the arrival of ships and the nature of their cargo.

Crying to the public was a haphazard way of reaching people. Recorded adver­tisements were soon recognized to be more reliable. The ancient Romans devised two methods of recording ads: 1) they smoothed and whitened areas on a wall where advertisements could be written or carved. These announcements were called "albums" and were later used by Roman artisans to advertise the tools of their trade. 2) They used stone or terra cotta tablets with lettering and illustration in relief that was done by sculptors. Plaques like these were set into the walls of houses or suspended by brackets above a door. They announced gladiatorial contests, athletic exhibitions, rooms for rent, lost-and-found articles, and the merits of candidates running for public office.

By the Middle Ages, symbolic advertising was developed. A symbol represented certain goods or services. Shops displayed a special object to indicate what goods or services could be found inside. The striped barber's pole, for example, advertised that the man in the shop would shave your beard, cut your hair, pull your teeth, and perform minor surgery. Three gold balls indicated a pawnshop, where you could trade your goods as a guarantee for bor­rowed money.

In the Middle Ages, verbal announcements, written messages, and symbolic figures ail performed the basic function of giving information about goods and wares. Then two historical changes — the Age of Exploration and the Industrial Revolution — caused an explosion in the advertising field. As new inventions made it possible to duplicate advertisements in bulk quantities, virtually endless amounts of advertising were foisted on an unlimited consumer audience. The abundance of new luxury goods, which came from both discovery and inven­tion, meant that consumers had to be told more about the product than before. The public had to be persuaded and convinced that it needed all these new products and that the product was better than its many competitors. These new dimensions made advertising an extremely pow­erful field.

Advertising became a professional business of creating new markets, new products, and new needs. The advertising men became specialists, pooling their efforts to organize them­selves as an advertising agency. The jobs of the agency included representing a number of media (newspapers, magazines, etc.) in the sale of space to advertisers, writing copy, selection of the proper medium, and analysis of market.

Advertising followed the wave of scientific development of the 1920s. Advertisers abandoned their blind faith that products would sell and backed their ventures with scientific methods instead. Agencies set up their own market and consumer research departments. Special firms did research for advertisers and the media. They systematically investigated all the factors involved in selling: the product, the character and mood of the prospective buyers, the buyers' geographical location and purchasing power, etc. Along with attracting a new buying public, advertising also attracted criticism. Advertising developed two particular techniques which are still used today: exaggerat­ing the virtues of many products and 2) creating a need in the minds of the consumers where a need does not actually exist.

The advertisers' extravagant claims created an uncomfortable feeling that nothing was quite as good as the ad described it to be. Despite this criticism, advertising continues to capture the fancy of the consumer, who continues to buy. Motivational research is probably the key reason. It seeks to discover why people buy the things they do. Researchers observed that in a buying situation, people often act emotionally and impulsively — reacting subconsciously to images and designs on the product package. The average woman, for example, is willing to pay up to $2 or more for a facial cream but not more than 50 cents for a bar of soap. According to the motivational research, her subconscious is responsible for directing her actions. She buys under the illusion that the facial cream will make her beautiful while the soap will only make her clean Modern advertisers realize that their task is to find images which appeal emotionally to a segment of consumers. The possible combinations of images and their corresponding buying segments are infinite.

Advertising has come a long way since the stone carvings in ancient Rome. The basic point remains the same – to sell a product. But now advertising appeals to as big audience as possible, making the public buy a vast array of luxury items. Persuasion is the tool of the trade and the key to success.

Отметьте правильный ответ:

The earliest advertising was done by__________

  • Public criers

  • Passerby

  • Recorded messages

An advertising symbol, like a barber’s pole,__________

  • Was an emotional lure in attracting consumers

  • Told nothing about what shop offered

  • Represented available goods or services

The main purpose of advertising before modern times was________

  • To inform

  • To persuade

  • To decorate

Advertising changed radically when________

  • People doubted the truth in the messages

  • It became hard to contact the public

  • New products were discovered or invented

Over the last several decades, advertising methods have become_________

  • Haphazard

  • Scientific

  • Impulsive

According to modern research, today’s consumer buys__________

  • After careful consideration

  • On impulse

  • Without regard to the appearance of the item

Ответьте на вопросы:

  1. How was the earliest advertising done?

  2. When did advertising begin?

  3. Which two methods of recording ads were devised by ancient Romans?

  4. When was symbolic advertising developed?

  5. What was advertised with the help of symbols?

  6. What two historical changes caused an explosion in the advertising fields?

  7. Why has advertising changed since the 1920’s radically?

  8. What are two particular techniques used today?

  9. What is the key to success in modern advertising?

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