northern lights

northern lights
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Sunday 16 February 2014

Advertisements do they help or confuse?

I  was in a mood to relax and switched on the TV .I  surfed  through channels. I finally chose a movie.  Before the movie started  there were  numberless  ads.  Somehow I tolerated them. The  titles started  rolling on the screen.  Again another  round of ads ! Oh God, it was too much.  I could not bear it any longer.   I am sure every one must have  experienced this  pain in the neck, while watching any programme   on TV.  Not only on TV,  advertisements are every where, in  newspapers, magazines, mobile phones, radio, roads,public and private transports, and even in blogs. How so ever we may  try to evade advertisements, the companies come out  with more novel  and eye catching  ones.
                                                               The ads are used to attract buyers. The firms utilise all sorts of gimmicks to attract the buyer.  Some how the psychology  is that  pretty women , dressed  scantly pull more buyers. This may be the reason that even  products for  men  also depict women. It  is very odd seeing women in ads for shaving  creams, after shave lotion,  men's under garments . This looks so ridiculous. The impression is that  if the ads use sex,  the sale of the product  will go up.
                                               There is so  much  competition in campaigning for every product.  The companies  try to make the ads  very creative, so as to attract the consumer. The ads for  tooth pastes, for example, are  very confusing. One toothpaste company, for example  advertises C  advance,   brite,  sensitive,  sparkling,  for cavity,  whitening etc. Who will not be confused!!  Not to be left  behind, another  rival toothpaste  goes for  more  adjectives as P germi check, fresh,  center fresh,  and many more.The poor consumer is taken for a ride!!  Same  alluring adjectives are used to define  Shampoos, Body lotions, Creams and other products.
Yummy Sandwich -
sandwiches
Paneer Tikka
paneer tikka
                        Another sphere  of   adverts is the food items. How they  show the burgers with such a shiny texture! Paneer Tikkas  look yummy in ads. And  the simple sandwiches are presented  so amazingly.



buger
burger
There are endless ads for mobile phones, each claiming to have  multiple features. The consumer is at a loss, which one to select.  Ranging from two thousand  to  one lac or even above,  the advertising agencies  are  competing   with each other to present  their commodity above others.
                      The ready made garments  also face tough competition.  The  fashions  change so rapidly that  the industry has to  compete with  the changing trends.  The consumer is  'gheraoed'  from  all possible sources and keeps guessing  which  is the best.  How do you like   advertisements ? Do they help  you to decide what to buy and from where to buy?                                           
pics courtesy google                              

16 comments:

  1. Some are interesting and innovative but most are boring..

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  2. Almost all advertisements for products exaggerate their virtues and never reveal the shortcomings/dangers.They are intended to mislead the consumers.It is sad that celebrities endorse products they never use or know them first hand.There is no ethics in advertising.
    Caveat emptor or the buyer beware is the only advice.A good wine needs no bush..The product will speak for itself.

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    1. You are absolutely correct. A product will attract consumers on its own merits.

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  3. How true, Usha!! We are all familiar with these irritating ads on television that just scream at us to switch them off. They are just so excruciating that you can’t bear to watch them.... The best option is to switch over to HD channels..where the ads are less..:)
    Reading blogs after a long break...feels so good :)))

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    1. Nice to see you after a long interval. Thanks for reading this post.

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  4. Some ad s are innovative and creative and i like watching them(surf excel with kid s ). But yes they can be misleading and sometimes irritating too.

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    1. Yes Jaishree some ads are interesting, but some are an eye sore.

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  5. Very true, Ushaji. There is an overdose of advertisements, sometimes it feels like we are shown bits of television programs in between a series of advertisements rather than the other way round.

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    1. Exactly. The number of ads are too irritating.

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  6. The problem with TV ads is, they are not targeted. They show any ad to anyone. What will I do with an ad that is targeted at kids (toys, for example)? To increase their usefulness, companies should try to find out what might be applicable to certain individuals and advertise that to them. It should be more of an information, than claims. After all, we are always looking to buy/evaluating products. I hope the technology evolves to address this factor.

    Destination Infinity

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    1. You are correct . The technology must evolve better norms for advertising.

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  7. I like advertisements for its creativity. The recent reunion ad of google was good, similarly some advertisements are touching. I love axis bank ad (or is it BAnk of baroda?) where the liittle boy carries his piggy bank in a boat. That said, i totally agree with you when you say that some advts. make tall claims and the consumer is taken for a ride. We are spoilt with choices today. TThe consumers have to think twice before they buy.

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    1. Yes Asha the consumer is confused because many ads are misleading.

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  8. Have you noticed the Ads of Dios?Thise are disgusting and cheap.
    There are authorities which can be approached if one has objection to certain Ads.But..........that's how it is

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  9. The ads in a movie can be very irritating. But I do love watching creative and intersting ads. Yes, most ads are mere tall claims! One cannot just go by the ads, we have to think before buying!

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