Exploring Advertising

1. Idea of advertising.

Advertising is said to be with a potential consumer everywhere, we are so familiarized with it, that we do not even think about its form or nature. We may notice its presence while walking down the street, travelling by public transport or simply at home watching TV, reading a newspaper or on the internet. But what is it after all? How should we define it?

„Advertising to me, is really one of the mysteries of American business. I can inventory my stock can calculate the cost of my factories. I can figure my taxes, estimate my deprecation, determine my sales cost, derive my earnings per share. Yet there are Times when I spend as much as $18 million a year on advertising-and have no idea of what I am really getting for my money”.

1.1. Definition of advertising and the notion of an advertising slogan.

Generally speaking, advertising is seen as an act of communication which main aim is to promote branded products and to encourage people to consume more than they really need.

According to the dictionary, we can describe it as:

1.” the act or practice of calling public attention to one's product, service, need, etc., especially by paid announcements in newspapers and magazines, over radio or television, on billboards, etc.: to get more customers by advertising.

2. paid announcements; advertisements.

3. the profession of planning, designing, and writing advertisements.”

While talking about advertising, it is also worth mentioning what a slogan in advertising is, because for many people it is the slogan that creates a given advertisement. Taking into consideration, the definition from Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary:

” A slogan is a word or phrase that is easy to remember, used for example by a political party or in advertising to attract people people’s attention or to suggest an idea quickly”

And according to the dictionary, it is:

1.” a distinctive cry, phrase, or motto of any party, group, manufacturer, or person; catchword or catch phrase.

2. a war cry or gathering cry, as formerly used among the Scottish clans.”

By making it more clear, according to Kochan, the word originates from Gaelic: sluagh-ghairm [from sluagh army + gairm cry], which was first used in 1514.

Discussing the notion of a slogan, we should mention about its types:

a) Without a name of a brand e.g ”Just do it”

b) A name of a brand functions as an integral part e.