Ads - Then And Now
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by: Alex Wu
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Word Count: 500
Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2010 Time: 12:42 PM
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From the time in 1704 when the first newspaper ad regarding an Oyster Bay estate appeared, ads have formed an integral form of communication through the harnessing of various mass communication media available. The emergence of advertising in the US is fascinating -- Benjamin Franklin publishing first magazine ads in 1742 to Omnicom becoming the largest advertising company in the world in 1986.
Entering into the 90s, we saw the boom in internet usage with 5 million users worldwide; a fact which was employed to take advertising up one notch. By 1999, internet advertising had broken the $ 2 billion mark.
Ads first emerged as useful medium to spread religious propaganda through the medium of print. As time lapsed, there could be seen a major commercial shift in the purpose and design of ads. The impact of television ads attained such heights that it was considered impossible for a politician to win an election without advertising on TV. Today, the constant overflow of jingles, taglines, contests, etc. have rattled the consumer from confusion to indifference. It is interesting to note that even though the popularity of media of mass communication like newspaper and radio have not gone down significantly but the appeal of ads through these media has seen a major low. It seems that the US audience is now bored with the "our product-the best" attitude and repetitions; innovation and creativity is the new business mantra to outdo the competing brand.
How else does one explain the success of ventures like the million dollar website? Depending on various factors, a print ad space can be booked for as cheap as $8 whereas a television advertisement can average to $1780. The penetration of these media in the social life and their impacts cannot be denied. Catchy dialogues and humorous tones have been peculiar features of ad campaigns in recent times. Taglines that ring have often stayed popular with the audience for over two decades, like "Where's the beef?" which was also used for presidential elections later. Since internet has been replacing traditional communication media faster, it has also been cultivated as a source to disseminate product information.
Ads on the internet became a rage in the 90s when every small firm would strive to place small pixels of advertisements on the net. Animated advertisements became the next big thing but were soon discarded as they proved to be distracting to the users. Various innovations were tried over the internet advertising field -- from pop ups to rollover ads. The area is still being tapped for its growing popularity each day.
It is becoming constantly difficult to convince the average American of the plus points of a product. The boom in the number of ad agencies is proof to the fact that it now takes a lot more to appeal to the masses. An increase in the number of courses and students taking up advertising at university level points towards the industry's requirement for fresh professionals with new advertising ideas.
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