Introduction
Advertising is an important element in the process of marketing a product, service, or company. In addition, advertisement plays a key role in process of a firm disseminating concepts and ideas about its products and services. Over the years, there has been a change in the process of commercial advertising from being a fact-based marketing strategy that benefits both the firm and the customers to a method of just benefiting just the firm. This makes commercial advertising to be closely related to propaganda since it tends to be one-sided (Kataras Para. 4). According to Kataras (Para. 4), propaganda refers to a message that is specifically designed to influence the opinions, emotions, behavior, and attitudes of individuals to whom the message is directed. Rutherford asserts that propaganda is specifically designed for a particular group of individuals (5). This also applies to advertising which is designed for a particular target market. Propaganda is meant to attain certain objectives which may include political, social or economic benefits. For example, propaganda can be used to disapprove or gain the support of a given group of people. Therefore, the result of propaganda is that the message communicated to the target group appeals to them making them respond in a manner that benefits the individuals who had designed the message.
There are various forms of propaganda which include black, white, and grey propaganda. Black propaganda refers to a message in which the message communicated is misrepresented by purporting to originate from a particular source while it is actually from another. In white propaganda, the source of information is identified but the message may be distorted. On the other hand, grey propaganda refers to propaganda in which the source of information is not identified.
Creating product information through commercial advertising can be classified as a form of propaganda. This is due to the fact that the objective of advertisement is to promote a product or service resulting in a financial benefit to the firm. This makes advertising to be a form of propaganda since it has ulterior motives to benefit the firm through making a sale. Just like propaganda, advertising is aimed at shaping the opinion of the public so as to attain a particular goal. There are various forms of commercial advertising. These include industrial, consumer advertising and prestige advertising. The discussion of this paper is aimed at illustrating how commercial advertising is a form of the propaganda system.
Ulterior motives and forms of communication
For propaganda to be effective, the message has to be communicated to a large number of individuals through various methods such as television, radio, online communication and print media (‘Mu’ Para. 1). Advertising is considered a propaganda system since the information is availed to a large number of individuals. Various mediums such as television, radio, print media, and online mediums are incorporated in creating product information. In addition, the message carried through advertisement results from ulterior motives. The individuals who communicate this message through advertisement have the interior objective of maintaining their status quo and increasing their level of profit.
Prestige advertising
The objective of prestige advertising is to improve the image of a company, its products, or services. This form of advertising is mainly evident when a company releases its annual financial statement and other company-related information to the public through mass media such as newspapers. Despite the fact that the information is factual and will be communicated to the firm’s shareholders through emails and newsletters, the firm makes sure that it advertises the information to the general public. The objective of this form of advertisement is for the firm to develop goodwill from the public (Kataras Para. 7). By developing goodwill the firm benefits in various ways such as increased brand and customer loyalty.
Consumer advertising
The objective of every business is to maximize its level of profits and the shareholders’ wealth. Consumer advertising is mainly incorporated by firms as a strategy to propel the firm’s financial profits and maximize the wealth of the stakeholders. Propaganda is aimed at discouraging or encouraging a certain behavior amongst the consumer. Like propaganda, commercial advertising is aimed at influencing the consumption patterns of individual and institutional customers. To appeal to the consumers’ firms conduct intensive product and service advertisements. The objective of consumer advertising is to influence their decision-making process. In addition, the communication used in the advertisement is effectively devised to suit the tastes of the targeted group. This enables the product that is being promoted to appeal to the consumers as well as increase the awareness of the product.
One of the most common forms of consumer advertising is persuasive advertising which is aimed at positively impacting the behavior of the consumers. Persuasive advertising refers to a form of advertising that is aimed at developing a selective demand in relation to its product or services. The firm’s marketing department develops a communication strategy in conducting its advertising to persuade potential customers to purchase the product or service. For instance, advertisements have got slogans that positively impact the consumers’ purchase decision (‘Advertisement’ para.1).
Some firms also incorporate the use of celebrities and models who endorse their products and service. The use of celebrities and models arouses emotions amongst the consumers that result in a purchase decision.
Misleading information
In some cases, the information communicated to the potential customers through commercial advertisements is misleading. A misleading advertisement refers to an advertisement that deceives the individuals to whom the message is addressed resulting in an impact on his or her economic behavior. Commercial advertisements affect the economic behavior of individual and institutional consumers by inducing them to purchase a product or service that they would not have purchased. The consumers’ purchase behavior is based on the information provided through the commercial advertisements. For instance, some of the commercial advertisements do not reveal all the information about a particular product or service (‘misleading advertisements’ 3). This means that the message that is communicated to the consumers is one-sided. In addition, misleading commercial advertisements also occur when the message communicated creates a false impression to the potential consumers despite all the information communicated is true. By deliberately concealing some facts related to the firm’s products or services, the firm benefits by increasing the volume of its sales. This is much more related to both black and white propaganda. Black propaganda is evident from the fact that the information communicated is misleading. On the other hand, white propaganda is evident in that the source of information is identified.
Conclusion
Commercial advertisement is important in creating product awareness in the process of marketing a product or service. However, a commercial advertisement can be classified as a propaganda system for several reasons. Commercial advertisements are aimed at influencing the consumers’ behavior, attitude emotions, and opinions relating to particular products and services. The ultimate goal is to influence the consumers purchasing decisions. The message communicated through advertisement is devised in a way that influences the consumers’ emotions.
Commercial advertisements have got ulterior motives for increasing the firm’s level of sales and hence the profits. In addition, commercial advertisements are also aimed at ensuring that the firm attains a positive public image apart from promoting products or services. This is achieved by incorporating the concept of prestige advertisement. Prestige advertisement promotes the firm’s goodwill to the general public which benefits the firm in the long term. Like propaganda, commercial advertisements are conducted through various mediums such as television, radio, print media and online mediums to ensure that it reaches a large number of individuals.
Commercial advertisements are also aimed at influencing the process of making a purchase decision amongst the consumers. This is through incorporating persuasive advertisements for their products and services.
Some of the commercial advertisements do not reveal all the information pertaining to their products or services. The result is that the information is one-sided. This affects the consumers’ economic behavior since they make their purchase decision on the basis of the information provided.
Commercial advertisements are devised in a way that has an immense impact on the target customers. The ultimate goal is to benefit the firm through increased sales and hence the level of profit.
Works cited
Kataras, Alex. “Advertisement, propaganda, and graffiti art.” 2006. Web.
Mu, Eric. “Public service advertising and propaganda.”Danwei. 2004. Web.
Office of Fair Trading. “Misleading advertisement.” 2004. Web.
Rutherford, Paul. “Endless propaganda: the advertising of public goods.” Toronto: University of Toronto. 2004. Web.
The Free Dictionary. “ Advertisement.” 2009. Web.