Exercise 4.2
"Choose a day to go and look about without any agenda. Be conscious of the images and text which surround you and how they are presented"
The vast majority of text and images we view are advertised based. Meaning by either directly or indirectly companies are trying to spend our money on their product.
Directly advertised products advertise a particular product or service. Indirect advertising tends to advertise a recognisable brand. On any given day we are bombarded by vast amounts of both. The various different advertising mediums include television and radio, online web sites, social media, billboards, shop fronts, vehicle advertising or shop fronts, newspapers and other forms of printed literature (such as leaflets in our mail).
It seems the price of our entertainment and leisure is at the cost we must be bombarded by various advertising. The styles of advertising changes constantly as do the mixture of mediums used. For example 20 years ago the main mediums available were Television, Billboards, Radio and printed literature. Move on 20 years and councils have allowed far less billboard sites to be used. Television has gone from a choice of 4 channels in the UK to 400 , internet and online viewing has basically replaced the printed media and commercial radio as evolved and increased vastly. Therefore advertisers have to consider more carefully how to spend their vast budgets.
Presently there are several new model cars on billboards and interestingly they are choosing the inclusion of gadgets rather than the quality of the car. Wi-Fi and phone charging now replace sat-Nav devices as standard on some vehicles. Shop windows seem to be all about sales and display product and price, the most basic form of direct advertising.
Several other noticeable billboard and large multi screen mediums were sky , BT and Virgin all competing for our broadband and satellite television business. The interesting part being the differences in style.
BT are announcing fast broadband in every room guaranteed. Virgin are advertising the fastest broadband available within a cheap bundle price and Sky are using "Game of Thrones" as they are the only company to show the "universal " channel. (Game of Thrones being the biggest ever TV series worldwide).
The other noticeable ads at the moment are quite unique based on the Brexit fiasco. Utilising social media postings by prominent politicians who were backing Brexit to display their "untruths".
Concluding whether we believe we are ignoring the constant bombardment of advertising in their different formats or styles, we are not. Test yourself. Name a burger? soft drink? jeans? car? beer? etc and the answers will almost always be the same. The brands who are constantly advertising.