Two kinds of Advertising

There are two main kinds of advertising—informative and persuasive.

Informative advertising gives factual information about a product—its price, quality and the purpose for which it is intended.

Persuasive advertising is more like propaganda, and is less concerned with giving facts about a product than with appealing to the emotions. It attempts to give the consumer a picture of himself using the product (often in very unlikely situations) which shows the product making his life or himself more attractive. Much television advertising is of this kind, although the Independent Television Authority exercises a certain amount of control.

The government, through the Advertising Enquiry Council, also exercises some degree of control. The Monopolies Commission reported that the repetitive nature of the advertising of manufacturers should be reduced substantially. The Trade Descriptions Act gives a fair measure of protection to customer and purchaser from any false and misleading description in the sale of goods.

Customers and consumers are helped to distinguish between their choices of products in two ways:

1) The British Standards Institution. Although the Institution is concerned mainly with the standardization of sizes, goods and articles are also checked to see if they are suitable for the purpose for which they are intended.

2) Shopping guides or magazines. The best known is the magazine which was published by the Consumers Association. Products of various manufacturers are compared one against the other, and customers are helped to choose those giving the best value.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is persuasive advertising?
2. What has the government done about advertising?
3. Why are customers likely to be misled?
4. Where can one find out the comparison of products?
5. What is the job of the British Standards Institution?

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