Kyle Morales
Ms. Sowa
English 10803
16 November 2008
Commercials: The best way to advertise
After taking a tough test at school or needing something to do to relax, watching television is the best way to find that comfort zone. On average, Americans spend four and a half hours a day watching television (Avery 1). While viewing the assortment of channels there are always commercials inserted in a show to interrupt ones favorite program. I always hate when a commercial is used to keep you in suspense of what will happen next. Despite our hate for these interruptions, we still stay and watch these commercials as they are a source of entertainment. The people behind making and paying for these sometime comical commercials are using their money wisely. Advertising on television is the best way to advertise a product versus other forms of media.
Attracting customers is always a tough proposition. Businesses need customers in order to stay around and generate a profit. In order to attract these customers, advertising is essential. Most entrepreneurs do not even think about advertising on television. They think it will cost too much (Sanders 1). It has been estimated that producing and paying to air a thirty second commercial on national television is $350,000. This price seems like a price only big businesses like Verizon or Dr. Pepper can afford. But to produce a decent commercial can cost as little as $1,000. The price of a commercial varies. It all depends on the number of viewers that are expected to watch the program. For instance to advertise during the Super Bowl will cost a lot more than advertising on the local news. To advertise during the 2005 Super Bowl, a thirty second commercial cost $2.4 million. To advertise on a less-watched program only cost about $100,000 (Sanders 1). The standard half-hour show contains about twenty two minutes of programming and eight minutes of commercials. These eight minutes of commercials are divided up where six minutes are dedicated to national advertising and two minutes are for the local business. That way the hometown guy has a chance to advertise their product. The small to medium sized businesses might prefer to advertise locally than nationally. A thirty second commercial in a medium-sized market is $5 per 1,000 viewers meaning it is possible to pay less than $100 per commercial slot locally (Sanders 1). A medium sized market is defined as a city with less than one million people like Charlotte, North Carolina or Nashville, Tennessee. It can be even cheaper to advertise during off hour programs.
But why would someone choose to advertise on television then advertise else were? Millions of people daily drive past billboards on their way to work. Also going to work, the radio might be on and commercials flood the air waves. Even sporting events have advertising. A penalty at a Dallas Desperadoes indoor football game is not a penalty. It is a Boothe Eye Care and Laser Center penalty. In college football it is not just the Fiesta Bowl or the Cotton Bowl. It is the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the AT&T Cotton Bowl. The reason is television still remains the dominant medium in most households (Avery 1). Ever since the emergence of cable television, the cost of production has decreased. Also businesses are now able to reach a smaller more targeted market making advertising on television a good option for small to medium-sized markets. However, it can be argued that internet is the best option mainly because it is a service that “never sleeps,” targets the right buyer, and you get fast results (Chan 1). But when advertising on the internet, it is hard to find an internet company that will give you quality advertising on their web page without being concerned about taking your money (Hanson 1). This concern is not evident when advertising on television. You know how your advertisement will look to the public, how many times it will be shown, how long it will be, and when it will be shown. It is a more organized method than the internet. You know exactly where your money is going. Another disadvantage for advertising on the internet is it is hard for local companies to advertise locally (Hanson 1). This is not the case on television.
Another option businesses can turn to advertise is the newspaper. When I open the newspaper, surrounding the articles is just a huge clutter of a bunch of advertisements put together. Therefore your advertisement won’t stick out amongst the other competing advertisements. On television, during your thirty second commercial spot, there are no competitors. It is just your product and the viewer. All you have to do is use that spot in a way that you think will be best fit for the company. Also with newspaper advertisements, the photo productivity is also poor. Therefore, the chance to get creative and catchy with a product is limited. The life span of you advertisement is short. I know that I do not save newspapers. I just skim it, read articles that are interesting to me then I throw it out. Newspapers are also a source that is highly visible everywhere. This is a disadvantage because competitors can quickly react to you products price and do price comparisons (Pleshette 1). Another form of advertisement that I stumble upon that is of paper is direct mail advertisement. From observing my mother, when this type of advertisement comes, she sometimes does not even open it. She would immediately throw it away. I also assume that her actions with direct mail advertisement are the same with other people. The yellow pages is a another advertisement businesses can use. Like the newspaper, ads in the yellow pages are also cluttered. The ads of a business are placed right next to its competitors (Pleshette 1). Another disadvantage similarity with newspapers is they have limited creativity. They have to follow a pre-determined format.
Advertising on the radio is also a source someone could use. It too has many disadvantages. The radio is a background medium. Most listeners are doing other activities when listening to the radio. As a result, the advertiser has to work extra hard to get the listeners attention (Pleshette 1). Radio listeners are also spread out amongst a variety of stations. You may have to broadcast the advertisement simultaneously on several stations to reach your target audience (Pleshette 1). Like the newspaper, Ad clutter is also high causing your ad to not stick out and distinguish itself (Brassil 1). Radio ads are also limited. On television, your message can be conveyed with sight, sound, and motion. On the radio, the advertisements are only audio messages. It might take as much as six times for someone to listen to the ad to before the message sinks in (Bassil 1).
Advertising on television is the best way to advertise a product rather then choosing a different source. It is the most looked at form of media in America. The average person views four and a half hours of television. Of that four hours and thirty minutes, about 45 of those minutes is spent watching commercials.