Ivashenko O.S., Usachev V.A.

Donetsk national university of Economics and

Trade named after Mikhailo Tugan – Baranovsky, Donetsk

Advertising in the modern world

It is impossible to imagine our radio, newspapers, television, Internet and even streets without advertisements. Nowadays advertising plays an important role in modern life and in the life of every person.

It is hard to believe but the origins of advertising antedate the Christian era by many centuries. One of the first known methods of advertising was outdoor display, usually an eye-catching sign painted on the wall of a building. From this unsophisticated beginning in ancient times advertising has turned into a worldwide industry.

The modern world depends on advertising. Without it, producers and distributors would be unable to sell, buyers would not know about products or services, and the modern industrial world would collapse. Mass production requires mass consumption which in turn requires advertising to the mass market through the mass media.

But the word is also used to cover a much broader range of activities – from design to public relations. So, three main objectives of advertising are: 1). to product knowledge about the product or service; 2). to create preference for it; 3). to stimulate thought and action about it.

Evidence of advertising can be found in cultures that existed thousands of years ago, but advertising only became a major industry in the 20-th century. Today the industry employs hundreds of thousands of people and influence the behavior and buying habits of billions of people.

Advertising has become increasingly international. Faster modes of shipping, the growth of multinational corporations, rising personal income levels worldwide, and falling trade barriers have all encouraged commerce between countries. More than ever before, corporations are looking beyond their own country`s borders for new customers. And consequently advertise their products over the entire world.

There are some advantages and disadvantages of advertising. First of all advertisement informs people about electronic equipment, household devices, building materials, cars, cosmetics and food. It introduces us to new products or reminds us of the existence of ones we already know about. The products are shown from the best point of view and the potential buyer unconsciously chooses the advertised products. Some people have no time to choose on which can of tomatoes is the best one for them or which brand of coffee gives them the best flavor. One buys this washing powder or this chewing gum, because the colorful TV commercials convince him of the best qualities of the product.

Also the public advertising seen on street hoardings, makes people's life more joyful. Moreover, all those small advertisements in the press concerning "employment", "education" and "For sale and wanted" columns, help ordinary people to find a better job or a better employee, to sell or to buy their second-hand things and find services, or learn about educational facilities, social events such as, concerts, theatre plays, football matches, and to announce births, marriages and deaths.

In spite of these advantages advertising has also some disadvantages.

The aim of a good advertisement is to create a consumer demand to buy the advertised product or service. It careers some risks, because advertising influence deeply on trustful people. Children are good example as they usually want the particular kind of chocolate or toy or new mobile phone. Being naive they cannot evaluate objectively what is truthful and what is exaggerated and select the really good products unless they buy the goods and check for themselves.

Even such products like cigarettes, alcohol and pills are associated with the good values of human life such as joy, freedom, love and happiness, and just those associations make a person choose the advertised products.

We must admit that advertising perform a really useful service to society, and advertisements are an essential part of our everyday life. But we must be more attentive and careful before buying the advertised goods.

Advertising is an essential part of business and it’s one of the most important factors in accelerating the distribution of the products. And it is necessary for the buyer because we learn information about the product from ads.

So, civilization has made a great step in the development of advertising. It has turned into a powerful global network from primitive cries. And we can also name our present day era “the era of advertising”, because everything is advertised and everything can be found in adverts.

Used literature:

1. Harvey J and Johnson M.K. Modern Economics – Macmillan 1994.

2. Henderson R. European Finance – McGraw – Hill Book Company 1993.

3. McKenzie I. English for Business Studies and Economics Students – CUP, 1997.

4. Murphy R. English grammar in use. CUP. 1992.