Global test : commercialism + answers
1 – As advertising has become prevalent in modern society, it is increasingly being criticized. Advertising occupies public space and more and more invades the private sphere of people. According to Georg Franck, “It is becoming harder to escape from advertising and the media. Public space is increasingly turning into a gigantic billboard for products of all kind. The aesthetical and political consequences cannot yet be foreseen.” Hanno Rauterberg in the German newspaper Die Zeit calls advertising a new kind of dictatorship that cannot be escaped.
2 – There are ads in schools, airport lounges, doctors’ offices, movie theaters, hospitals, gas stations, elevators, convenience stores, on the Internet, on fruit, on ATMs, on garbage cans and countless other places. There are ads on beach sand and restroom walls. One of the ironies of advertising in our times is that as commercialism increases, it makes it that much more difficult for any particular advertiser to succeed, hence pushing the advertiser to even greater efforts.” Within a decade advertising in radios climbed to nearly 18 or 19 minutes per hour, on prime-time television the standard until 1982 was no more than 9.5 minutes of advertising per hour, today it is between 14 and 17 minutes. With the introduction of the shorter 15-second-spot the total amount of ads increased even more. Ads are not only placed in breaks but also into sports telecasts during the game itself. They flood the Internet, a growing market.
3 – Advertising has developed into multi billion-dollar business. In 2014, 537 billion US dollars were spent worldwide for advertising. In 2013, TV accounted for 40.1% of ad spend, compared to a combined 18.1% for internet, 16.9% for newspapers, 7.9% for magazines, 7% for outdoor, 6.9% for radio, 2.7% for mobile and 0.5% for cinema as a share of ad spend by medium . Advertising is considered to raise consumption. In Germany, the advertising industry contributes 1.5% of the gross national income. The German Advertising Association stated that in 2007, 30.78 billion Euros were spent on advertising in Germany. 26% in newspapers, 21% on television, 15% by mail and 15% in magazines. In 2002 there were 360,000 people employed in the advertising business. The Internet revenues for advertising doubled to almost 1 billion Euros from 2006 to 2007, giving it the highest growth rates.
4 – Commercialism is interested in children and adolescents because of their buying power and because of their influence on the shopping habits of their parents. As they are easier to influence they are especially targeted by the advertising business.
Children “represent three distinct markets:
- Primary Purchasers ($2.9 billion annually)
- Future Consumers (Brand-loyal adults)
- Purchase Influencers ($20 billion annually)
Kids will carry forward brand expectations, whether positive, negative, or indifferent. Kids are already accustomed to being catered to as consumers. The long-term prize: Loyalty of the kid translates into a brand loyal adult customer”
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