Different types of Television Commercials

Different types of Television Commercials - Since the time the first ever commercial to be aired on television of Bulova Watch Company in July 1, 1941 many categories of advertisements have been formed. The advertisements have become a part and parcel of daily life and are playing a significant role in decision making of the consumers. Such has become the power of advertisement that even a politician cannot assure his success in election campaign in if he hasn't advertised on television. The different categories of television advertising are political advertising, promotional advertising, infomercials, television commercial donut, promo, and sponsorship.

Political advertising is nothing but reaching out to the citizens of a particular region to capture their vote bank. It's the most influential advertising method and is also very important as it affects the nation in a big way. The two main platforms to advertise for a political campaign are television and radio known as broadcast media. This also depends on the money raised through political campaigns. The earlier the money raised and the more the money raised, the better the method of advertising. Usually the candidate's party committees contribute the money.  To advertise through television specialized consultants are be contacted to buy slots on local or national network. It has been observed that even a candidate for local office position places an ad on television.
 
Different types of Television Commercials


Promotional ads or product placement ads are commercials placed on television by marketers involving commercial products to increase their sales and services. Promotional ads can be featured on television, movies, music videos, books, websites and even video games. Good amount of money can be saved by consulting sales executives and by renting location, models and props.

Television commercials are popular with automobile industry and James Bond movies are credited for promoting them.  Promotion of cigarettes or any other tobacco products in movies have always been a point of controversy as most of the State Governments have set up a limit for promotion of such items. Authenticity of the products and services being advertised are many times questioned by the consumer as some of them can be misleading. To tackle this, many consumer groups have been formed who ask for complete disclosure of the product from companies advertising them. In case of any refusal for cooperation of any kind these groups are liable to slam a case against the product and its company. The product ads can be differentiated on the basis of appearances like sponsorship, cost reduction oriented, brand integration and fee based. Sponsorship is the contribution by the company to soaps or sports matches. Brand integration is known as the annexing of the product in a movie or video song.

Infomercials are differentiated from other television advertisements on the basis of time. They are usually thirty minutes long like a regular program. They are also known as teleshopping or paid programming. One can catch them at odd hours of the day like early morning or late in the night. It's actually a commercial letting out the complete information about a particular product like expert advice on the product, how it should be used, its cost, and where it is available. They resemble more like a talk show than to a commercial as the advertisers communicate to viewers with the help of catchy phrases, celebrities and experts.

Television commercial donut is a template. Its like a blueprint and has all the necessary elements to make a finished commercial but the actual product is missing. Usually advertisers who find producing a commercial difficult use it. The local networks in return of purchase of airtime on their respective channels usually provide the commercial donut. It is a very cost effective method but it has a lack of creativity that will not ensure customer attraction. With the advancements in video editing technology this option is becoming increasingly popular among advertisers.

Promos or network promotional advertising involves television advertising. The amount of commercials that are being hosted on local and national television has been rising by the day and has featured almost everything one can imagine in the world.

Sponsoring a program or a channel is done to promote products or a program for a cause. The group or individual supports financially to advertise his product, service or organization.
12 Types of TV Ads, and 8 Types of Web Banners   

As it turns out, according to Donald Gunn, the creative director at Leo Burnett advertising agency, there are 12 types of ads.

    Demo. Example: Apple iPhone commercials
    Show Need or Problem. Example: Those annoying Cingular ads where the voice drops out making what would have been a normal conversation terribly awkward.
    Symbol, Analogy, Exaggeration. The product solves a problem. Example: Theraflu ogre ad.
    Comparison. Example: Charles Schwab posterized ads.
    Exemplary Story. Example: The VW commercials where the people in the car are just chatting it up and, then out of nowhere, boom! Crash.
    Benefit Causes Story. Example: the Lynx ad. Probably the funnies ad of the lot, both for men and women – it's so far fetched. It's amazing what one can get away with in the name of comedy. Watch this one if nothing else.
    Tell it. Example: UPS ad with man who needs a haircut drawing on a whiteboard.
    On Going Characters and Celebrities. Example: Subway, Mercury, Geico, Energizer Bunny, etc.
    Symbol, Analogy, Exaggeration. This time, instead of showing how the product solves a problem, the technique demonstrates a benefit of the product. Example: Starbucks, Metamucil, etc.
    Associated User Imagery. This is all about connecting the product to the type of person the advertiser thinks would be using the product. Hoping for identification. Example: Nike.
    Unique Personality Property. Example: Dyson Vacuums.
    Parody of Borrowed Format. I love this format. Basically, make fun of something popular and then stick your logo at the end. Brilliant. Example: Reality TV – Geico.

That was fun, I am sure many of you enjoyed it as much as the next person. I can think of a couple of other types that were missed. Such as the ones that leave you hanging and puzzled with out a concrete message or a call to action. What are those called?

Anyway, what's the overlap between these formats and online advertising?

While we all know that there are many forms of online advertising, such as pay-per-lead, email, search engine keywords, adwords, etc – this next part only includes banner advertising.
Banner Advertising Classification:

    Irritate the Hell Out of People by Making the Screen Shake. You've seen it. Mortgage companies love this tactic. Think right-hand column empire ads in Hotmail.
    Whack-a-mole. Enough said. The point is to get people to click, right?
    TV ad on the web. Very popular on sites like Yahoo! and Collegehumor.com. Literally, the ad space looks like a mini made-for-television ad.
    Full Page Takeover. Where the entire background of the website is leased out to an advertiser. If you want to check this out, go to Pandora.com and keep refreshing the screen until you see it.
    Traditional. Simple typography, imagery, message, and call to action. An all time classic.
    "Whoa, did you see that?" rich media. Very amazing, high impact ads that stay contained in their space until the user mouse over them – at which point, the ad "unfolds" on the page overtop the page's content, and a rich media experience is delivered. They are expensive to produce and expensive to run. But effective as hell.
    Chameleon. The ads that look like content on the site. Trickery!
    Buttons. These I don't understand. The space is sold, and people click on them, otherwise they wouldn't exist, right? Come on!

Ok, that's all I have time for. I know I am missing some obvious ones, so please help me complete this list.

Types of TV Commercials

The advertising budgets for large, well-established business often dwarf the resources of small businesses. That's why small business need to make the most of their commercial budgets by selecting the most appealing approach for their target market. Donald Gunn, a former creative director at the Leo Burnett advertising agency, believed that there were 12 types of TV ads, one of which may be right for your small business.

"Comparison" and "Unique Personality Property"

The Comparison commercial format informs the viewer of why the product or service is superior to similar products or services. It focuses on differences with competitors as opposed to the consumer's need for the product. A small business doing car or van rentals, for example, can use this format to focus on the benefits that a small business can offer over larger franchises. The Unique Personality Property format focuses on a unique selling point that makes that product different from the rest of the pack. It can be anything from features to unique design, inventor, product name or brand. This type of ad also tends to demonstrate the need for the product. A popular format for electronics, small companies can also use it to showcase the uniqueness of their services or products.

"Show the Need/Problem" and "Symbol, Analogy, Exaggerated Graphic/Problem"

These two types of television commercials show the need for the product but in two very different ways. Showing the need or problem and then providing the solution is one of the simplest types of ad. A need or a desire is presented that the advertised product can fix. For example, an organic cosmetic company can use this to show how its product can solve the viewer's complexion problem. The commercials that use a symbol, analogy or exaggerated graphic also show a need, but that need is introduced through symbolism or extreme exaggeration. For example, a pizza shop could show how its pizza delivery man will scale a mountain to reach an isolated customer.

"Demo" and "Exemplary" Formats

Just think of almost any detergent television commercial and you'll have an example of the Demo format. It presents the before and after image, outlining the product's features and how it will work. A smaller company with a small budget should consider showing a segment of a demo of their product, using real people instead of actors. The Exemplary television commercial focuses more on the after effects. It shows how the consumer has benefited from his use of the product. For example, a commercial for a retirement plan can focus on happy, stress-free people vacationing somewhere warm.

"Testimonial" and "Parody or Borrowed" Formats

Testimonial ads are widely used in television and in direct mail advertising. In the ad, an actor or a real person will share his positive experience with the viewer. Take advantage of satisfied customers and offer them an incentive to share their experiences in a commercial. The Parody or Borrowed format borrows its central premise from a popular film or TV show. Spots like this spoof reality shows or copy news reports. A small business could spoof a news report, showing a crowd of people outside of a store entrance and talking to a pseudo reporter about an exciting new product or store opening.

"Benefit Causes Story" and the "Symbol, Analogy Exaggerated FX/Benefit"

The Benefit Causes Story format shows how using the product or service will cause something interesting or wonderful to occur. For example, perfume or deodorant television ads often show how using the product could cause members of the opposite sex to lose their inhibitions. A cafe or coffee shop could focus on romantic connections and positive dates. The Exaggerated FX/Benefit format takes the benefit a step further, showing results that the viewer know are improbable. For example, using a certain type of cologne will not cause mobs of women to chase the user down the street. A designer clothing company could use the format to show men dropping everything to follow a woman wearing the company's newest creation.

"Characters and Celebrity" and "Associated User Imagery"

Television commercials that use characters and celebrity are hoping to cash in on that individual's popularity. By hiring a popular and well-liked entertainer, the company is hoping to woo viewers who'd like to be more like that celebrity. If a well-known celebrity is out of a business's budget, newscasters, leads actors from plays, and other familiar local faces may be a reasonable substitute. Associated User Imagery uses unknown characters or common stereotypes that the advertiser wants associated with the product. For example, a local clothing company may set the scene for a commercial by having young people on a yacht or out playing basketball. Both of these formats appeal to aspirational viewers who would like to be more like the celebrity or stereotype represented.

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