Every time we open a magazine or newspaper, we find advertisements for various products. Every time we drive down a street, we see advertisements on billboards the huge signs next to road and highway very time we turn on a TV or radio, we find commercials for cars, toothpaste. washing machines, house paint, hair color, jeans, and dozens of other products. In the modern world, there is no escape from advertising; it is everywhere.

More than just a pan of modern business, advertising is viral to successful business; i.e., it is of the greatest importance. Why is advertising so essential to people who manufacture and sell products? Tile main reason is competition; there are many, many companies which are producing items very similar to one another, and each company needs to succeed in order to stay in business. Advertising gives consumers information about a new product and allows them to compare the quality and price of several similar items before they choose which to buy.

However, some modern advertising doesn't give any information at all about the product except its name. Imagine a TV commercial for jeans. There are several, teenagers sitting on a stairway; they are talking about the problems of growing up. There is no mention at all of the product - jeans - until the very end of the commercial, when the name of the manufacturer simply appears on the TV screen. Imagine a magazine ad for a certain brand of coffee. A man and woman are sitting on a sofa. They look happy, friendly. and relaxed, i he woman has a cup of coffee in he' hand. but the magazine reader might not even notice it. The name of the coffee company appear. In the corner of the ad, but, again, there is no information about product.

How can this advertising be successful if it doesn't include information about the products? The answer is psychology; advertisers know that people often choose products for emotional reasons, not for rational ones. Therefore, the goal of many advertising programs is simply to make consumers feel good about themselves or to make them believe that they will be happier people if they buy the products in the ads. For example, a cigarette advertisement that shows a very strong, masculine cowboy might catch the interest of a man who would like to see himself as strong and masculine, too.

Although this man doesn't even realize it, he associates the cigarette with his idea of the person he would like to be; i.e., he feels that he will be strong and masculine if he smokes that brand of cigarette. This is irrational of course. Advertisers use their knowledge of human irrationality when they plan ads and commercials.

Some people say, "Advertising doesn't influence me. I make my own decisions. I don't follow ads and commercials." However, most of us cannot escape the influence of advertising at least some of the time; it influences us even when we don't realize it. If you don't believe this, go into your bedroom closet, bathroom, and kitchen. Look at the products that you have bought recently. Is every product really necessary in your life? Can you remember why you chose certain brands? The answers might surprise you!