Places where you can find ads

Places where you can find ads

Written by: Thaismina Kennedy Mangue

• In your house through the post
• On window shields of cars
• On the bus stops
• In the bus
• In the train station
• Through the staircases in the subway or overground 
• In the train
• on the platform
• on light posts, poles 
• on billboards
• on cars
• in cars (magazines, leaflets, etc)
• in the church, outside the church
• In your phone (social media, websites, popups, etc)
• On TV
• on products (i.e. milk brand speaks on the box about the chocolate bars they make)
• in shops
• outside of shops

And many others. This is just a few everyday life activities that may involve the possibility of finding an ad. Anywhere the eye sees, it's where one may find that particular product or service they may think they need. You are hungry, walk a few steps towards the bus station and a giant billboard with the sign of the new BBQ sauce KFC Chicken wings or a delicious vegan burger. Man's gotta eat, and someone somewhere is going to provide for it. That sense of hunger that comes over you when you see those wings or that burger has been scientifically analysed, to later send reports to companies on the response of chosen applicants to experiment with. All companies want their products to stand out, and they have to do everything in their power for that to happen.

In a New York Times article, this placement of advertisements have been analysed, “We never know where the consumer is going to be at any point in time, so we have to find a way to be everywhere,” said Linda Kaplan Thaler, chief executive at the Kaplan Thaler Group, a New York ad agency. “Ubiquity is the new exclusivity.”

However, the most twisted side of the advertisement world is that the younger the better. Kids are impressionable. They like bold colours, animation, fantasy and special effects, they do not know their needs other than having fun, advertisers know this. This is the need to catch their eye because they will be consuming from the rest of their lives. Some school buses now play radio ads meant for children. Last summer, Walt Disney advertised its “Little Einsteins” DVDs for preschoolers on the paper liners of examination tables in 2,000 paediatricians’ offices, according to Supply Marketing, a company that gives doctors free supplies in exchange for using branded products. This is madness, but it is the world we live in.

Some advertising executives say that as long as an advertisement is entertaining, people do not necessarily mind the intrusion — and may even welcome it. In some office buildings, for instance, video screens in elevators provide news and information as well as ads. This year video screens will be placed in about 5,000 New York City taxicabs, where passengers will see both advertisements and NBC programs, according to Clear Channel Outdoor, which is installing the screens.

Will keep on updating on more research I do.