Everything people eat, wear, or use is pushed at the public through commercial advertising. Whether it is the fertilizer that the farmer chooses to put on the vegetables he grows, the clothing that is chosen at the department store, or the pen to write a report, it has been advertised. Advertising occurs even in the packaging of a product. From the colors the manufacturer chooses to use on the wrapping, to the multi-million dollar expense of television, everyone is influenced by advertising. One of the most powerful forms of advertising is in the advent of television. Since its inception, advertisers have viewed television as their most powerful tool. Television provides an excellent avenue for companies to sell and promote their products. There are fewer and fewer people living today who were around when television was not. Today's generation was raised entirely on television! Since the 1940's, television has been an important part of American life.
Family watching television, c. 1958
Supreme Master Television advertisement in SFO nea...
English: Line graph of cost of 30 second advertisi...Television is able to sell products like no other medium can. This incredible power of television comes from three specific areas: an inordinate amount of time spent in front of the television, it's ability to target a specific audience, and it's ability to attack the viewer on both the auditory and visual field.
The time spent in front of a television continues to grow with each generation. The number of hours a child spends in front of a television is rapidly overtaking even the number of hours that they will spend in school. Included in their weekly television viewing are an extraordinary amount of commercial messages. Before entering school, young children will have formed many of their beliefs of what is good by the commercials they have viewed. Due to the number of hours spent watching television, advertisers use the concept of repetition to 'promote...