Television commercials
Television commercials are developed to be informative and entertaining. The content of these commercials are normally intended at achieving two things , which includes engaging and persuading viewers at anytime so that they can remember the information portrayed and develop interest for the product being advertised (Kroon, 2010). For the audience to be engaged and get all the information on a product or service being advertised, the presentation of the commercial has to attract the audience and keep them interested, so as to persuade them to continue watching. Commercials are developed to appeal to the fundamental needs and wants of the any prospective viewer, and they on rare cases do they appeal to the intellectual and logic aspects of audience’s personalities. By trying to impress the viewer these commercials end up persuading them about how their needs and wants can be met through the services or the products being advertised.
Informational and entertainment programs like special reports or news are normally structured in a way that a commercial break is allowed in between. The structuring of the programs is done in such a way that the viewer will be motivated to stay tuned in and follow the continuation of an interesting event that has been interrupted by this commercial break. Marketers know that people behave differently during from one individual to another and from different situations (Kaufman & Horton, 2014). At times, people will just stay tuned while waiting for a program they were following to resume, while at other times, the commercials provide a break for people to do some minor things like invading the kitchen to get fast snacks, visit the bathroom or to have brief talk with family members watching the programs with them. The commercials have to persuade the audience to stay tuned and, and inform them about a product that is being advertised (Kroon, 2010). The average viewer may not be aware of the persuading aspect of the viewer, and they can rarely stop themselves from being persuaded to watch an interesting and entertaining commercial.
An important aspect that has made the television commercials informative and entertaining is that they are made easy to understand and remain enjoyable. Simplicity is a major feature that facilitates the instant capturing of a commercial so as to spur action in the viewer. The marketers know that if the interest of the viewer is not captured instantly, it has failed in the intended role. For it to remain informative to the viewer, essential components of the product or service being sold is repeated sensibly while focusing on the benefits of such products. Creativity is also an important element that ensures that the commercials serve the major purpose (Kaufman & Horton, 2014). Creativity involves applying a distinctive twist, since monotonous commercials will turn off viewers who want something unique and fresh and one which they can relate to. To relay information about the product and service being sold, the commercials normally incorporate emotions, which when induced, forms the best way of capturing the viewers’ attention (Kaufman & Horton, 2014). Laughter, joy, sadness and anger are very powerful emotions which are combined creatively with the commercials in order to make the audience relate to and remember the products and services. However, negative emotions are not mostly induced, since the intention is to make people feel happy and good about a certain product or service.
References
Kroon, R. W. (2010). A/V A to Z: An encyclopedic dictionary of media, entertainment and other audiovisual terms. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co. 352-354
Kaufman, I., & Horton, C. (2014). Digital Marketing: Integrating Strategy and Tactics with Values, A Guidebook for Executives, Managers, and Students. Routledge.
