Financial Times

Impact of TV commercials

By Dinesh Ranasinghe, University Of Colombo (Faculty of Management & Finance)

If you turn on the TV and browse through the channels what do you mostly get? Commercials or advertisements. However, viewers are unaware that if not for these annoying clips the channels would not telecast the programmes since they wouldn’t get any income.

The malted drinks war should be mentioned. Most drinks of this type provide physical energy. However, the Anchor Power Malt campaign brings to light the physical power plus the 'active mind' concept, which other products do not offer. And also the back-to-back advertising game plan mesmerizes the viewers and makes them forget about other products.

Ceylinco Insurance plays a clip highlighting the ultimate benefit of having vehicle insurance with them. The benefit is 'on the spot cash' - i.e. the insured would get compensation on the accident spot it self.

It is also evident that advertisements are focused on a particular market segment. For instance the MD commercial with children is obviously appealing to the same age group. FMCG Multinational Nestlé's Milkmaid is targeting the sweet-toothed people through airing delicious desserts. Dialog KIT (a product which enables one to control billing) was advertised aimed at the young crowd with the help of pop stars 'Bhathiya and Santhush'. Another Multinational FMCG giant Unilever's Signal toothpaste advertisement, which emphasizes the approval of the Dental Association UK, is also making the consumers aware of the suitability of the product with regard to any age group.

In order to gain viewer attention these commercials come with different music, colours or statements. If these make a person watch with a little enthusiasm the purpose of the commercial is achieved. A Dialog advertisement which goes 'you make me shine like a star' or Jones tea commercial attracts people using music. Multi-coloured commercials such as Nilkamal plastic furniture products, Olé soft drinks, and Maggie instant noodles gain attention through using eye catching colours like yellow, orange, red etc. Another proven and popular method of gaining attention is having beautiful or handsome models with products. Another fast growing strategy is combining products of the advertiser with a popular TV programme to form a unique type of commercial and to attract the popular TV programme viewers to buy products. Mallika Hemachandra jewelry coupling with the Bold & the Beautiful is an example.

However, there are many commercials that are highly ineffective and inappropriate as well. For instance a particular toilet soap advertisement, which illustrates nothing but lorries and trucks from the beginning to the end. It is hard to determine a relationship between these vehicles and a bar of perfumed soap.

One could argue that it illustrates the organization's distribution capabilities, but what has it got to do with perfumed soap?

The time of telecasting is also important. If the product is meant for youngsters it would be aired in the evening. Smarties chocolate and MD fruit products are good examples. The peak hours of TV channels are around at 8.00 p.m to 10.00 p.m each weekday, and advertising within this time is considered to be effective.

During this time commercials would target employed adults, for instance Emerald Shirts commercials.

Accordingly in the mornings the target would be unemployed adults and housewives. However this is no strict rule; you might see a youngster-oriented commercial in the night as well.

These advertisements keep you informed of the products and their benefits. A world free of advertising would be quite horrific with lack of competition and lack of goods to choose from.