(a) Explain five roles of advertising.
(b) Give three advantages and two disadvantages of television as a medium of advertising.
Explanation
(a) Roles of advertising are:
(i) Advertising arouses consumer's interest.
(ii) It makes consumers to be aware of the existence of new products, services or ideas.
(iii) It informs and educates the people on how to make use of the product or service
(iv) Advertising informs people where to obtain goods and services
(v) Advertising improves the quality of goods and services.
(vi) It informs the public about the price of the goods.
(vii) Business firms also use advertising in projecting and promoting their image of producing high quality goods and rendering reliable and efficient services.
(viii) It helps to make brand names of commodities known to members of the public, that is, creating awareness for the product.
(b) Advantages of using television as a medium of advertising are:
(i) The customers are able to see the actual shape, form and colour of the product.
(ii) It appeals to two senses - sight and hearing.
(iii) The techniques employed capture the attention of everybody.
(iv) The customers can also see the actual method of using the products.
(v) It permits the demonstration of the products advertised for everybody to see.
(vi) It helps to reach very large audience.
(c) Disadvantages of using television as a medium of advertising are:
(i) Only the few people who have access to television sets get to view the advertisement.
(ii) Unscrupulous advertisers can utilize electrical techniques and photo tricks to give undue credits to the products.
(iii) Impulse buying may be misleading.
(iv) Power cut means the advertisement cannot be watched.
(v) Viewers of television may be confused of similar brands of goods.
(vi) It is expensive.