Stories by Princewill Ekwujuru

During the invention of television in the 1940s, advertising became one of its many inceptions. Many homes adopted regular television-watching as a habit, programming on television also became more clever. Advertisements then became strategically placed between television show segments. In some cases, the television show itself acted as an advertisement.
Over the years, television commercials became high quality mini-productions many viewers sit through between their favorite shows. These traditional advertisements which run 15 to 30 seconds, eat part of a program’s airtime. According to Ad Age, an international online journal, ads have become increasingly targeted rather than catering for everyone.
Apart from pushing for a product with its constant airing and re-airing, a traditional television commercial can also be entertaining and sometimes tells a story or makes a song popular.
According to the Motley Fool, a multimedia financial-services company, many companies, particularly those involved with selling a consumer item, make use of product placement as its marketing tool.

Automobile companies or food companies employ this method a lot, as seen in many television programs. Without even mentioning the item, scenes where the characters of the show are either driving a car or eating out of a cereal box have the company’s very-visible logo on the product.

The result can create a strong, identifiable image, just like present day political ads.
Most commonly applicable to the government or its projects, a political advertisement may also be the method used by human interest groups, the academia, religious groups and even corporations, as a way to convince the audience or sway them into their own ideals, systems and beliefs.
According to a research paper by Won Ho Chang and others, political ads come about when there are important issues to be decided upon by the general public.
However, successful marketers understand that a product is developed into a brand through a professional process that endears the product to loyal consumers and enables it to connect with prospects. Not surprisingly, this applies to product as well as personality brands.
With the 2015 general elections at hand, the people are beginning to find it increasingly difficult to differentiate between the noise in the political space and the truth, as each politician or political group vies to shout the loudest in a bid to get the most attention.