Different types of Television Commercials

Since the time the first-ever commercial to be aired on television of Bulova Watch Company on July 1, 1941, many categories of advertisements have been formed. The advertisements have become a part and parcel of daily life and are playing a significant role in the decision making of the consumers. Such has become the power of advertisement that even a politician cannot assure his success in the election campaign if he hasn’t advertised on television. The different categories of television advertising are political advertising, promotional advertising, infomercials, television commercial donut, promo, and sponsorship.

Political advertising is nothing but reaching out to the citizens of a particular region to capture their vote bank. It’s the most influential advertising method and is also very important as it affects the nation in a big way. The two main platforms to advertise for a political campaign are television and radio known as broadcast media. This also depends on the money raised through political campaigns. The earlier the money raised and the more the money raised, the better the method of advertising. Usually, the candidate’s party committees contribute the money.  To advertise through television specialized consultants are be contacted to buy slots on the local or national networks. It has been observed that even a candidate for a local office position places an ad on television. 

Promotional ads or product placement ads are commercials placed on television by marketers involving commercial products to increase their sales and services. Promotional ads can be featured on television, movies, music videos, books, websites, and even video games. A good amount of money can be saved by consulting sales executives and by renting locations, models, and props.

Television commercials are popular with the automobile industry and James Bond movies are credited for promoting them.  Promotion of cigarettes or any other tobacco products in movies has always been a point of controversy as most of the State Governments have set up a limit for the promotion of such items. The authenticity of the products and services being advertised are many times questioned by the consumer as some of them can be misleading. To tackle this, many consumer groups have been formed who ask for complete disclosure of the product from companies advertising them. In case of any refusal for the cooperation of any kind, these groups are liable to slam a case against the product and its company. The product ads can be differentiated on the basis of appearances like sponsorship, cost reduction oriented, brand integration, and fee-based. Sponsorship is the contribution of the company to soaps or sports matches. Brand integration is known as the annexing of the product in a movie or video song.

Infomercials are differentiated from other television advertisements on the basis of time. They are usually thirty minutes long like a regular program. They are also known as teleshopping or paid programming. One can catch them at odd hours of the day like early morning or late in the night. It’s actually a commercial letting out the complete information about a particular product like expert advice on the product, how it should be used, its cost, and where it is available. They resemble more like a talk show than to a commercial as the advertisers communicate to viewers with the help of catchy phrases, celebrities, and experts.

Television commercial donut is a template. It is like a blueprint and has all the necessary elements to make a finished commercial but the actual product is missing. Usually, advertisers who find producing a commercial difficult use it. The local networks in return for the purchase of airtime on their respective channels usually provide the commercial donut. It is a very cost-effective method but it has a lack of creativity that will not ensure customer attraction. With the advancements in video editing technology, this option is becoming increasingly popular among advertisers.

Promos or network promotional advertising involves television advertising. The amount of commercials that are being hosted on local and national television has been rising by the day and has featured almost everything one can imagine in the world.

Sponsoring a program or a channel is done to promote products or a program for a cause. The group or individual supports financially to advertise his product, service, or organization.

Toliver TV Network (http://ToliverTVNetwork.com) can do all of the different types of advertising listed in this post.