Apart from quality, advertising plays an instrumental role in the success of any product. Nowadays, advertising its product has become mandatory for any company to withstand the competition from others. An innovative advertisement will help the company to attract customers towards its product. James Cameron, the Oscar winning director of famous Hollywood flick” The Titanic”, once told that directing a feature film is easier than directing an ad-film. While feature film gives 2hrs to tell the tale, in an ad-film we hardly have 2 min to convey the story. Nevertheless, ads are second to none in attracting viewer’s attention. An advertisement describes the qualities and features of a product. Similarly, for any country, advertising is the best way to portray its uniqueness.
Theme of an advertisement is characterized by its purpose. Some ads of a country describe the culture, customs and values of the people over there. Some ads may describe its beautiful weather, engrossing locale and flora & fauna for which that country is a natural habitat. Some ads emphasize on the better living standards prevailing in their country and availability of wide range of job opportunities.
Yesterday, I saw an advertisement, SINGAPORE CALLING, in a TV channel. It briefly described about the beauty of Singapore, serene beaches, palatial hotels & different cuisines offered upon a visit. It helped me in getting a bird eye view of the country’s geography and the daily lives of the people over there. Now, after watching the ad, I want to visit Singapore at least once in my life. That ad has successfully portrayed Singapore’s uniqueness in hospitality management.
Another ad, KERALA-THE GOD’S OWN COUNTRY, published by government of Kerala, a small south Indian state on the coast of Indian ocean, has described the culture, heritage of its people. It has explained, although very briefly, about KAlari payattU, an ancient martial art form, and about KATHAKALI, an old dance art form. The ad has engrossed me so much that I spent next one hour on the internet to find more details on these ancient art forms
Quite often, we see ads, given by educational institutions, which will detail us not only on the wide variety of course being offered but also on the socio economic conditions such as the living standards of the people over there and the wide range job opportunities & their industrial development.
While it is true that an advertisement is characterized by the intentions of the ad-maker, any advertisement, which tries to showcase the uniqueness of a country, will help us in better understanding of its culture, heritage, values , socio economic conditions and its geography.
TOEFL listening discussions: Why must the young woman leave?