Beech Tree News Network

 

December is a very commercial month. Recently, I have noticed the increased weight of the Sunday newspapers which contain numerous inserted advertisements as well as an increased number of daily emails from merchants promoting their deals. Yet, I haven’t seen as many Christmas commercials on television this year. Historically, Christmas commercials would absolutely fill the air waves. Advertising is ever changing.

Advertising is important to customers as well as business. It informs customers of available products and helps consumers choose the best goods to meet their needs. Advertising “also allows a company to know their competitors and plan strategically on how to curb competition” (https://www.reference.com/business-finance/advertising-important-eb6440a...).  Advertising “improves consumer awareness thus preventing cases of purchasing fake products or falling victims of scams” – definitely a beneficial function (https://www.reference.com/business-finance/advertising-important-eb6440a...). So, advertising plays a critical role in commerce.

Just like advertising, company logos are also part of marketing plans. I read an article about company logos and found that some contain hidden messages. For example, between the “B” and “R” in the Baskin Robbins logo, the number 31 represents their many different flavors of ice cream. Another example is the “B” in the Ray-Ban logo: the “B” contains a pair of sunglasses within it. In the Amazon logo, the yellow line underneath makes a smiley face. The FedEx logo has a forward-pointing arrow in the space between the “E” and the “x.” Several other logos are also explained in the article (http://www.urbo.com/content/hidden-messages-in-famous-logos-youve-probab... ). Naturally, company logos often convey messages important to the companies, and they help advertise the company.

Wondering about Christmas commercials, I watched some popular (by someone’s standard) holiday commercials online, looking for newer ones. Many of those I found were entertaining, but I liked the Anheuser-Busch holiday Clydesdale commercials. The obvious power, training and friendliness of the Clydesdale are appealing. And those horses are beautiful creatures! Although thus far I haven’t seen very many Christmas commercials, the season isn’t over yet.

Cyrus McCormick said, “Trying to do business without advertising is like winking at a pretty girl through a pair of green goggles. You may know what you are doing, but no one else does” (https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/advertising). Bill Gates said, “The future of advertising is the Internet” (https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/advertising). Both are good points. Undoubtedly, advertising is evolving.