As the world has progressed, so has everything along with it, from the way people dressed what they eat and the way they spend their leisure time. Along with all these changes also came the changes in television shows and commercials. Companies have changed the way they present their products to their customers. In the 1950s commercial used to be centralized over the product, they would list all the features of the products and provide almost a virtual experience of their product in the eyes of their consumer. For example, if the product was a dishwashing liquid, they would list the ingredients of the liquid and tell the characteristics of the liquid. Nowadays, with ample information available everywhere, everyone knows the characteristics of a good dishwashing liquid; companies tell their consumers how they would feel using the products.
Apart from the changed format of the advertisements, the platforms have also changed. People have now moved on from newspapers and long TV commercials. Advertisements nowadays are posted on various devices with different formats. Organizations have to cater to each format and platform differently, and with so many choices, it can be challenging for a company to know the right time, place and audience to post their commercials. However, software like DSP (Demand Side Platform) helps companies improve the efficiency in posting their ads. This software supply an organization with already selected spaces for their digital advertisement on various platforms such as video, mobile, and other such devices.
Another considerable difference between advertising now and in the olden days is the medium used by the organizations to communicate with their consumers. Previously, companies used to have flashy text or enthusiastic speakers promoting their products; however, nowadays they have shifted to pictures and videos of happy and satisfied consumers. Marketing in the modern day is catered towards how an individual feels while using a certain product. The use of pictures and scenes also makes modern-day advertisements much more attractive and relatable to the general public.
Another thing that has changed over the years in the marketing world is the addition of internet influencers. In the past time, if an organization wanted to hire individuals to influence the general public they would have to look for major film actors willing to work with them. However, with the introduction of the internet and the trend of vlogging, individuals have become public figures by videoing their daily life and have developed an influence on their followers. Companies now have to reach out to these individuals for trying and marketing products as the general public relates to these individuals more than they relate with big celebrities and listen to what the internet influencers have to say.
In addition to the characteristics mentioned above, one other difference amongst the generations of advertisements is the audience they focus on. In the 1950s for example, the adults of the house, per se the mother and father, had the buying power. Thus, the commercials made in those times were focused mainly on attracting the parents or adults of the family. For example, if the commercial was for a powdered jelly to be made at home the commercial would focus on selling it to the mother and not her children. Noting the benefits of the product to her and the uses she can get out of it. However, in modern times many more children now hold buying power and thus the commercials are focused towards a different audience now. In other words, commercials nowadays do not focus on influencing the family unit as a whole and are rather more effectively focused on the direct consumer.
Even though modern-day ads prove to be more relatable to their audience, they use many different tricks such as magical scenes and the use of perfectly timed music or digital effects to capture the attention of their audience and to compel them to continue watching the advertisements. Many companies use a complex storytelling process to then end up by presenting their product at the end of the advertisement. However, olden day ads were simpler with showing a typical storyline of the normal daily life of a family to introduce their products.
Modern-day advertisements and old TV Commercials differ in not one but many ways. Traditional advertisements used to focus directly on their products and on informing the public about the various benefits of using that particular product. On the contrary, modern-day commercials often focus on using indirect storylines and showing the consumers what they desire and what they consider fulfilling to later introduce the product and this feeling of fulfillment is what the modern-day companies are counting on to sell their products.
Even while taking a short look at the comparison of advertisement posters of the modern-day and in the past, it is evident to the common person, that the ads have changed substantially while olden ads used a lot of text in their commercials and noted a huge amount of features of the product they were selling, modern-day ads have become more suggestive than explanatory. It is left to the imagination of the consumer to take out the meaning of the commercial. Even the still photo advertisements are portrayed in such a way that they suggest a standard of living and that is what attracts the consumers to buy the products.
At the end of the day, whether it was the olden times or modern, it is easy to see that advertisements hold an important role in the selling process of a product. Thus, it is essential for a company to realize its importance and to keep up with the changing market to successfully promote and sell their products. If a company fails to do so, it might cost them a huge number of customers as with so many options available in the modern world, products can get lost in the crowd in a matter of a few days. It is also important for companies to keep in mind the legal limits and the topics they can portray in their advertisements.
