An advertisement refers to a tool used for conveying information regarding a particular product or service with the prime intent of persuading potential customers to buy that brand of product or utilize the particular service. Advertisements have been carried on globally from ancient days to date and have more than the marginal impact on the production and sales volumes.

Increased production of commodities and services necessitated the mass consumption of the same products to ensure minimization of losses and attaining of equilibrium of both supply and demand. Such a balance would have been attained only when the goods and services produced were equally consumed. Due to that, potential consumers had to be persuaded to buy these commodities in various ways. Advertisements thus resulted there from, with the prime goal of generating greater consumption of those services and products following the creation and reinvention of their brand images.            As a result, advertisements were formulated bearing persuasive messages and even factual details. Such messages are conveyed by mediums like radio, cinema, newspapers, the internet, billboards, television, carrier bags and video tapes. MacChesney Robert (2008) stated that advertisements are often placed by advertising agencies on behalf of the company or other firms.

(Robert, 2008, P. 265). Advertisements come in various forms such as media advertisements, television commercials, infomercials, product placement and celebrity branding. The types of advertisements depend on the purpose for the advertisement, that is, how it affects the consumption habits of a potential customer, its appeal to the general public and the cost of advertising. This paper analyses in depth the psychological impact that advertisements have on potential customers, the type of advertisements, what purpose they serve and even why they take such forms.            Advertisements as tools of attaining publicity for goods and services have been in existence since the ancient days.

In deed, the advertisements then comprised informal oral concepts employed by merchants while selling goods on the streets. With time, people recognized the potential in advertisements and started advertising agencies. Saberi (2007) depicts that the first advertisement agency in the U. S. was started in 1841.

(Saberi, 2007, p.1). Several types of advertisements exist which effectively convey the message about a given product or service to the potential consumers. Though that, why the advertisements appeal to the consumers is an issue arousing significant interest.

Because of that, why the advertisements impact on the consumers’ minds is analyzed in order to improve advertisement standards. Most advertisements are founded on the cognitive psychology and the psychological systematic processes attracting attention, perceiving, associating, internalizing and finally impacting on the consumer. The impact eventually leads to the consumption of the given product. Thus for any advertisement to succeed, the ability to capture the consumers’ attention should be accorded the first priority.            More often, people purchase products or services because their attention was captured either by the colors, words or even sounds. According to Saberi (2007), once the customers’ attention is drawn, retaining their interests should be focused on using association. For instance, advertisements on manufactured baby syrup should feature babies and mothers to enhance the association. Invention of a new brand aids in the drawing of the consumers’ attention.

The other thing that convinces customers to buy products as advertised is because of curiosity and the attractive color packages used for those products. People always get curious about the effectiveness of the advertised products. This normally results because some brands have got mottos and taglines that distinguish them from the other products. Other than the captured attention, retention producing sounds and words assist the memory and the associative value of the advertisement and products. As a result, the consumers’ need is necessitated and the consumer purchases the advertised product or service if it is at an affordable price. Should such aggressive campaigns about the product be maintained, there is retention of the customers’ interest.

As a result, sales increase and if the consumer is not disappointed in the product or service, the consumer spread the tidings about the same to other potential buyer thus enlarging the market.  (Roy, 2007, 2).            Advertisements promote a firm’s products and services through the sale of the products and services.

In addition to that, advertisements also create a brand identity/image and communicate changes to a product or service or emergence of a new one to the customers. Manohar (2008) admits that advertisements are essential elements in the corporate world and because of that; firms allocate hefty sums of revenues as their advertisement budgets. Besides that, advertisements serve the following purposes: they communicate a change in the existing line of products, maintain a brand identity and increase the buzz-value of the brand or the company. The various functions served by advertisements can be used as the criteria on which most types of advertisements are based. (Manohar, 2008, p. 1). Several types of advertisements exist which include: outdoor advertisements, print advertisements, broadcast advertisements, surrogate advertisements, covert advertisements, celebrity advertisements and public service advertisements.

            Broadcast advertisements are the ones popularly launched on radio, the internet and television. Although not quite popular in modern society due to the advancement in technology, radio advertisements are usually opted for by small scale firms since they have a greater impact to the customers. Radio advertisements are in deed more effective because they are mostly launched in form of attractive music that is normally enjoyed by the target group. (Manohar, 2008, p. 2). The other common type of advertisement is print advertisements which usually appear in form of magazine, banner, newspaper and even flier advertisements.

Such advertisements are very common because promotional fliers and brochures are normally offered as advertisement options by the print media. Magazines and newspaper advertisements’ spaces are sold according to the size of the advertisement, the position in the publication and even the popularity of the same. This can be well illustrated in a situation whereby a widely read newspaper advertisement will be more expensive than that in an unknown irregularly published newspaper. According to Manohar (2008), the price of print advertisements is also influence by the quality of print paper. An advertisement in a glossy supplement will cost more than that on a poor quality paper. (Manohar, 2008, 2).            Outdoor advertisements’ popularity can not be overlooked either.

In this type of advertisement, various techniques and tools are used to attract consumers in the outside. These include the use of posters, billboards, kiosks, tradeshows and other activities as organized by the firms. Companies use kiosks not only to effectively promote their products but also as their easy outlet for their particular products. Apart from that, firms organize various events like expositions and trade fairs to popularize their products.

They also organize and sponsor activities closely related to their field of production. For instance a company that distills car fuel may launch an engine servicing activity during which they will persuade people to use their particular engine oil, thus create a market for the same. On the other hand, billboard advertisements have a greater appeal to the potential customers following their strategic positions especially along the roads. Since they are intended to attract the attention of motorists, commuters and passersby, their message should be catchy, terse and one that communicates the intended message. Manohar (2008) states that billboard advertising though very popular should be precise and catchy in order to grab the attention of the road users.

(Manohar, 2008, 2).            The other type of advertisement popularly used is the covert advertisement or advertisements in movies. This type of advertisement is unique in nature as a product or service features in television shows, sports and movies as part of the show. That is the product is incorporated in the media or other entertainment channels. Despite there lacking any commercial in that entertainment, the product or the brand is showcased in the movie or the entertainment show.

  An example may include constant displaying of a certain electronic gadget by the main character in a thrilling movie. (Manohar, 2008, 2).  There is also an advertisement intended for social causes which in termed as a public service advertisement in other terms. This form of advertisement is used to disseminate social messages regarding significant societal issues like political integrity, environmental conservation, HIV-AIDS, poverty, illiteracy among others. These types of advertisements are being increasingly used in many countries of the world to promote a number of diversified social causes. Manohar (2008) confirms that television and radio stations air public service advertisements at subsidized rates granted by the United States of America. (Manohar, 2008, p.2).

            Another type of advertisement closed associated with the social cause advertisement is surrogate the surrogate advertisement which is also referred to as the indirect advertisement. This advertisement particularly features in situations where advertising a certain product, like one that is injurious to public health, is illegal and thus forbidden by the state law. As a result, the companies process other products bearing the same brand name and thus reminding people in disguise to consume their other product.The other unique type of advertisement often employed by companies is the celebrity advertisement whereby celebrities are relied upon by companies to market  products because of their popularity. The celebrities are thus signed up for all the other types of advertisements including print advertisements. (Manohar, 2008, 3).

            Although advertisements promote the overall sales of a given company, the long run popularity of a product or a service is determined by its usefulness, its price and its real quality. Thus firms should strive to emphasize on producing splendid quality of goods and rendering satisfactory services. On the other hand, their product advertisements should be unique and not even in the least similar to other related products so as to generate customers’ curiosity. Saberi (2007) notes that:            Focusing on the unique and highlighting the dissimilarity and novelty of a product         in a way that attracts curiosity is a certain method to improve popularity of a     product, so this gives consumers the reason to know more and they will enter the           shops to inquire about the product. (P.

2).The ultimate goal of advertisements is increase products and service sales and the interest of the potential buyers. In spite of that, to retain the product image depends on the brand reputation, the product quality, continued advertisements and the right pricing.

                                                               ReferencesManohar, U. (2008, October 4). Different Types of Advertising.

Intelligent Life on the    Web, 1-4.Robert, M. W. (2008, May 1).

The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues,             Emerging Dilemmas. Monthly Review Press, p.265.Roy, Saberi. (2007, December 2). The Psychology of Advertising. Intelligent Life on the             Web, 1-3.