TYPES OF NONCOMMERCIAL ADVERTISING

3.2 TYPES OF NONCOMMERCIAL ADVERTISING

One way to categorize the various types of noncommercial advertising is by the organizations that use them. For instance, advertising is used by churches, schools, universities, charitable organizations, and many other nonbusiness institutions. We also see advertising by associations, such as labor groups, professional organizations, and trade and civic associations. In addition, we witness millions of dollars' worth of advertising placed ^government organizations: the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine, Corps, and Postal Service; the Social Security Administration; the Internal Revenue Service; and various state chambers of commerce. In addition, in election years we are bombarded with all sorts of political advertising that qualifies as noncommercial. The Advertising Council Most of the national PSAs you see on television have been placed there by the Advertising Council, a private, nonprofit organization that links noncommercial campaign sponsors with ad agencies. The sponsors pay for production costs, while the ad agencies donate their creative services.

3.3 ADVERTISING COUNCIL

The Ad Council's policy today is basically the same as when it began during World War II: "Accept no subsidy from government and remain independent of it. Conduct campaigns of service to the nation at large, avoiding regional, sectarian, or special-interest drives of all kinds. Remain nonpanisan and nonpolitical. Conduct the Council on a voluntary basis. Accept no project that does not lend itself to the advertising method. Accept no campaign with a commercial interest unless the public interest is obviously over riding."

Among familiar campaigns created by the Ad Council are those for the United Negro College Fund ("A mind is a terrible thing to waste"); child abuse prevention ("Help destroy a family tradition"); the United Way ("It works for all of us"); crime prevention ("Take a bite out of crime"); and the U.S. Department of Transportation ("Drinking and driving can kill a friendship"). Exhibit 18-17 shows frames from an Ad Council commercial that advocates a healthy diet. The Ad Council's two longest-running campaigns are those for the American Red Cross and forest fire prevention. According to the Ad Council's research, the number of forest fires has been cut in half over the life of the Smokey Bear campaign.29 The council is currently playing a role in overseeing the Partnership for a Drug-Free America effort.

CHAPTER 3 "INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING" 1. GROWTH AND STATUS OF INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING

In this text, we have discussed marketing and advertising planning, advertising creativity, and the advertising media. We have also offered overall advertising perspectives and focused on some special types of advertising, However, most of this discussion has centered on advertising as practiced in the United States and Canada. The question arises, therefore, as to how well such practice applies to advertising in the rest of the world. Companies advertising abroad face a variety of difficulties and opportunities, as we will see in this chapter.

A bit of history will help put the current explosion of international advertising into perspective. As U.S. companies entered world markets after World War II, consumption of U.S. products grew tremendously. By 1990, U.S. advertising expenditures accounted for $130 billion, or 47 percent of the world total.² However, in the last 15 years, expenditures by foreign advertisers increased even more rapidly than U.S. expenditures, thanks to improved economic conditions and a desire for expansion. As national economies have expanded and personal incomes have increased, the use of advertising has also increased.

Organizations in every country of the world practice advertising in one form or another. Actual figures are not available, but recent estimates of worldwide advertising expenditures outside the United States exceed $145.6 billion per year, or 53 percent of the worldwide total. The emphasis on advertising in individual countries, though, depends on the country's level of development and its national attitude toward promotion. Generally, advertising expenditures are higher in countries with higher personal income.

Today, advertising is used worldwide to sell ideas, policies, and attitudes as well as products. From Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati to Fiat in Turin, Italy, major marketers believe in international advertising, and they back their convictions with sizable advertising budgets. As Exhibit 19-2 shows, the top 10 worldwide advertisers are based in many different countries.

Communist countries, including China, once condemned advertising as an evil of capitalism. But now, with the Soviet Union's economy broadening to include private enterprise, even the Soviets are starting to admit the benefits of advertising. Although decades of propaganda have conditioned Soviet consumers to distrust or ignore advertising, some Western advertisers are successfully gaining the attention of Soviet citizens by featuring instructional or entertaining fare in ads.⁴ Ad Lab 19-A (p. 674) discusses how Pepsi has successfully used advertising techniques within the Soviet market.

Certainly, as a communication form, international advertising contributes to the unification of the world. And one benefit is enhanced international understanding as advertisers introduce foreign products, values, and ideas into new markets. As technology and ideologies evolve, international advertising will continue to flourish. As a creative director for Ogiivy & Mather in Paris has said, "Noise n'avons pas mal de budgets," which can be loosely translated as, "We're not hurting for business."