Ministry of education and training
Ha noi foreign trade university

The role of advertising in society

Student : dong thi thu hang.
Class : A11-K38D
Instructor : MBA le thi hai.
Ha Noi 9/2002
Index
Introduction
Part I : General knowledge of advertising
1. Some typical concepts of advertising
2. Classifications of advertising
Part II : The role of advertising in society
1. Economic effects of advertising
a. On governments
b. On citizens
c. On businesses
2. Social effects
a. Good effects
b. Bad ones
Part III : The role of Vietnam’s advertising industry in the
economy
1. Present situation and contributions of Vietnam’s advertising
industry
2. The changing responses of Vietnamese towards advertising.
Conclusion

2
Introduction

thesis.
3
Part I : General knowledge of advertising
1. Some typical concepts of advertising.
Advertising is any of indirect appearance of goods, services or ideas which
we have to pay for to recognise the advertisers ( according to American
Marketing Association – AMA ).
Advertising involves widely introducing about firms, goods, services,
brandnames and symbols according to the operational aimes of companies
( according to the decree No 194/ CP issued 21/12/94 )
Advertising is used to promote consumers’ tastes, introduce new
goods and improve the people’s consuming habit ( according to the
dictionary of scientific and technical publisher – 1990 ).
2. Classifications of advertising
a. Advertising to the consumer market
a1. National advertising.
Advertising done by a company on a nationwide basis or in most
regions of the country and targeted to the ultimate consumer market is
known as national advertising. The companies that sponsor these ads are
generally referred to as national advertisers. Most of the ads for well-known
brands that we see on prime-time TV or in other major national or regional
media are examples of national advertising. This form of advertising is
usually very general; it rarely includes specific prices, directions for buying
the product, or services associated with the purchase. It informs or reminds
consumers of the brand and its features, benefits, advantages, and uses or
reinforces its image so consumers will be predisposed to purchase it.
National advertising is the best known and most widely discussed form of
promotion, probably because of its pervasiveness.
a2. Retail/local advertising
Another prevalent type of advertising directed at the consumer market

purchase of products from direct-response advertisements.
a4. Primary and selective demand advertising
Another way of viewing advertising to the ultimate customer is in
terms of whether the message is designed to stimulate either primary or
selective demand. Primary demand advertising is designed to stimulate
demand for the general product class or entire industry; selective demand
advertising focuses on creating demand for a particular manufacturer's
brands. Most advertising for various products and services is concerned with
stimulating selective demand and emphasizes reasons for buying a particular
brand. Advertisers generally assume there is a favorable level of primary
demand for the product class and focus attention on increasing their market
share. Thus, their advertising attempts to give consumers a reason to buy
their brand.
Advertisers might concentrate on stimulating primary demand in
several situations. When a company's brand dominates a market, it may
focus on creating demand for the product class, since it will benefit the most
from market growth. For example, Pepsi Cola has over 70 percent of the soft
drink market, and the company's advertising objective is to encourage
consumers to drink more. Primary demand advertising is often used as part
of a promotional strategy to help a new product gain acceptance among
customers. Products in the introductory or growth stages of their life cycles
often have primary demand stimulation as a promotional objective because
5
the challenge is to sell customers on the product as much as it is to sell a
particular brand.
b. business-to-business advertising
For many companies, the ultimate customer is not the mass consumer
market but rather another business, industry, or profession. Business-to-
business advertising is used by one business to advertise its products or
services to another. The target for business advertising is individuals who

advertising for Colgate plaque-fighting toothpaste and oral rinse to dentists
to encourage them to recommend these products to their patients.
Professional advertising should not be confused with advertising done by
professionals. In recent years, advertising by professionals such as dentists,
6
lawyers, and doctors has increased in popularity as legal restrictions were
removed and competition increased.
These classifications of the various types of advertising demonstrate
that this promotional element is used in a variety of ways and by a number of
different organizations. Advertising is a very flexible promotional tool
whose role in a marketing program will vary depending on the situation
facing the organization and what information needs to be communicated.
7
Part II : the role of advertising in society
1. Economic effects of advertising.
Advertising plays an important role in a free market system by making
consumers aware of products and services and providing them with
information for decision making.
Advertising can encourage consumption and foster economic growth.
It not only informs customers of available goods and services but also
facilitates entry into markets for a firm or a new product or brand; leads to
economies of scale in production, marketing, and distribution, which in turn
lead to lower prices; and accelerates the acceptance of new products and
hastens the rejection of inferior products.
a. Effects on citizens
a.1. To the consumer choice.
Some people say advertising hampers consumer choice, as large
advertisers use their power to limit our options to a few well-advertised
brands. They argue that advertising is used to achieve (1) differentiation,
whereby the products or services of large advertisers are perceived as unique

symbols of status, success, and accomplishment and/or will lead to greater
social acceptance, popularity, sexual appeal, and so on.
The criticism of advertising on the grounds that it encourages
materialistic values assumes that materialism is undesirable and is sought at
the expense of other goals. Many believe materialism is an acceptable part of
the Protestant ethic, which stresses hard work and individual effort and
initiative and views the accumulation of material possessions as evidence of
success. Others argue that the acquisition of material possessions has
positive economic impact by encouraging consumers to keep consuming
after their basic needs are met. Many Americans believe economic growth is
essential and materialism is both a necessity and an inevitable part of this
progress.
A famous economist describes the role advertising plays in
industrialized economies by encouraging consumption:
Advertising and its related arts thus help develop the kind of man the
goals of the industrial system require-one that reliably spends his income and
works reliably because he is always in need of more...In the absence of the
massive and artful persuasion that accompanies the management of demand,
increasing abundance might well have reduced the interest of people in
acquiring more goods...Being not pressed by the need for these things, they
would have spent less reliably to get more. The consequence-a lower and
less reliable propensity to consume-would have been awkward for the
industrial system.
It has also been argued that an emphasis on material possessions does
not rule out interest in intellectual, spiritual, or cultural values. Defenders of
advertising say consumers can be more interested in higher-order goals when
basic needs have been met. They point out that consumers may purchase
material things in the pursuit of nonmaterial goals. For example, a person
may buy an expensive stereo system to enjoy music rather than simply to
impress someone or acquire a material possession.

of advertising is essentially informational in nature. Also, it is difficult to
separate desirable informational advertising from undesirable persuasive
advertising.
If advertising critics really believe that persuasive advertising should
not be permitted, they are actually proposing that no advertising be allowed,
since the purpose of all advertising is to persuade. Defenders of advertising
also take issue with the argument that it should limit itself to dealing with
basic functional needs. In our society, most lower-level needs recognized in
Maslow's hierarchy, such as the need for food, clothing, and shelter, are
satisfied. It is natural for people to move from basic needs to higher-order
ones such as self-esteem and status or self-actualization. Consumers are free
to choose the degree to which they attempt to satisfy their desires, and wise
advertisers associate their products and services with the satisfaction of
higher-order needs.
Proponents of advertising offer two other defenses against the charge
that advertising makes people buy things they do not really need. First, this
criticism attributes too much power to advertising and assumes consumers
have no ability to defend themselves against advertising.
Second, it ignores the fact that consumers have the freedom to make
their own choices when confronted with persuasive advertising. While they
readily admit the persuasive intent of their business, advertisers are quick to
10