Advertising versus advertising: knowing the differences determines the Course of Campaigns – Advertising or Advertising: Which is best for your business? We use the or to clarify that the two words refer to different concepts, though they are often treated as synonymous in Brazil.

The confusion is not just among laypeople. Journalists, advertisers, students, book editors, translators and even teachers are confused by the topic. Itself presents advertising and propaganda as “any remunerated form of dissemination of ideas, goods, products or services” while the interprets all this as advertising.

The meanings of the terms may vary from one entity to another, from one country to another and are constantly changing according to location, usage,  changes and transformations from each era. However, in the academic environment, some differences remain clear.

In this article, we will discuss it all! Once and for all, let’s clarify the fundamental differences between the two types of campaigns and their main characteristics. Are we prepared to learn a little more about the world of communication? So let’s go!

Advertising is making something public

According to renowned professor Don Schultz from North Western University in the United States. advertising can be definite as “the creation and delivery of effective sales messages to selected audiences”.

This is a very current conception of advertising that fits perfectly, for example, in outbound marketing campaigns where we advertise brands, products and services on the internet only for users with related behaviour and consumption profiles.

In essence, advertising is nothing more than making something public and is aimed at for-profit or non-profit commercial communication. It is a well-organized and structured media resource whose main objective is to draw attention to or promote an audience’s acceptance of a brand.

Advertising is the Dissemination of Ideas – Advertising versus advertising: knowing the differences determines the Course of Campaigns

Propaganda, in turn, refers to the dissemination of ideas, whether political, partisan, social, religious or commercial, to influence behaviour. Remember free electoral propaganda? Well, this is a great example!

Advertising may or may not have an ideological nature. Its function is to highlight a problem, highlight an important issue, communicate facts publicly, educate, and raise an alert about an event or even the quality of a service or product.

A company can work on its brand by disseminating ideas or stimulating some behaviour, even if it does not mention its services or products. This type of advertising, in turn, by inducing behaviour. Can indirectly favour consumption or serve as a platform for advertising actions.

Advertising x Advertising

Article  36 of the Consumer Protection Code establishes that advertising must be broadcast so that the consumer immediately identifies it as such. Among all the analyzable parameters, the most notable difference between advertising and publicity is that the latter can directly target sales and is always carried out by specialized professionals.

Advertising is linked to principles, ideas and causes, while advertising is intended to promote brands, companies, services and products. Based on all this information, we can finally classify the two concepts in a more didactic way. Watch:

Advertising and Propaganda in History – Advertising versus advertising: knowing the differences determines the Course of Campaigns

Advertisements marked history in the 20th century. Several countries began using this resource to disseminate ideas among the population. The old war propaganda is some of the beginnings of this type of communication.

Amongst the most famous examples We can mention the  Uncle Sam poster. Whose objective was to encourage the enlistment of young people in the American army The signs that promoted the military power of communist China and perhaps the most striking of all. the  Nazi propaganda that used different channels to propagate the ideas of Nazi Germany.

Advertising, in turn, took its current form with the strengthening of capitalism, which gained a more commercial purpose. It is the primary communication tool to reach, engage and convince the public to consume a particular service, brand or product.

Advertising and Propaganda in Practice – Advertising versus advertising: knowing the differences determines the Course of Campaigns

Propaganda has a political, religious or ideological character, and its objective is to disseminate ideas. There is no clear relationship between service/product and consumer. On the other hand, advertising (known as Advertising in English-speaking countries) is directly related to the marketing of goods. The advertiser pays for creating and placing material whose primary function is to arouse the public’s desire to buy.

Today the most common advertisements are free electoral propaganda, government announcements and alerts in general (ministry of education tourism, health, etc.). At the same time, advertising can be considered the principal means for the market to achieve its objectives. Being the most profitable strategy for advertising companies. Commercials for cars, beverages, cosmetics and clothing, for example, are examples of advertising.

As you may have already noticed, much of what is called advertising in Brazil, while related to the consumer, is embedded in advertising. Anyway it is good to work and express the concepts with some caution. Taking into account the context and the understanding of each author or professional.

Advertising and Publicity Working Together

Think of a company that sells natural products that are good for health, a niche currently on the rise. By broadcasting advertisements about the importance and benefits of healthy eating (idea). The message can draw people’s attention to this type of product and encourage its consumption.

Once the public has been educated commercials (commercials) will be much more effective. As they will meet the need or curiosity already aroused in the audience. See how advertising and advertising can be worked together intelligently?

Finally we can conclude that the two types of campaigns are different. But there is no duel between advertising and advertising quite the opposite. Advertising promotes the meeting of the brand with its audience and advertising is the meeting of the audience with its ideas.