The issue is
not to take sides. Whether admired or despised, ignored or
enjoyed, advertisement occupies an inordinately important place
in our life today. For anyone who went through the history of
advertisement, it becomes obvious that the scale of this
activity, which is indeed part of the market, has changed
radically.
It used to be true that only 50 to 60 percent of the investment
in advertisement resulted in higher sales or brand recognition.
Today, the 50 to 60 percent has shrunk to less than 2 percent.
But of the 2 percent that impacts the market, 2 percent (or less)
results in covering the entire expense of advertisement. Such
levels of efficiency-and waste, one should add, in full
awareness that the notion is relative-are possible only in the
civilization of illiteracy. The figures (subject to controversy
and multiple interpretation) point to efficiency as much as to
the various aspects of the market. Our concern with
advertisement is not only with how literate (or illiterate)
advertisement is, but also with how appropriate literacy means
can be to address psychological, ethical, and rational (or
irrational) aspects of market transactions.
A look at advertisements through the centuries is significant to
the role of literacy in society and in the world of
merchandising. Word-of-mouth advertising and hanging signs
outside a business reflect the literacy levels of an age of
small-scale market transactions.
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