A display advertisement in the making
Plastered on the walls at the ballpark, passing by on the side of a city bus, printed across the fronts and backs of the T-shirts of the pedestrians on the sidewalks, and covering a good portion of the majority of websites, display advertising bombards American culture from all angles at every given opportunity.
Identification
Display advertisements are those that are designed to stand out from their surroundings to catch the eye of the consumer. Display ads in newspapers, magazines and online typically contain both text and graphics. However, a display advertisement may contain only graphics or it may be made up of only text. The obvious separation from the surroundings is what distinguishes "display" on a page as opposed to less prominent "text ads," which often blend in with the text of the body copy.
Types
Regardless of the advertiser, all forms of online, television and mobile device display advertising are called "interactive" due to the fact that the device must have an operator. On the other hand, a movie poster is a form of static display advertising. Public media display advertisements include those stretched across the sides of buses. Print media encompasses newspapers and periodicals, and digital media display advertising is found across the World Wide Web and on mobile devices.
Branding Campaigns
A company may initiate a display advertising program whereby identical or very similar ads with the company's logo and a simple slogan or the company name and a catchy phrase are posted simultaneously across various media outlets for a specified period. This simple technique, if seen in enough places, will accomplish what advertising executives term "branding." A successful widespread branding campaign simply consists of familiarizing consumers with a name, and humans gravitate toward the familiar.
Function
In addition to branding or name recognition, businesses use advertisements to promote sale items, announce special events and target potential customers. Politicians overwhelm the television screens, the Internet and thousands of front lawns every year in each region holding elections with display advertisements in hopes of capturing votes. With the exception of public service and legal notice spots, the intent fueling the inexhaustible supply of display advertisements is the will to profit, both on the side of the advertiser and the publisher.
Regulation of Advertising Content
In the United States, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), a federal agency, regulates all display advertising through enforcement of consumer protection laws. Law prohibits advertisers, regardless of the medium utilized, from engaging in deceptive or misleading practices. This prohibition covers both the insertion of false information and the omission of pertinent information regarding a product or service advertised. In addition, all claims in an advertisement must be substantiated by documented proof.
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