Knowledge - The \'Priceless\' Factor in Advertising

Knowledge - the 'Priceless' Factor in Advertising

Home Exam

"Cost of attending ***** School of Design: $12,655 per year

$8,000 per year

Cost of mailing this essay: 37¢

Cost of writing the most important essay of my life: PRICELESS.

There are some things money can't buy, for everything else there is MasterCard."

In today's society, the value given to education, acquired through formal education and application of knowledge, is priceless. This is because knowledge serves as the foundation in familiarizing an individual to his/her chosen field of expertise and profession. Knowledge is especially important in advertising, since most of the ideas conceptualized in this profession are primarily based on facts, information, and experiences that have a profound application in advertising.

Take as an example the 'advertisement' I created above. Although the theme is patterned after VISA MasterCard's famous ad slogan, "There are some things money can't buy, for everything else, there is MasterCard," the body of the ad reflects the importance of knowledge of topics or themes that will be depicted in ads. The body of the ad I created shows how, despite the expensiveness of applying for the *****'s School of Design, I know that the quality of education and knowledge that I will receive from this educational institution is PRICELESS. Thus, I can relate to the MasterCard ad, since I know the value and essence of obtaining knowledge through formal education, which I will, hopefully, achieve in *****'s (School of Design).

The MasterCard's ad example is also similar to the HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Corporation) "Local Knowledge" campaigns that have been advertisement in print and TV media. In the HSBC ad, particularly the HSBC print ads, the company illustrates how it is important, in the age of technology and capitalism, for business institutions to be knowledgeable about a nation's culture, since it forms the core values, attitudes, behaviors, and actions of the society. Using the slogan, "Never underestimate the importance of local knowledge," HSBC highlights different aspects of culture that can be found in nations within the Eastern and Western societies, using examples from the U.S., Germany, Indonesia, India, and a host of other countries that have distinct business cultures. Through visual images of elements that depict differences in cultures (for example, chopsticks in China and fork in the United States as the primary food utensils used in eating), HSBC effectively bridges the gap between new technology (world-class banking in the 'world's local bank') and human societies, be they old or new (societies) ones. In effect, HSBC promotes not only the banking industry, but also commits itself in the social responsibility of promoting cultures and societies all over the world. The HSBC ad mainly extends the message that through knowledge of the world's cultures, business is conducted effectively, which is the "HSBC way."