Advantages:
Convenient and Flexible: The television is a convenient and flexible advertising medium, owing to its widespread popularity and the ease with which a message can reach millions of viewers internationally and nationally. Television advertising allows advertisers the flexibility to use various approaches and different combinations of audio, video and text to make ads memorable and emotional, depending on the product or service or the target audience.
Strong Impact: Television advertising uses audio and visual effects to create a lasting impact. Marketers interact color, sound, sight, drama and motion to ensure that their message is strong and persuasive. Additional tactics and props, such as attractive models, elaborative sets, enchanting graphics and audio-visual effects further enhance impact.
Disadvantages
Intrusive: Consumers often bemoan the intrusive nature of television advertisements and find ways to avoid commercials. This limits the effectiveness of television advertising. Consumers either take time out during a commercial to make a trip to the refrigerator or surf programs on other channels. Furthermore, different technological innovations enable consumers to block advertisements all together. The V-chip is a device that consumers can program to block unwanted content on television, including advertisements. TiVo is another similar device that allows users to store television programs without commercials.
High Costs: Television advertising costs more than other forms of media, such as radio, magazine, newspaper and Internet advertising. Quality commercials are expensive to produce. Typical production costs range between $200,000 to more than $1 million for each commercial, writes William Arens in his book "Contemporary Advertising." Airtime costs are equally high, ranging from $200,000 to $400,000 for a 30-second slot, according to Arens. These costs can prevent detailed messages from being delivered and most advertisements end