IELTS essay: Compare the advantages and disadvantages of different mediums for car advertisements

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of three of the following places where marketers would place advertisements for cars. Explain which do you think would be the most effective.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience.

This question was taken from Kaplan IELTS.

Sample answer

Car makers spend millions of dollars on advertising. In a bid to lure more and more people into buying their cars, marketers are testing every possible platform. Although we may encounter car advertisements anywhere, I think the most effective mediums for placing car adverts are newspapers, billboards and televisions.
Newspapers reach millions of readers and are an effective platform for placing car advertisements. Most newspaper publishers already have enough information regarding the likes and aspirations of their readers and they may willingly share this information with their advertisers. By placing advertisements in select editions that reach the right kind of audience, car advertisers can boost their sales. Although newspaper advertising has the potential to reach a large number of prospective customers, it does have some drawbacks. For one thing, newspaper adverting has a very short life span. No matter how inspired or revolutionary the campaign may be, newspapers will ultimately end up in the rubbish bin. And then the advert may be forgotten.
Billboards are another popular platform for advertising cars. Billboards erected in strategic locations, for example along busy highways, will attract many eyeballs. An advantage of this medium is that a large number of people who watch these commercials travel a lot and are either drivers or people interesting in buying cars. On the flip side, people tend to go past these advertisements in a matter of seconds. This can seriously affect the efficiency of a billboard campaign.
Television is perhaps the most effective medium for advertising cars. The best thing about a television commercial is that it allows advertisers to highlight the most impressive features of their cars. By making proper market research car advertisers can air their commercials at the exact time they will be viewed by the right audience. Unfortunately, this medium too has many disadvantages. Although television advertisements can leave a powerful impact, they often fail to reach an audience because many viewers tend to change channels when advertisements are aired.
In conclusion, even after trying multiple platforms car advertisers have a tough time reaching the right audience. In my opinion television is the most effective platform for placing car advertisements. After all, a television commercial grabs more eyeballs than a newspaper advert or billboard.