Surreptitious advertising in television broadcasting and its results

Adversiting which is a paid promotional activity has been evolved and improved with the economic relation among broadcasters, clients/customers and an advertisers in time and has finally become a sector today. The effects of the advertising sector on the economy have steered advertisers and customers towards searching and applying the methods for producing more effective advertisements for the audience. The relatively easily accessible nature of television, its audio-visual characteristics, it is persuation capacity on people and its capacility to create further impacts on audience - in comparison with other instruments of mass media ? have positioned television broadcasts as the most preferred and utilized platform for advertising. The searches for alternative methods in adversiting practices in order to produce or create faster and more effective advertisements have brought about a new concept so-called surreptitious advertising. Accordingly, media service providers and clients/ customers can surreptitiously advertise a product, a service or an idea on television broadcasts primarily with the aim of making more profits. Surreptitious advertising, on the other hand, poses some legal, economic and socio-cultural risks. Yet, probable results of its economic risks are of a particular importance, because a broadcasting organization which broadcasts a surreptitious advertisement avoids paying for advertising revenue tax to the Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council which means tax evasion and, what is worse, may result in illegal relationships of self-interest between the company that produce the surreptitiously - advertised product or service and the broadcasting organization or perhaps persons in charge of the programme. Surreptitious advertising is characterized with the elements such as nonrecognition of adversiting activity by the audience, implication of a product, a service or an idea, extravagant information and violated principal rules of broadcasting. Using methods of surreptitious advertising, efforts are made to convince or persuade the audience to buy or to use that product or service or even an idea. So, the aim is to create behavioral changes in the audience or to make the audience accept the propaganda. Surreptitious advertising is illegal. In other words, it is contrary to law and it is unlawful. Effective controls should be made over advertisements in order to protect the audience from surreptitious advertising. The Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council and The Advertising Council are in charge of the administrative regulation and audit, however, the Councils come across with some difficulties in tracking, identifying, reviewing and preventing surreptitious advertising due to the shortfalls in the organizational structures of the administrative bodies and the related legislation. For this reason, both the legislation and the organizational structures of the administrative bodies need to be re-regulated. Public awareness should be raised for surreptitious advertising by informing the audience and organizing campaigns, and the media service providers should optimize their efforts in order to prevent surreptitious advertising. Key Words 1. Advertising 2. Surreptitious Advertising 3. Hidden Advertising 4. Effects of Surreptitious Advertising 5. Preventing Surreptitious Advertising