What's the difference

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What is the difference between a commercial, a promotion and an advertisement?
This question comes about for the days, like Easter, Anzac day morning, Christmas and Sunday mornings, when they are supposed to be commercial free.
The TV stations run previews of up coming programmes and call them promotions. For example if the TV station has a movie on the next day, the preview of it would be a promotion, but if the local movie theatre has a new movie starting the next day and want to let people know by way of the TV, then it is called an advertisement or commercial. That means that because the above mentioned dates are “commercial and advert” free, then it won’t be screened. However as the TV one is a promotion it is ok.
The dictionary defines, (because of the technical length of the explanation, I have reduced the text)
“Advertisement” Any public notice such as a short TV film designed to sell a product.
“Promotion” To attempt to sell or popularise by advertising.
“Commercial” An advertisement on radio or television.
See if you can figure it out.
On another subject, there are the commercials that just make me laugh, because of the way they treat the public like idiots. You probably have your favourites, so here are some of mine.
The one where a person kneels on what looks like a wheel rim and swivels back and forth to get great abs. Have you noticed that the before and after photos, not only show that their waist size has reduced, but also their head size.
The new type of bra that makes you go AH. Why does it look like the ladies are actually wearing 3 of them? Could you imagine Sandra Bullock or Audrey Hepburn in one of them and going AH.
The one for tissues that don’t make your nose go all red. It shows the sandpaper with the rough side facing out. Any one would know that the other side of the sandpaper is smooth and wouldn’t do the damage.
Then there is the one where you hang this thing inside the rim of the toilet bowl and it gets rid of all the nasties. It somehow shows the water flushing all the way up into the rim. Don’t they know that flushing water flows downwards and the only way that a cleaner can completely cover the entire bowl is by putting something inside the cistern?
The number of exercise type equipment that will help you loose weight and gain gigantic mussels. Every one, you are told is better than all the others.
The number of products that are sold at values ending in 99 cents or 95 cent. E.g.; a fridge at $1295.99 0r a TV at $999.95.
What about all the ones that are classified as “infomercials” and “Home Shopping” That’s another two categories.
Then there are the ones that ask you to phone in the next 10 minute to get the special offer and will only be available for a short time, but the product is broadcast several times during that day and nearly every day that week.
What about reality shows where people compete against each other, sometimes for prizes. In one week on 5 channels ( TV1, TV2, TV3, Four and Prime) there were 76.
Should I say the word, “repeats’ Too many to mention.
Thank goodness for the remote with the mute and off buttons.

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