Outdoor advertising in a large industrial city: the content and perception

The article presents analysis of outdoor advertising in a large industrial city (through the example of Perm) in terms of the content and perception. It has been found that 88,8 % of outdoor advertising is commercial, 11,2 % belongs to social advertising. More than 70 % of social advertising is aimed at the prevention of drug addiction and AIDS. About 30 % aims to promote a healthy lifestyle, charity, patriotism, road safety, etc. Sellers of household appliances, furniture, clothing and food (these being the basic needs of an average resident of a metropolis), as well as companies providing telecommunication and banking services are the most aggressive in the area of commercial advertising (more than 80 % of advertisements). As the analysis shows, outdoor advertising campaigns in the sphere of social advertising in most cases receive negative assessment from citizens. The hypothesis was put forward that the mechanisms underlying perception of social advertising (by analogy with commercial advertising) are identification and self-image. Aggressive strategies in presenting information cause an individual's rejection since he/she does not want to identify themselves with negative characters from social advertising. A series of surveys was conducted to identify evaluations of social advertising by residents of the metropolis. 72 % of the respondents attribute the content of advertising to themselves and 85 % of the respondents assess advertising positively if the information is presented in the context of positive communication strategies. The data obtained are consistent with the characteristics of advertising activities in psychology.