student asking question

What's the difference between "commercial" and "advertisement"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Commercial" and "advertisement" are similar in meaning. An "advertisement" is when a company pays for a certain message or product they want to sell to be present on a platform, such as a website, newspaper, or magazine. An advertisement is usually done in a written format. A "commercial" is also a paid advertisement that sells something. However, a "commercial" is an advertisement that is aired on a broadcast media source, such as television or the radio. Both an advertisement and a commercial are meant to sell a product or relay some type of message to a target audience. Ex: The Geico commercials are known to be funny. Ex: There are many commercials on YouTube now. Ex: The company's advertisement is in the newspaper this week. Ex: I hate advertisements on websites.

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