It’s said that today more than $ 400 billion a year is spent on advertising worldwide. Beyond that the economic influence of advertising touches just about every consumer-product industry, from No wonder, it is widely recognized that the global economy is heavily being driven by advertisements.

A successful advertisement involves at least three things. The advertisers will first of all single out the market. That is, they need to determine who will buy the product. Then, they will work out the best way to appeal to this market. So they will take into consideration a number of desires or worries the market may have. Finally, they will design the advertising programme. That is, they will study what words and images their advertisement contains and what slogans（广告语）they plan to make use of. They will also consider employing famous people and using scientific data to support e product.

While in everyday life consumers have seen lots of successful examples of advertising like Nike, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s, there are still some examples that do not reach the expected goal. One soap company had all its advertisements show dirty clothes on the left, its box of soap in the middle, and clean clothes on the right. Then it started its advertising programme in the Middle East. Unfortunately, since Arabic speakers read Arabic from the right to the left, many viewers when seeing the ad, thought to themselves, “Why, this soap makes clothes dirty!”

Therefore, advertisers have to be aware of cultural differences when they want to carry out international advertising programme in a foreign country. Study the cultural background of the customers, or ruin the advertising programme!

Colors can affect (影响) our feelings. Blue is a calm (冷静的) color. If you are feeling nervous (紧张), you can wear blue clothes or stay in a blue room. Blue is also the color of sadness. When someone says he’s feeling blue, he means he is sad.

White can also make you feel calm. So you can wear white too if you are nervous. And white often means a new beginning.

Green is the color of nature. It can give us more energy when we are feeling tired.

Some colors can make you feel warm. In cold areas, people usually use warm colors in their homes, like orange and yellow. Yellow is also the color of wisdom. Some people prefer this color when they study for exams. For example, they may use yellow school things.

Red is one of the strong colors. It often makes us feel active. But this color can also mean danger. So it is often used in stop signs (停车标志) and lights.