Advertising

 In the late 1980s, I would sometimes listen to the classical musical station  WGMS while driving. Now and then after a piece had ended, a folksy voice would explain the importance of the F-16 for America's security. Of course this advertisement was not trying to sell an F-16 to the listeners directly. I suppose that it was aimed at lobbyists and congressional staff. And of course the advertisement never came with a price tag.

At that time, and for another dozen or more years, The Washington Post was full of advertisements. Department stores, for example, would run pages of advertisements for clothing, household goods, etc. There were prices given for the goods and a fairly accurate statement of any discounts offered. I would look at them when I needed clothes, pots and pans, or what have you.

Not long ago, I looked in The Washington Post for advertisements to bring to an ESL class. I was surprised to find that newspaper advertisements resemble must more the F-16 advertisements than the dry goods advertisements of 1989. In the main sections of the paper, one may find advertisements for goods as expensive as a house or as relatively inexpensive as clothing (a line, not items). Whatever the price range, one seldom sees a price. The Sunday advertising supplements are an exception.