Which of the following statements about publicity and advertising is NOT correct?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → A news item in publicity has less credibility than a sponsored message in advertising.
Option (1) Publicity, like advertising, is a non-personal form of communication. — True. Publicity is like advertising in one way: it is a non-personal form of communication. But publicity is not paid for.
Option (2) Publicity has no identified sponsor, as the message goes out as a news item. — True. The message goes out as a news item. So there is no identified sponsor behind it.
Option (3) A news item in publicity has less credibility than a sponsored message in advertising. — False. In publicity, the news comes from an independent source, such as the press. So the message has more credibility than a sponsored message in advertising.
Option (4) Publicity generally takes place when favourable news about a product is presented in the mass media. — True. Publicity takes place when favourable news about a product or service appears in the mass media, for example a news item on a new car engine.
Publicity is unpaid news in the media. Advertising is a paid message from an identified sponsor.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “1. Publicity: Publicity is similar to advertising, in the sense that it is a non-personal form of communication. However, as against advertising it is a non-paid form of communication. Publicity generally takes place when favourable news is presented in the mass media about a product or service. For example, if a manufacturer achieves a breakthrough by developing a car engine, which runs on water instead of petrol, and this news is covered by television or radio or newspapers in the form of a news item. It would be termed as publicity because the engine manufacturer would benefit from such dissemination of information about its achievement by the media but would not bear any cost for the same. Thus, the two important features of publicity are that: |