Publicité vs. spot publicitaire vs. pub vs. réclame
While publicité, spot publicitaire, pub, and réclame all translate to commercial or advertising, the choice depends heavily on the register (level of formality) and the specific context.
Publicité
A2This is the standard, neutral, and grammatically correct term. Publicité can refer to a specific commercial, or the advertising industry as a whole.
Cette publicité pour le café est très créative.
(This coffee commercial is very creative.)
Il travaille dans le secteur de la publicité depuis dix ans.
(He has been working in the advertising sector for ten years.)
La publicité est interdite sur les chaînes de télévision publiques après vingt heures.
(Advertising is banned on public television channels after 8 p.m.)
Spot publicitaire
B2This is a technical term used specifically for audio or video commercials (TV, radio, cinema). Spot publicitaire emphasizes the short format of the clip rather than the message itself.
Le tournage du spot publicitaire a duré trois jours.
(Filming the commercial spot took three days.)
Un spot publicitaire de trente secondes coûte très cher pendant la finale.
(A thirty-second commercial spot costs a lot during the finals.)
Ils ont diffusé le même spot publicitaire trois fois de suite.
(They aired the same commercial spot three times in a row.)
Pub
B1This is the most common abbreviation of publicité. Pub is used in casual, everyday conversation to refer to ads, commercial breaks, or the concept of hype.
Attends, je vais chercher à boire pendant la pub.
(Wait, I am going to get a drink during the commercials.)
Il y a trop de pub sur cette chaîne.
(There are too many ads on this channel.)
Ils ont fait beaucoup de pub pour ce nouveau film.
(They did a lot of promotion for this new movie.)
Réclame
C2This is an old-fashioned, dated term. Réclame was the standard word in the early 20th century but is now widely considered archaic, vintage, or nostalgic.
Ma grand-mère appelle encore les publicités la réclame.
(My grandmother still calls commercials advertisements.)
C'est une vieille affiche de réclame des années cinquante.
(It is an old advertising poster from the fifties.)
Le terme réclame a disparu du vocabulaire moderne.
(The term advertisement has disappeared from modern vocabulary.)
Summary
Use publicité for standard communication, spot publicitaire when discussing the technical video/audio clip, pub for daily casual conversation, and avoiding réclame unless you want to sound like you are from the 1950s.