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Comercial vs. anúncio

Word practice demo
Both comercial and anúncio translate to commercial or ad, but they differ based on the media format (TV/radio vs. print/internet) and the region (Brazil vs. Portugal). Generally, comercial is more specific to broadcast interruptions in Brazil, while anúncio is a broader term used for all ads in Brazil and represents the standard TV ad in Portugal.

Comercial

B1
This word specifically refers to a television or radio advertisement. It implies a break in the programming content. In Brazil, this is the standard word for a TV ad. However, in Portugal, this word is rarely used as a noun for an advertisement; they mostly use it as an adjective (related to commerce) or to refer to a salesperson.
O filme vai continuar logo após os comerciais.
(The movie will continue right after the commercials.)
Aquele comercial de refrigerante é muito engraçado.
(That soda commercial is very funny.)
Eu mudo de canal quando começa o bloco comercial.
(I change the channel when the commercial break starts.)
Eles estão gravando um comercial para o rádio.
(They are recording a commercial for the radio.)

Anúncio

A2
This is the general term for any announcement or advertisement, appearing in newspapers, magazines, the internet, billboards, or on air. In Portugal, anúncio is the preferred word for a TV commercial. In Brazil, while it can mean a TV ad, it is more commonly used for print or digital ads (like classifieds or pop-ups).
Vi um anúncio de emprego interessante no jornal.
(I saw an interesting job ad in the newspaper.)
Em Portugal, o anúncio de televisão foi premiado.
(In Portugal, the television ad was awarded.)
O anúncio apareceu antes do vídeo do YouTube.
(The ad appeared before the YouTube video.)
A empresa pagou por um anúncio de página inteira na revista.
(The company paid for a full-page ad in the magazine.)

Summary

Use comercial primarily for TV and radio spots if you are speaking Brazilian Portuguese. Use anúncio as a catch-all term for any ad (print, web, etc.) in Brazil, or as the standard word for TV commercials in European Portuguese.