The Language of Persuasion

BASIC

1)      Celebrities- Aveeno is famous for using celebrities as spokespeople to sell their products.  This ad is trying to sell “healthier looking skin” by picturing Jennifer Aniston next to the product.  Using a celebrity in an advertisement often suggests to the consumer that by using the product, they too will look like the celebrity, as if the celebrity is saying, “I use this too, if you use it, you will be just like me.”  The power of the celebrity can be measured by how famous they are.  The more famous they are, the more likely they are to make an impact on the consumer.

2)      Bandwagon- Marketing this mascara as “America’s favorite mascara” helps to show the ubiquity of the product.  Maybelline also writes that one is sold every 1.7 seconds.  Both of these statements together can influence if a customer purchases the product.  This group of ads often begs the question from the consumer, “a majority of American people use this, don’t you want to be like them?”  This group of ads plays on a person’s desire to feel included in a majority.

3)      Fear- This ad utilizes fear as an effective advertising tactic.  By stating that “cutting your sun exposure is easier than cutting out a skin cancer” this ad does two things.  First, the mention of cancer alone is usually enough to induce a fear response in people.  And second, by addressing the person viewing this ad directly, it has a greater impact.  It suggests that this hypothetical person with a melanoma could be you.  By selling a sunscreen, this ad’s goal is to provide some kind of relief for the consumer.

4)      Warm and Fuzzy- This ad shows a duckling next to Dawn dish soap- this soap claims to be “tough on oil, but gentle on hands.”  During this campaign, Dawn’s commercials often involved cleaning animals that had been caught in oil spills with dishwashing soap to attest to this slogan.  Other ads often show puppies or other animals to elicit a “warm and fuzzy” response in a person.  If that person felt a sense of happiness from the cute animals, then the ad and product might remain in that person’s mind longer, influencing them to buy the product.

INTERMEDIATE 

 

1)      Flattery- Using the tagline “Because you’re worth it” is an example of flattery in advertisements.  The advertisers want to make the consumers think that they deserve the best of the best, while showing that their product IS the best of the best.  By simultaneously flattering the customer and presenting him or her with a product, it greatly impacts the chances of them actually purchasing the item.  If the consumer appreciates the flattery, they might be more likely to believe it.

2)      Nostalgia- By using retro fonts and including the word “throwback” on the label, Pepsi is trying to appeal to an older generation- not just kids who like soda.  The ad also tells the consumer that Pepsi is made with real sugar.  Displaying this message in the retro font is more powerful than a plain font because of the way it influences the emotions of the viewer.  It may cause a person to reminisce back to their childhood.  The goal is to have this feeling of nostalgia will stick with people so that the next time they are grocery shopping, they remember this advertisement.

3)      Scientific Evidence- Although this ad does not portray any graphs or data to be considered a scientific evidence-type advertisement, it does use the word dermatologist.  By including this word, the advertiser is saying speaking to the reliability of this product. This can prove to the consumer that since a dermatologist is a doctor, and doctors are trustworthy, they are able to trust that this product works and yields results.

4)      New- This advertisement for Garnier shampoo demonstrates the concept of novelty.  It portrays a woman pulling on her unrealistically long hair.  This is literally the personification of Garnier’s slogan for this new product: “Longer, stronger, better.”  This is trying to show the consumer that this new formula of shampoo is better than the previous products.  Her hair is long and apparently strong, so it must be better.

ADVANCED

1)      Cause vs. Correlation- This ad shows a crying baby with text that says “kids of teen moms are twice as likely not to graduate.”  What this ad doesn’t show is the research behind this claim.  Granted this ad will grab your attention, but then the ad directs you to a text service or website for more information.  By addressing the viewer directly, this ad has a much stronger impact in the minds of the viewers; however, I am not sure that enough people will follow up with this website for the ad to be powerful.

2)      Analogy- This ad is trying to appeal to consumers who wish to buy a more natural product.  It shows a Heinz ketchup bottle as if it was sliced up like a tomato, along with the tagline “No one grows Ketchup like Heinz.”  Obviously you can’t grow ketchup, implying the main ingredient is tomatoes, promoting a more holistic, natural product.

3)      Timing- This ad was released by Swiss Airlines around Christmastime to promote travel.  Many people travel around the holidays, so the timing of this ad is paramount to its effectiveness.  However, there are a few problems with this ad.  First, it commercializes Christmas, and second, it only appeals to those who celebrate Christmas.  This advertising technique is used quite often, usually around holidays to entice the consumer to buy more than what he or she actually needs.

4)      Scapegoat- This ad is against Pat Toomey saying that he would rather have goods manufactured in China, not in the US.  Looking overseas to manufacture goods would in turn decrease the amount of jobs created in the US.  These kinds of advertisements are often used in political situations to blame one individual for the problems of many.  This can usually tie in with the “Simple Solution” technique where the solution to these problems is easy: don’t vote for this person, and the problems will be solved.

BAD ADS

      This ad shows a white male dressed in workout attire, with the words “cheat on your girlfriend, not on your workout” printed on top.  In the bottom right corner, the viewer can see that this is an ad from Reebok, a fitness company.  Their “cheat on your girlfriend, not your workout” campaign was supposedly only released in Germany.  Because of social media and the internet, this ad quickly made its way to other countries and received an enormous amount of backlash.  What this ad is portraying is disrespect for any woman in a heterosexual relationship.  It also shows disrespect for the relationship itself, assuming fitness is more important than a relationship with another person.  While fitness is very important, the disregard for women portrayed in this ad is appalling.  What surprises me, is that this ad actually got as far as it did.  It was posted around multiple stores in Germany before someone noticed its offensive message.

This ad was actually part of a series of advertisements, each one more sexist than the other.  Each picture is a photo of some high-end cookware sold by Madison Avenue Cookware.  On top of these photos, the text reads “Enjoy your time out of the bedroom,” “A woman’s best friend,” or “The only thing that cooks better than a woman.”  This is an American company, but the campaign was launched in Australia a few years back.  In an interview, the CEO of this company, Roger Hudson, said that “research has told us that women actually do love cooking ad they do actually love keeping their man happy.  It’s in their DNA.”  Instead of a company releasing an ad that they didn’t realize was sexist or offensive, this company CEO outright agrees with the sexist messages of their advertisements.