Advertising – Definitions and Techniques EMS3O

What is Advertising? The act or practice of calling public attention to one's product, service, need, etc. Advertising communication is one-way. Not all advertising is “selling” something you can purchase – some ads sell ideas or viewpoints

Where do you find advertising? Mass Media – Tools that deliver messages to lots of people TV Radio Magazines Internet Newspapers Others?

Where do you find advertising? Targeted media – Tools that reach certain specific people Mailings Email In-store announcements Billboards Buses Others?

Where do you find advertising? Product Placement – Products themselves can act as advertising Products in movies T-shirt logos Vending machines Video Games Others?

Advertising at Work Advertising has four jobs: Attention : grabbing the public’s attention Image : it must establish a unique image. Personality creating associations, needs, and desires for this product Reassure : reassure consumers who’ve already bought the product to maintain customer loyalty Persuade : persuade new customers to buy the product

How does advertising work? Advertising works consciously You already know you need something Ads inform you of a product’s features, which you may find desirable The next time you go to buy that item, you chose the brand you saw advertised

How does advertising work? Advertising creates a new need The ad starts by convincing you that you need something you didn’t know you needed before Then the ad shows that their product will fill that need

How does advertising work? Advertising works subconsciously By creating a positive image or association in your brain, advertisers get you to “like” a product The next time you shop, you unconsciously grab that product because of the positive association

Advertising Techniques Advertising uses several different, distinct techniques to create that positive association Most ads use several techniques at once

Advertising Techniques, cont. 1) Bandwagon Everyone is doing it The ad creates a positive connection by showing that the product/service/idea is widely used and widely accepted Why would everyone be using it if it wasn’t the best? Bandwagon Example

Advertising Techniques, cont. 2) Plain Folks Speak to people in plain and simple terms The ad uses simple, common language, images, and content to appeal to the average person Let me explain this to you in terms you would understand.

Advertising Techniques, cont. 3) Testimonial Someone important or famous says you should buy our product The ad uses a celebrity or expert that endorses the product or service, either directly or indirectly You like or trust me, and I think the product is great. Testimonial Example

Advertising Techniques, cont. 4) Science/Statistics These numbers prove you need our product The ad uses science, scientific language, or statistics to prove their product is good Even if you don’t understand what we’re talking about, we sound really smart and credible.

Advertising Techniques, cont. 5) Transfer Associating products with something you like or value The ad couples the product with something desirable – sex appeal, humor, patriotism, sports, video games, whatever – so a positive feeling is created for the product You like this, right? Then you’ll like our product, too.

Transfer Examples

Advertising Techniques, cont. 6) Emotional Appeal (Hidden Fears) Emotional appeals are advertising techniques in which the advertiser tries to play up on the emotions of the audience, often in lieu of information that might appeal to an audience rationally.

Emotional Appeal (Cont’d) The exploitation of an individual’s fears and insecurities. Deodorant commercials Diaper commercials Or even…

Advertising Techniques, cont. 7) Repetition The constant statement of an idea to fix the image of a product in the audience’s mind. Could be Audio Or Audio-Visual

Advertising Techniques, cont. 8) Spin The attempt to turn negative evidence into something that the public will perceive positively. Used a lot in political Ads.

Advertising Techniques, cont. 9) Weasel Words The use of vague terms to mislead the viewer into thinking the product is better than it really is.

Weasel Words Examples "Helps control dandruff symptoms with regular use." The weasels include "helps control," and possibly even "symptoms" and "regular use." The claim is not "stops dandruff." "Leaves dishes virtually spotless." We have seen so many ad claims that we have learned to tune out weasels. You are supposed to think "spotless," rather than "virtually" spotless. "Only half the price of many color sets." "Many" is the weasel. The claim is supposed to give the impression that the set is inexpensive. "Listerine fights bad breath." "Fights," not "stops." "Lots of things have changed, but Hershey's goodness hasn't." This claim does not say that Hershey's chocolate hasn't changed.

Advertising Techniques, cont. 10) Excitement (Music) music and other sound effects add to the excitement of commercials, especially commercials aimed at kids. Those little jingles, that you just can't get out of your head, are another type of music used to make you think of a product. Have you ever noticed that the volume of commercials is higher than the sound for the program that follows?

What’s the big deal? Advertising affects all of us, whether we realize it or not. It affects… What we spend our money on What we find to be “cool” What we find attractive How we view genders, races, and other stereotypes Our health, happiness, and well-being How we think people should act Our culture in general

So, How Should We Handle Advertising? If you understand how an ad is supposed to work, you won’t be “tricked” into buying or believing things you don’t want to. We will practice analyzing ads – we will try to figure out how they work and how they can affect you so you can make conscious choices.

How to view advertisements

View the Ad as a whole, consider: Your first impression of the ad its overall look its tone and atmosphere the storyline (if one exists), is there a climax and resolution? possible target audience

Be specific about the audience narrow it down is the ad placed properly to reach the intended audience?

Determine the message What atmosphere does it convey? What people are in the ad? Stereotypes? Body language? Celebrity? Why use this person? Is a story being told? Does the content imply a certain lifestyle?

Examine the language used What message is conveyed? Key words and phrases? Claims? What techniques are being used? Connotative and Denotative messages

How effective is the advertisement in communicating a message? What emotional hooks are used? Will you remember the product or slogan? Social values? What social attitudes are indirectly reflected in the ad?

Reviewing print advertisements What is the focal point/centre of interest? How are visuals arranged? How does the print component contribute to the ad? Does colour affect the message of the ad? Does the product appear in ad? Where is it? The logo...