Examine The Various Techniques Used By Advertisers

Essay, Research Paper

Examine the Various Techniques Used by Advertisers. Consider How These

Techniques Are Used To Persuade Or Inform Their Target Audience Using At Least

3 Examples Courtesy of www.Revise.it Chris Haley The way in which advertisers target

people?s insecurities and desires is increasingly prominent in all forms of the

media. Television adverts, magazine adverts and billboards are hard to escape

in modern society and influence people more than many people realise. Adverts

can raise issues that are not normally considered or show radical images to

create controversy; making people talk about the product and therefore raising

awareness of it. This can be an excellent form of promotion and has been seen

in many advertising campaigns such as that of the ?United Colours Of Beneton.?

They have used this technique in a number of campaigns including a very recent

billboard one in which a photo of a convict on death row is displayed along

with the persons name, how he will be executed and what he did to deserve it.

This produces many emotions in the viewer including pity and a feeling that the

person deserves the punishment. This conflict of emotion is what makes the

viewer of the advert take note and the association with the large logo makes

the company name stick in the mind. An example of a more typical advert

comes from ?Sky View,? a listings magazine for satellite viewers. It is sent

free to subscribers of SKY monthly if they pay thirteen pounds or more for

their selected package. This means the target audience ranges from lower middle

class to the high upper class and people of all ages, male and female. The

colour glossy nature of the advert makes it seem glamorous and exciting as well

as expensive which adds a sense of extra value to the product being advertised.

The fact that the advert is also full page adds to this effect. The advert in

question is for a mobile phone company called ?First Line Mobile?. The main

technique used in this advert is simple but effective; an image of a scantily

clad female grabs the attention of the average male. Society is in a stage

where ?lad-ism? is promoted in many ways and consequently there is no guilt or

embarrassment associated with the desire or even staring at the female anatomy,

in fact, it is promoted and expected from men in this modern society. The

appearance of the woman is important: tanned, smiling and generally good

looking. This promotes the idea that she is living a good life and since she is

holding the product she is associated with it to the extent that the product is

seen to be, in part, the source of her good fortune. In this respect the advert

appeals to not only the general male population but the female also. The way in

which this is just selling the lifestyle rather than the product is very

effective, much is left unanswered about the product but the audience may have

already been persuaded. The advert boasts the handset?s best features however

the important factors in buying a mobile phone such as call costs are not

addressed. The theme of the advert is of a

mainly adult nature. The reason for this is the fact that the target market for

the product is over eighteen since the product must be purchased over the phone

with a credit card. There is always a reluctance of the public to start ringing

up companies unless they are really interested in the product. This advert

leaves a lot of questions about the product but since they have already been

swayed by the images in the advert they are prepared to call to find out about

the product they already want to buy. The other main feature of the

advert is the caption at the top of the page. ?It says I love you.? The display

on the phone also actually says ?I Love You.? This message is manipulating the

basic human need to feel wanted and loved. People see the phone as a direct way

of becoming popular and this adds to the desire of the phone, which is rapidly

building. The promotion continues with the bulleted points: a description of

the phone including the word ?sexy,? which adds even more to the image of the

product. The promotion continues by playing on the public?s dislike of signing

the 12 month contract and shouting about there not being one. The public also

generally love the word ?FREE? and there are two examples of this in the

advert. The handset is free and there is ?Free home delivery.? The image of the

product is further improved with the appearance of the words ?As seen on T.V.?

Since television adverts are much more expensive and generally associated, in

Britain at least, with reputable companies and sophisticated products and

therefore suggesting this product falls into this categorisation. There is also

the appearance of a recognisable logo, which further adds confidence in the

product and the company producing it. There is a quotation on the page that the

company is ?Britain?s biggest direct mobile phone company,? giving still more

propaganda about the company. The final way in which the product is promoted in

this advert is the appearance of the quotation ?This offer is not available in

shops.? This gives the feeling of the product being something different and

new. This allows people to be part of the mobile revolution and conformist

whilst still having their own identity with a different product to most. The advert I examined next is that

of the ?Millennium Experience.? It comes from the same magazine as the previous

advert and consequently has the same audience. It chooses two main images to

display in the full-page advert with a large caption at the top. The caption is

a clever pun on the idea of having an outer body experience, which is seen to

be an incredible and wondrous experience and the well publicised body zone in

the dome involves a journey through the inside of the body. The way these

images tie together is clever and witty. This also rubs off on the image of the

product. The amazement of the innocent young child in the foreground of the

advert shows how incredible the experience is. The child is portrayed as being

innocent with blonde hair and blue eyes showing his purity to the extent people

will feel he is genuinely gawping in awe at the ?Millennium Experience.? The advert has a recognisable logo,

in the top right hand corner, of the ?Millennium Experience? company. A logo is

an excellent tool for instilling confidence in the general public. Another technique

to make the reader of the advert feel confident in the product is showing off

technology. The tickets are available on the Internet and through National

Lottery retailers, showing how professional the organisation is. The advert

also gives the reader a sense of fear that they will never get to see this

amazing exhibition as it lasts for only one year. It tells the reader ?It?s

time to visit,? making them feel they must take action now in buying a ticket. I felt that the most effective of

these adverts was the mobile phone promotion. This is down to the way it

appeals to the minds of male readers so effectively and the way that the image

of the product takes precedence over the actual product itself. This is an

extremely effective way of advertising in cases where people are not likely to

be persuaded just by seeing the product. I consider this an intelligent method

of selling but I would consider it slightly unethical as it is deliberately

trying to mislead and take attention away from the product. The advert is

nevertheless effective in it?s intention.