Compare Several Adverts Looking At The Ways

They Aim To Influence Their Intended Audience Essay, Research Paper

Discuss in relation

to feelings/experiences using particular ads as examples to support your view. In today?s world, adverts

have a great deal of influence over what we buy and do. Nearly everywhere we go

some type of advert bombards us. For example, there are adverts on buses, on

television, in magazines and on the street. Most of the time I feel like a

prisoner to them, because their power of persuasion is amazing. This essay will

compare a number of adverts which advertise mountain bikes. Half of the adverts

are from ?Mountain Biking UK? (professional mountain biking magazine) and the

other half are from ?FHM? (men?s magazine). All adverts vary depending

on many things, including what type of magazine it?s in. Of course, the genre

of the magazine will determine its audience and all adverts are geared towards

a certain target audience. ?If the

advert was in Mountain Biking UK it would be far more detailed, and would include

things like spec sheets, pictures of famous riders, and special technical

components. This would because the target audience would be interested in and

could identify with the product and the message the advert portrays. It would probably

also be aimed at a professional mountain biker, because if someone won a

competition on a company?s bike, it would be extra publicity for that company. ????????? However

if we had the same company advertising in FHM, the advert would be very

different. It would be much more plain and simple, and would include things like

a picture of the bike, a slogan, company name, and maybe a small section that

has some specifications in it. This is because most people who read FHM wouldn?t

really care that a national champion won on that particular bike, or that it

has a LX group set, and a mavic/hope wheel set up. Mainly all they would care

about, is which bike looks the best, gets them from A to B, and if it?s in their

price range. In my opinion this is a very good way of reaching the preferred

target audience. The backgrounds in the ads

are usually linked to what type of bike it is, what type of riding you do on

that bike, and what type of audience will see the ad. If it were a town bike,

the background would obviously be in the town or city, mainly aimed at people

who would cycle to work or to the shops. If it were a cross-country bike the

background would be in the countryside, rolling hills and gravel tracks, aimed

at people who would cycle for fitness or fun. And the same goes for all other

types of bikes, downhill, freeride, dirt jump and BMX. Bike adverts usually include

a slogan; these are mainly linked with three things, going fast, winning, and adrenaline.

Which in my opinion attacks the right areas of a mountain biker?s head. This is

because most people, who buy the nice expensive, very high performance bikes

advertised, would usually enter competitions, or have a very great enthusiasm

for Mountain Biking as a sport. So they would want to buy a bike that went fast

and helped them win or just improved their personal performance. Therefore, if

they saw Steve Peat (who is world wide #2 and British #1) riding a GT DHI, they

would be influenced to buy that bike, because it has helped the British champion

to his crown. However the large majority of people only want bikes to get from

a to b. In this instance companies approach advertising their product differently,

perhaps stressing their products cheep or good value rather than it?s good

performance and guarantees. Often because the audience that this type of bike

is not interested in these type of things. Nearly all of the adverts have

men advertising the product, this might be a sexual approach to influence more

women (or men) to buy there bike by putting young, famous and good looking male

riders on there bike. This actually surprises me greatly, I would actually

expect there to be more female riders to advertise bikes than male, because men

are usually more influenced by sexual suggestion, than females. It may be

because the magazine has a mainly male audience, and it would appear that they

would be more influenced by somebody who wins, than by somebody with a big

chest. On the other hand it might

just be the fact that there are more famous male riders than female. Some

people would perhaps suggest this type of advert appeals to men because it portrays

a macho image that they would like to have and so subconsciously think that if

they buy this certain product it will boost there own personal macho image.

However I don?t agree with this. ?Personally I buy products because they improve my bikes performance

not my street credibility. I think this because some people use the personalities

in their adverts as role models, therefore suggesting that if a professional

uses a certain product it has to be good. ?Another factor of adverts is the way it is laid out. In FHM most

of the adverts have primary colours of black or white, and the Secondary was

red. This might be by coincidence, or it might be that black and white show of

the bike more than other colours. Another thing that I noticed was the positioning

of the product and product name, mainly the product was in the bottom half

towards the left-hand side, and the product name was in the bottom right. Again

this might just be by coincidence, but it is more likely too have something to

do with the side of adverts that appeals to the audience?s subconscious, and the

way our mind takes things in. As with all aspects of

adverts the colour and layout is used to create an effect. Making certain

aspects of the advert stand out often does this. In MBUK the colour scheme and

layout is far more loud and colourful than in FHM, it is more like an explosion

on the page. This would appeal to the audience of MBUK because the advertisers

believe that they are more subconsciously influenced by bold /colourful slogans

that do not require a great deal of thought. The advert would include a picture

of there team rider, the teams achievements, spec sheets, the product, pictures

of the team in action, sponsors, phone numbers, websites, slogans and other

little things that make certain adverts unique. Nothing has any particular

place; it?s all just there. In FHM the adverts are more subtle and sophisticated. ????????? In

FHM the slogan of an advert would probably concentrate on a product?s value for

money i.e. ?Unhinged, Deranged. Financially astute?, this is because most people

who read FHM would be looking for a cheap and cheerful bike. But in MBUK the

slogans will be aimed at the three main targets mentioned earlier, going fast,

winning, and adrenaline i.e. ?Getting to

the front is one thing, staying there is another? and ?Here the only limit

on speed is yourself?. ????????? In

conclusion I?ve found out that the use of adverts to sell products are so

effective because they play on your subconscious image of how you see yourself,

and tap into an aspect of the audience?s lifestyle. They do this by varying

their adverts depending on what type of audience will see it, and what type of

product they are selling. For example, a bike company would not stress a bike?s

high-speed performance if their target audience were OAP?s. As long as there is

competition to be the best there will always be adverts, and no matter what

people think of them, they are here to stay. ??? ????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? By

Sam Roberts