Advertising Methods: Techniques of Presentation

1. Appeals to Emotion

When advertisers use this technique, they attempt to appeal to those emotional needs experienced by all humans. The text will be worded to emphasize those needs. Some of the common appeals to emotion include:

  • the need to be accepted by others
  • the need to have membership in an elite group
  • the need for self-acceptance
  • the need for security
  • the need for family
  • the need for change
  • the need for excitement
  • the need to attract sex, be sexy , and/or have sex.

2. Associations

When advertisers use association, they attempt to associate their product with the people, values and lifestyles depicted in the ads. Associations are positive and rely heavily on the visual image created in the ad, but the text enforces the association. Products are commonly associated to:
  • wealth / luxury
  • fame / prestige
  • happiness
  • success
  • youthfulness / health
  • excitement / adventure / risk
  • patriotism
  • independence / individuality / non-conformity
  • love / romance / sex

3. Fear Tactics

When advertisers use fear tactics, they attempt to sell their product by playing on our fears. The reasoning is that if consumers buy the product the fear is abolished. Ads that use fear tactics rely heavily on the text. Some common fear tactics are:
  • fear of death / aging / sickness
  • fear of failure
  • fear of poverty
  • fear of violence
  • fear of bodily embarrassments
  • fear of sexual failure
  • Fear of failing to provide
  • Fear of aging / sickness
It is important to note that the advertising techniques of appeal to emotions, associations and fear tactics may overlap. However, one technique should be dominant.

Advertising Example

When deconstructing Advertising techniques:
The text, visual and layout should all be considered and all should reinforce the predominant advertising technique. Any one product can be marketed in a variety of ways, using a variety of techniques. For example, an ad campaign for a diamond ring could be marketed through:
A. An appeal to emotionSuppose the ad contains:
  • a visual of a woman peering longingly at a tray of diamond rings displayed in a store front window
  • while her husband, with a smile on his face, watches from a short distance away.
  • the text reads "Show your love."

Then, the ad
is an appeal to emotion and the need is the desire to please someone you love.
B. An associationIf the ad contained:
  • a visual of a handsome man offering the ring to a beautiful woman
  • a luxuriously furnished apartment
  • a table set with wine and candles; and
  • a text which reads "Love has no price"

Then the ad
would be associating the purchase of the diamond ring to wealth.   Depending on the positioning of the male & female, for example, a close embrace, the association may extend to love and romance.
C. Fear TacticIf the ad shows:
  • a man and woman warmly embracing while visibly displaying the diamond ring on her finger and
  • the text reads, "He just gave her a diamond. She thinks it’s absolutely perfect. She thinks he is too"

Then the ad technique
may be a fear tactic. The fear implied here is fear of failure to provide for a woman as other men do or possibly fear of rejection if the viewer were to buy anything less than what the intended woman thought was a perfect gift.
On another note,
this type of ad would be considered a stereotype.

Why?
There may be other ways to interpret these ads
but these examples should demonstrate that:

  • products can be marketed through a variety of techniques
  • the visual, the text, the layout, and specific details combine to enforce the message, &
  • these details in an ad will distinguish the techniques of appeal, association & fear tactic.
Just because
diamonds are generally expensive does not mean that association to wealth is the only technique used to sell diamonds.

You must ask yourself:
  • Is this ad creating a need?
  • Is this ad associating the product to a positive image?
  • Is this ad working on our personal fears?

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