The reason why we study advertising is because advertisers use language and images to persuade us. They do it so well that sometimes we don’t even know we’re being persuaded to buy a product ... we just HAVE to have it! We need to be aware of the 'tricks of the trade' so that we don’t get unduly influenced.
Definition of Advertising:
So what exactly is advertising? It could be defined as follows:
Advertising is any (1) paid-for, (2) persuasive communication that uses the (3) mass media to promote a (4) need-satisfying product to a (5) specific target market.Let’s break that down:
1. Adverts are paid for - they are not free. Companies have to pay for their adverts to appear in the media.
2. Adverts are persuasive. They tell us what they want us to do and then motivate us to do it.
3. Adverts communicate with us via the mass media (i.e. radio, television, magazines, newspapers, internet, outdoors).
4.Adverts try to sell us a specific product / service that we may need.
5. Adverts are aimed at specific groups of people (e.g. the youth market, housewives, etc).The Purpose of Advertising:
So what exactly are advertisers trying to achieve? They could have as their goal any one of the following:
Memorable adverts usually don't appeal to our rational minds. Instead, they appeal to our emotions (our inner-being). Advertisers use various advertising appeals to unlock our emotions through emotive text, pictures, graphics and music.
Advertising Appeals:
An 'advertising appeal' is the emotional heart of an advert. It links a product to a need that we all have and convinces us that buying the product will satisfy that need.
You can tell which advertising appeal is being used by looking closely at the images and the wording, which would be very emotive.
There are many different advertising appeals, each aimed at addressing a different need or desire that we have. Here are some common advertising appeals:
Emotive language is all around us:
Before we look at emotive language, we need to take a step back. Words can have two different types of meanings:
Now, the problem comes in where words have different emotive associations to different people. This can have unfortunate results!
The following verse by John Donovan illustrates this perfectly:
Call a woman a kitten, but never a cat;
You can call her a mouse, cannot call her a rat;
Call a woman a chicken, but never a hen
Or you surely will not be her caller again.
You can say she's a vision, can't say she's a sight;
And no woman is skinny, she's slender and slight;
If she should burn you up, say she sets you afire
And you'll always be welcome, you tricky old liar.
While some emotive words have favourable connotations, others have unfavourable connotations, for example:
Stereotyping:
Stereotyping is a way of categorizing or labeling people we meet, based on how they look, speak, talk, dress, etc. It assumes certain things about people (whether true or not) based on a set of generalizations.
To stereotype is to pre-judge someone and rank them on a scale of worthiness, relevance or desirability according to your own prejudices.
These stereotypes can limit us in our self-perception and life choices. Many people use stereotyping as a form of humour, but stereotyping also has a dark side. When it is built on racism or sexism, it is a form of prejudice and can be offensive.
Definition of Advertising:
So what exactly is advertising? It could be defined as follows:
Advertising is any (1) paid-for, (2) persuasive communication that uses the (3) mass media to promote a (4) need-satisfying product to a (5) specific target market.Let’s break that down:
1. Adverts are paid for - they are not free. Companies have to pay for their adverts to appear in the media.
2. Adverts are persuasive. They tell us what they want us to do and then motivate us to do it.
3. Adverts communicate with us via the mass media (i.e. radio, television, magazines, newspapers, internet, outdoors).
4.Adverts try to sell us a specific product / service that we may need.
5. Adverts are aimed at specific groups of people (e.g. the youth market, housewives, etc).The Purpose of Advertising:
So what exactly are advertisers trying to achieve? They could have as their goal any one of the following:
- Attract people to a store, website or office;
- Increase awareness and knowledge of the company, product / service or a socially important message (PSA);
- Increase positive attitudes towards the company or product.
Memorable adverts usually don't appeal to our rational minds. Instead, they appeal to our emotions (our inner-being). Advertisers use various advertising appeals to unlock our emotions through emotive text, pictures, graphics and music.
Advertising Appeals:
An 'advertising appeal' is the emotional heart of an advert. It links a product to a need that we all have and convinces us that buying the product will satisfy that need.
You can tell which advertising appeal is being used by looking closely at the images and the wording, which would be very emotive.
There are many different advertising appeals, each aimed at addressing a different need or desire that we have. Here are some common advertising appeals:
- The 'bargain appeal' addresses our need to save in tough times
- The 'beauty appeal' addresses our need to look beautiful
- The 'duty appeal' addresses our need to look after our loved ones
- The 'endorsement appeal' addresses our need to be like our favorite celebrity
- The 'fear appeal' addresses our need to protect our loved ones
- The 'sex appeal' addresses our need to feel attractive and desirable
- The 'snob appeal' addresses our need to feel like we're part of the social elite
- The 'green appeal' addresses our need to be environmentally responsible
- The 'humour appeal' addresses our need to laugh and thereby makes a positive association with the product.
Emotive language is all around us:
- In adverts
- In news headlines
- In reports, speeches and interviews
- In everyday interactions between people
Before we look at emotive language, we need to take a step back. Words can have two different types of meanings:
- The denotative meaning = the factual, objective meaning of the word
- The connotative meaning = the idea that words give, as opposed to its strict meaning
- Denotative meaning of rose = a flower
- Connotative meaning of rose = love / passion
Now, the problem comes in where words have different emotive associations to different people. This can have unfortunate results!
The following verse by John Donovan illustrates this perfectly:
Call a woman a kitten, but never a cat;
You can call her a mouse, cannot call her a rat;
Call a woman a chicken, but never a hen
Or you surely will not be her caller again.
You can say she's a vision, can't say she's a sight;
And no woman is skinny, she's slender and slight;
If she should burn you up, say she sets you afire
And you'll always be welcome, you tricky old liar.
While some emotive words have favourable connotations, others have unfavourable connotations, for example:
- Predictable vs boring
- Scholarly vs nerdy
- Self-confident vs conceited
- Youthful vs immature
Stereotyping:
Stereotyping is a way of categorizing or labeling people we meet, based on how they look, speak, talk, dress, etc. It assumes certain things about people (whether true or not) based on a set of generalizations.
To stereotype is to pre-judge someone and rank them on a scale of worthiness, relevance or desirability according to your own prejudices.
- Some people hold on to gender stereotypes which specify which jobs they think women are capable of doing, and which professions should best be left to men.
- Some people also hold on to racial stereotypes which cause people to act in a dismissive or condescending way towards those who they perceive to be inferior to them, based on race.
These stereotypes can limit us in our self-perception and life choices. Many people use stereotyping as a form of humour, but stereotyping also has a dark side. When it is built on racism or sexism, it is a form of prejudice and can be offensive.
