The document discusses various advertising techniques used to promote products and services. It defines techniques like logos, jingles, celebrity endorsements, testimonials, weasel words, hyperbole, repetition, scale, name calling, fear, bandwagon effect, bribery, humor, sentimental imagery, attractive models, scientific evidence, sex appeal, appealing to helping causes, health claims, aesthetics, and cartoon characters. Common techniques analyzed include using attractive models, scientific-sounding evidence, and vague promises to mislead consumers.
1. P. Denton Media Literacy Revised: Winter, 2010 Advertising Techniques REVIEW
2.
3.
4. Celebrity Endorsements A claim by a celebrity or someone of authority that the product is good or good for you.
5. Testamonial A claim by someone who has used the product that it worked for them. (be careful…they might just be a paid actor!)
6. Weasel Words Imply a promise by using words like “usually” or “chances are.”
7. Hyperbole/ Exaggeration Hyperbole is exaggeration or “hype.” (For example, “The greatest automobile advance of the century!”) The words are impressive sounding but are nonetheless vague and meaningless. Link
8. Repetition Repetition drives the message home many times. Even unpleasant ads work if they are repeated enough to pound the message into our skulls.
10. Name Calling Using unsavory terms about the competition in order to make the product look better.
11. Fear You should buy this product or something bad could happen to us, our families and friends, or country.
12. Bandwagon Everyone is doing it or in this case buying it; “in” with the popular crowd.
13. Bribery Bribery seems to give us something desirable: “Buy one, get one free.” This technique plays on people’s acquisitiveness and greed. Unfortunately, there is no free lunch.
14. Humor Humor is a powerful tool of persuasion. If you can make people laugh, you can persuade them.
15. Warm & Fuzzy Using sentimental images (especially families, kids and animals) to sell products.
16. Beautiful People Using good-looking models in ads to suggest we’ll look like the models if we buy the product.
17. Scientific Evidence/ Statistics Scientific Evidence uses the paraphernalia of science (charts, graphs, etc.) to “prove” something that is often bogus. Statistics and factual information can be used to prove the superiority of the product.
18. Sex Sells Using sexually charged images to sell a wide variety of products.
19. Be a Hero Plays into your need to help save the planet, give to charity or help find a cure for a disease.
20. Health Nut Claims the product to be good for you…which is a matter of opinion!
21. Ohhh, Pretty! Uses beautiful, intriguing, colorful images to catch your attention.
Testimonial ads have a double advantage. They can be an effective way to engage and interest your audience. And a great way to characterize the brand's personality and relationship with the audience. You can get testimonials from famous, infamous, or just plain interesting folks. Here are some categories: Celebrities. The advantage is instant recognition and interest. Just make sure you select a celebrity who has an image that is compatible with your brand personality. (A testimonial, by the way, requires that the the celeb actually uses the product. A "celebrity presenter" simply talks about the product.) Interesting users. Select real users who also happen to be interesting or amusing in themselves. Perhaps they have a bold personality, or an interesting job. Or an unusual appearance. Or perhaps they've accomplished something that sets them apart, like winning the bronze medal in the 20 km walking race at the 2000 Olympics. Experts. The doctor, the scientist, the computer whiz, the professional chef. These are people we look up to. People who have credibility because of their general or specific expertise. Average citizen. The average citizen tries the product in the ad. Or explains why she switched. Or the benefits he now enjoys. They reflect a mirror image of the target audience, and that's what makes them believable. You can have a little fun with this technique by selecting or creating unusual characters to sample the product and report on their experience.
Testimonial ads have a double advantage. They can be an effective way to engage and interest your audience. And a great way to characterize the brand's personality and relationship with the audience. You can get testimonials from famous, infamous, or just plain interesting folks. Here are some categories: Celebrities. The advantage is instant recognition and interest. Just make sure you select a celebrity who has an image that is compatible with your brand personality. (A testimonial, by the way, requires that the the celeb actually uses the product. A "celebrity presenter" simply talks about the product.) Interesting users. Select real users who also happen to be interesting or amusing in themselves. Perhaps they have a bold personality, or an interesting job. Or an unusual appearance. Or perhaps they've accomplished something that sets them apart, like winning the bronze medal in the 20 km walking race at the 2000 Olympics. Experts. The doctor, the scientist, the computer whiz, the professional chef. These are people we look up to. People who have credibility because of their general or specific expertise. Average citizen. The average citizen tries the product in the ad. Or explains why she switched. Or the benefits he now enjoys. They reflect a mirror image of the target audience, and that's what makes them believable. You can have a little fun with this technique by selecting or creating unusual characters to sample the product and report on their experience.
One of the most simple techniques used by advertisers is repetition. Look closely at any ad and you're likely to see repeated images of the product's name and logo. In a TV or radio ad, the product's name will be stated regularly. Advertisers also create repetition by running an ad frequently. When it comes time to make a purchase, and the name of one of the products on the shelf has been repeated to the consumer many times, that product might just stand out enough for the consumer to choose it.. Read more at Suite101: Advertising and Persuasive Strategies: Bandwagon Appeal, Repetition, Association, & Other Techniques http://www.suite101.com/content/advertising-persuasion-techniques-a52647#ixzz17RBRDlMY
The bandwagon appeal is an advertising technique that makes the claim that a product is desirable because it is being used by lots of desirable people -- therefore encouraging the consumer to “jump on the bandwagon." This appeal is commonly used in products that are sold to children and teenagers, but "keeping up with the Jones" snob appeals are used to sell products to adults as well, especially cars and luxury goods. Read more at Suite101: Advertising and Persuasive Strategies: Bandwagon Appeal, Repetition, Association, & Other Techniques http://www.suite101.com/content/advertising-persuasion-techniques-a52647#ixzz17RBGlHog
Of course, one of the most effective ways to get the audience's attention is to be funny -- if the attempt works and doesn't misfire. Humor is one of the best ways to break through the "noise" of all the competition advertising messages out there and get people to pay attention to the sales pitch. Advertisements aren't put together haphazardly. Advertisers carefully choose time-tested techniques to persuade audiences to purchase products. These are some of the most popular, and effective, techniques that they use to make sure that you buy the product they want to sell you. Read more at Suite101: Advertising and Persuasive Strategies: Bandwagon Appeal, Repetition, Association, & Other Techniques http://www.suite101.com/content/advertising-persuasion-techniques-a52647#ixzz17RBVYBHv
Problems. Everyone has them. And some products solve them. A TV commercial opens with the kids screaming, "We're hungry, mom!" A headline reads, "Do you have enough money for retirement?" This is a technique to grab attention, to engage people who have the problem. Or people who want to avoid getting the problem. Or those who are concerned about the problem for other reasons, like the guy whose wife has headaches every night. Later in your ad, commercial, or mailer you'll explain how your product solves the problem. But the focus of the ad, the concept, should be about the problem. This technique works particularly well when your target audience has a big problem, a big concern. The bigger the problem, the better it works. But it can also be used with charm or humor. "Problem # 3 with SPIKE cologne: Women touch you in elevators." Or perhaps you want to alert consumers to a problem they may not even know they have. "Like Duh! Your Paying Too Much For You Cell Phone, Sister." Below you see two print ads that address the deeper, underlying causes of two types of problems. One of the problems is psychological. The other is physical, a headache. In the first ad you meet a woman who can't find a job, is running out of money, and becoming desperate. Solution? A better education. The second ad below features some of the causes of headache, not the pain itself. This ad is part of the campaign, "Life Is A Contact Sport." So you better stock up on Tylenol.
![LOGO ,[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)