Monday, October 18, 2010
Week 7
In a courtroom, attorneys will sometimes use a method of persuasion called stealing thunder. Stealing thunder happens when a defending attorney reveals potentially incriminating evidence before the prosecutor has a chance to. Attorneys use this method in order to diminish the importance of the evidence in the minds of a jury. It works because the jury will tend to believe that if the evidence were extremely important the prosecuting attorney would try to refute or deny the evidence.
Stealing thunder is also used by advertisers. When a company shows it's audience weakness, the audience will have the tendency to believe that the company is honest and trustworthy. If the company was not trustworthy they would not share unwanted or negative company traits. But to use stealing thunder well in an advertisement a company will want to include the positive aspects of the negative trait. An example of this would be "We're #2, so we are working harder so we don't let you down. OR It's expensive, but our product is good."
Stealing thunder is a two sided argument. Some psychologists believe that two sided arguments in advertisements persuade a more scholarly audience. One sided messages tend to work better on a less educated audience. Stealing thunder, because it is a two sided message, is also a negative message. The trick is to make sure it is two sided and the negative is turned into a positive.
An example of stealing thunder is the L'Oreal slogan "Because your worth it." The preposition auditory left out is "It's expensive." which they may have at one point used and dropped. A basic question arises because of the slogan. Do they know if you are worth it or how much you are worth. Last time I checked, individuality could not be purchased nor will $10 make-up make someone "worth it".
Maybe your just worth it if you are white: According to the following website, L'Oreal was sued for being racist in 2007. Hmm. Eva Longoria has since done commercials for the company, but most commercials reflected their standard. Even their Paris commercial, the girl has green eyes and is lightly complected. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/jul/07/france.angeliquechrisafis
Stealing thunder is also used by advertisers. When a company shows it's audience weakness, the audience will have the tendency to believe that the company is honest and trustworthy. If the company was not trustworthy they would not share unwanted or negative company traits. But to use stealing thunder well in an advertisement a company will want to include the positive aspects of the negative trait. An example of this would be "We're #2, so we are working harder so we don't let you down. OR It's expensive, but our product is good."
Stealing thunder is a two sided argument. Some psychologists believe that two sided arguments in advertisements persuade a more scholarly audience. One sided messages tend to work better on a less educated audience. Stealing thunder, because it is a two sided message, is also a negative message. The trick is to make sure it is two sided and the negative is turned into a positive.
An example of stealing thunder is the L'Oreal slogan "Because your worth it." The preposition auditory left out is "It's expensive." which they may have at one point used and dropped. A basic question arises because of the slogan. Do they know if you are worth it or how much you are worth. Last time I checked, individuality could not be purchased nor will $10 make-up make someone "worth it".
Maybe your just worth it if you are white: According to the following website, L'Oreal was sued for being racist in 2007. Hmm. Eva Longoria has since done commercials for the company, but most commercials reflected their standard. Even their Paris commercial, the girl has green eyes and is lightly complected. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/jul/07/france.angeliquechrisafis
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Week 6
Antoher persuasion technique uses scarcity to sell an item. Ads that read "for a limited time only" or "while supplies last" are perfect examples of the scarcity technique. Both examples are limiting the purchase either by time or by supply.
Aristotle said "What is rare is a greater good than what is plentiful and what is rare will cost an extra penny. According to the book Social Psyclology and human nature, an one-of-a-kind Elvis suit was sold for $145,000. Collectors also use this technique to sell goods within categories. Because collectables are only sold for a limited time, people who collect like to have sets and will pay more money for speciality items. They hope that by completing a set, they will be reimbursed in the long run. Of course some people collect only because they like to look at the items they are collecting.
The scarcity technique works well to sell items not only because it uses the basic business principle of supply and demand, but also because people want to feel special. People who are from individualistic societies fall prey to the technique sooner than cultures who value family or group units.
The ad below uses the scarcity technique but uses a human emotion to draw females into the ad. As Americans we try to be individualistic, but as humans we have a natural urge to want to fit in. This ad blends both in a seductive way. It wants to pull you in, but at the same time, set you apart.
Aristotle said "What is rare is a greater good than what is plentiful and what is rare will cost an extra penny. According to the book Social Psyclology and human nature, an one-of-a-kind Elvis suit was sold for $145,000. Collectors also use this technique to sell goods within categories. Because collectables are only sold for a limited time, people who collect like to have sets and will pay more money for speciality items. They hope that by completing a set, they will be reimbursed in the long run. Of course some people collect only because they like to look at the items they are collecting.
The scarcity technique works well to sell items not only because it uses the basic business principle of supply and demand, but also because people want to feel special. People who are from individualistic societies fall prey to the technique sooner than cultures who value family or group units.
The ad below uses the scarcity technique but uses a human emotion to draw females into the ad. As Americans we try to be individualistic, but as humans we have a natural urge to want to fit in. This ad blends both in a seductive way. It wants to pull you in, but at the same time, set you apart.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Week 5
This week I will stray from my regularly scheduled phsycobabble and redirect my attention to the lighter side of advertising. I am a fan, as I am sure alot of you are, of comedic ads. Unfortunately, advertisements can sometimes fail to properly market a product because the message can become lost in the comedy.
Below is an of example of a well done message that use comedy and market the product.
Below is an of example of a well done message that use comedy and market the product.
I believe the message is good because the product is not lost. It is amusing because for one, no one really rides a conveyor belt to get a drink, but this guy loves pepsi so much he will wait to become the bottle, and two his face is pure joy. So, the product is not lost and there is a sense of humor to the ad. Furthermore, the ad only has the logo in the corner, it uses no other words. The happy expression of the guy waiting for his fill is enough to say the message without words. Well done pepsi. Other cute or amusing ads from pepsi can be found at http://www.desicolours.com/funny-pepsi-adverts/06/06/2008 .
I included two vidoes that also market the product well and the messages are not lost in the humor. Enjoy.
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