Advertising Techniques
Problems and Benefit
• Many ads try to sell
an image, brand or
feeling. For example,
many car
commercials show
people looking tough,
sophisticated or in
control behind the
wheel of a particular
car.
Problems and Benefit: Identifying a
problem and offering a solution
• Some ads try to sell you
something you really need.
• This ad presents the Tata
Nano as a fuel-efficient car.
The target audience is people
in India who are in the market
for buying a new car, may not
have even considered fuel
efficiency
• This ad convinces them of a
need they were not yet aware
of.
• Good advertising knows how
to blur the line between needs
and wants.
Bandwagon effect
• An allusion to the kind
of float or wagon in a
parade that carries
many happy people;
in its figurative sense,
it describes what
happens when
something becomes
popular quickly as
people follow the
examples set by
others.
Testimonials
• Testimonials are
statements from
ordinary people,
recommending a
certain product.
Celebrities
• The premise for
understanding
endorsement is that
people want to
identify with the
individuals they see in
ads.
Association
• Association is the
technique of linking
products closely with
certain values.
• In order to achieve
association in an ad, the
placement of a product is
very important.
• These ads are carefully
constructed to appeal to
the emotions of the
audience.
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
Image
• Image: Advertisers rely heavily
on the saying An image is
worth a thousand words.
• The placement of an image in
relation to the text is crucial as
readers normally scan and
digest an ad within a matter of
seconds.
• People often want to imitate
what they see in ads.
• Contrast is also an important
factor to keep in mind when
working with image.
Slogan
• The text is usually
kept to a minimum
• The most prominent
text is the slogan
• The slogan, or
tagline, should be
short, catchy and
poignant, because the
audience’s attentions
span is usually brief
and fleeting.
Copy
• Ads sometimes offer a
small story.
• Volkswagen is famous for
its large simple images of
Volkswagen as. “Lemon”
describes the rigorous
safety controls through
which the cars must pass
before they are sold.
Signature
• Traditionally, ads
show a product and
the company name,
though this is not
always the case.
• These days Internet
addresses are used
more and more as the
signature for an ad.
Counter-advertising
• Efforts have been
made to raise
awareness of the
adverse effects of
corporate advertising
and marketing
– Anti-smoking ads
Anti-ads
• The car manufacturer
Volvo has the slogan
There is more to life than
a Volvo
– Startles the reader at first—
this slogan draws our
attention to the conventions
of advertising, and then it
breaks them.
– It says “Your life and safety
are more important to us
than this advertising
campaign.”
Anti-ads
• Another company
who has been famous
for breaking all the
advertising rules is
the clothing company
Benetton.
– They do not show the
company’s product
– Raise awareness
Philanthropic Ads
• Some companies
have presented
themselves as
foundations or nonprofit organizations in
an effort to boost their
image as
philanthropists
Chipotle: Videos
Culture Jamming: distorting of
messages and advertisements produced by
large corporations
• Ways in which individuals
distort the messages and
advertisements of large
corporations
– Mash ups: individuals
rearranging a company’s
graphic or iconic images to
create new meaning, often
defaming the company.
Mash-ups can be done
easily using the Internet
and photo manipulation
programs
Parody
• When individuals take a
well-known ad and
change it to give it new
meaning, they are in
essence parodying the
style of that ad. Parody is
the art of mocking
someone or something by
imitating them or their
style.
Pastiche
• Pastiche is another
way of drawing
attention to a cultural
value.
• It also makes use of
imitation, but not by
obviously parodying a
particular genre and
could almost pass
itself off as a genuine
example.
Pastiche
• This is a pastiche of ads from
the 1950s, when cigarette and
beverage companies made
false claims about how healthy
their products were and the
benefits they would bring.
• Because the claims in the
pastiche cola ad are so
preposterous, they make us
think about the adverse effects
of cola.
• Pastiche holds up a mirror in
order to mock and question our
cultural values.