Advertising – Definitions
and Techniques
What is Advertising?
 The act or practice of calling public
attention to one's product, service, need,
etc.
 Advertising communication is one-way.
 Not all advertising is “selling” something
you can purchase – some ads sell ideas or
viewpoints (political ads)
Where do you find advertising?
 Mass Media – Tools that deliver messages
to lots of people
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TV
Radio
Magazines
Internet
Newspapers
Others?
Where do you find advertising?
 Targeted media – Tools that reach certain
specific people
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Mailings
Email
In-store announcements
Billboards
Buses
Others?
Where do you find advertising?
 Product Placement –
Products themselves
can act as advertising
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Products in movies
T-shirt logos
Vending machines
Video Games
Others?
How does advertising work?
 Advertising works
consciously
 You already know you
need something
 Ads inform you of a
product’s features,
which you may find
desirable
 The next time you go
to buy that item, you
chose the brand you
saw advertised
How does advertising work?
 Advertising creates a
new need
 The ad starts by
convincing you that
you need something
you didn’t know you
needed before
 Then the ad shows
that their product will
fill that need
How does advertising work?
 Advertising works
subconsciously
 By creating a positive
image or association
in your brain,
advertisers get you to
“like” a product
 The next time you
shop, you
unconsciously grab
that product because
of the positive
association
Advertising Techniques
 Advertising uses several different, distinct
techniques to create that positive
association
 Most ads use several techniques at once
 REMEMBER – These techniques work
subconsciously. No one would ever say,
“Brett Favre likes these jeans, so I will
too.” It’s all about positive associations.
Advertising Techniques, cont.
 Bandwagon –
 Everyone is doing it
 The ad creates a positive connection by
showing that the product/service/idea is
widely used and widely accepted
 Why would everyone be using it if it
wasn’t the best?
 Bandwagon Example
Bandwagon Examples
Advertising Techniques, cont.
 Plain Folks –
 Speak to people in
plain and simple
terms
 The ad uses simple,
common language,
images, and content
to appeal to the
average person
 Let me explain this to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhEkVak you in terms you
VWFE
would understand.
Advertising Techniques, cont.
 Testimonial –
 Someone important or famous says you
should buy our product
 The ad uses a celebrity or expert that
endorses the product or service, either
directly or indirectly
 You like or trust me, and I think the
product is great.
 Testimonial Example
Advertising Techniques, cont.
 Science/Statistics –
These numbers prove
you need our product
 The ad uses science,
scientific language, or
statistics to prove their
product is good
 Even if you don’t
understand what we’re
talking about, we sound
really smart and credible.
Advertising Techniques, cont.
 Transfer –
 Associating products with something you
like or value
 The ad couples the product with
something desirable – sex appeal, humor,
patriotism, sports, video games, whatever
– so a positive feeling is created for the
product
 You like this, right? Then you’ll like our
product, too.
Transfer Examples
Transfer Example Cont.
 Sometimes the
Zillow Commercial
commercials reach
out and touch your
heart.
Product Placement
 http://www.youtube  Businesses pay big
.com/watch?v=ani
money to have
S3HaLwEY (30
their products high
Rock)
lighted or even just
seen in a movie or
 http://www.youtube
TV show.
.com/watch?v=ZyQ
jr1YL0zg (Derren
 What are some
Brown)
examples you can
think of?
Product Placement Examples
What’s the big deal?
 Advertising affects all of us, whether we realize it
or not. It affects…
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What we spend our money on
What we find to be “cool”
What we find attractive
How we view genders, races, and other groups
Our health, happiness, and well-being
How we think people should act
Our culture in general
So, How Should We Handle
Advertising?
 If you understand how an ad is supposed
to work, you won’t be “tricked” into
buying or believing things you don’t want
to.
 We will practice analyzing ads – we will try
to figure out how they work and how they
can affect you so you can make conscious
choices.
Cell Phone Ads
Cell Phone Ads cont.
Make up Ads
Make up Ads cont.
Airbrush much?
Controversial Ads in 2012
Controversial Ads 2013
Teen
Pregnancy
Ads
Controversial?
 This Cheerios advertisement stirred up a
lot of controversy, can you figure out why?