This document discusses different advertising techniques used to sell products, including humor, shock, emotion, demonstration, comparison, celebrity endorsement, and enigma advertising. It provides examples of each technique and discusses their pros and cons. It also discusses controversial advertisements and analyzes advertising campaigns by Benetton that used provocative images to promote social issues. Students are tasked with identifying techniques used in specific television adverts.

1. AIM
• To analyse and understand different
advertising sales techniques and
• reflect on their effectiveness
• Develop use of media language
Advertising Techniques

2. Starter
• How many different types of sales
techniques, used by advertisers to sell
products, can you think of?
E.g. Use of humour
Advertising Techniques

3. •Example: humour
Advertising Techniques

4. Advertising Techniques
You are now going to see a number of adverts that
each use a different type of advertising technique.
Record the details and your responses in the table
provided.
Advert Advertising technique My response to it
(How effective is it?
Why?)

5. Shock

6. Emotion

7. Demonstration

8. Comparison

9. Celebrity Endorsement

10. Enigma

11. Humour

12. Techniques used
• HUMOUR
• SHOCK
• EMOTION
• DEMONSTRATION
• COMPARATIVE
• CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
• ENIGMA ADVERTISING

13. Task
• In your books write down a PRO and a
CON for each of these techniques and any
examples of brands or products which use
them.
Technique Pro (positives) Con (negatives) Example
Humour Compare the Market

14. HUMOUR
PRO
• Memorable. Entertaining the audience can hold
their attention. Some of the most popular adverts
are the funny ones, making the audience relaxed
and happy. 
• CON
• Sometimes the consumer does not pay enough
attention to the product being advertised, or they
just don’t get the joke. 

15. SHOCK
• PRO
• Useful in changing behaviour so mainly
used in public service adverts, insurance ads
etc. 
• CON
• Can be too extreme and alienate the
audience – AIDS adverts 

16. EMOTION
• PRO
• By appealing to the emotions and desires of the
audience they feel affection towards the brand.
Examples – Andrex – the aaah factor, envy with the
National Lottery Adverts, nostalgia with Hovis,
romance with Impulse or even sexual desire with
perfume adverts. 
• CON
• It has to be the right emotion and should clearly
represent the brand positioning or it doesn’t work. 

17. COMPARATIVE
• PRO
• Used when two or more products are competing for the
same market – Whiskas – 8 out of 10 owners, who
expressed a preference, said their cats preferred
Whiskas, BMW beating Audi for awards. 
• CON
• Advertisers have to be careful they don’t look like they
have nothing positive to say about their own brand.
• Legal problems - using a popular “rival brand” which
can make it meaningless, or unpopular. 

18. DEMONSTRATION
• PRO
• Showing how a product works or how it has
beaten a competitor – eg before and after
stain removal, dandruff ads, car ads etc. 
• CON
• People are becoming ever more cynical
about advertising – do they believe weight
loss adverts for example? 

19. CELEBRITY PRESENTERS
• PRO
• Testimonials (Cheryl Cole/Wayne Rooney)
or voice overs by celebrities adds value and
quality to the product. 
• CON
• People know the celebrity has been paid to
appear, more likely to be cynical. What if
they don’t like the celebrity involved? 

20. ENIGMA ADVERTISING
• PRO
• Used to get around industry guidelines which govern the
advertising of sensitive products – eg. alcohol– Guinness or
products that are promoting sophistication to target a more
sophisticated audience who think for longer about the brand as
they try to figure out the puzzle. Also these ads flatter the
audience into thinking they are clever for solving the puzzle
and this goodwill is then associated with the product. 
• CON
• Frustration for the audience if they do not “get” the message.
They may ignore the advert all together. 

21. Controversial Advertisements
Included across all of these techniques is the use of
controversial advertisements. Advertisers often try to
push the boundaries in order to create a controversy.
Why do you think they do this?
• People become aware of the product
• Provokes talk/discussion around campaign/product
• Memorable
• Create/Maintains a strong brand image
• Have a very specific target audience (easier to target)

22. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
The Italian fashion chain ‘United Colours of
Benetton’, have a long history of producing
controversial and often mildly offensive (to
some) advertisements.
Take a look at some and see if you can work
out what their message is and how this sells
their brand/clothing range?

23. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
Horses Mating

24. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
Newborn

25. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
Breast Feeding

26. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
AIDS

27. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
Almish Kissing

28. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
Bloody Clothes

29. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
Hearts

30. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
Dying

31. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
What is the thinking behind these adverts? Is it to simply
shock, or is there a deeper, wider message?

32. These adverts have always
provoked a response and the
advert that uses the photograph
of David Kirby in the last
moments of his life was no
exception.

33. Benetton Advertising Campaigns
In your books, write the following lead sentences and complete
in your own words;
‘My opinion on the effectiveness of the controversial
Benetton adverts is……………….
This is because…………..

34. Advertising Techniques
Car Advert
Sony Bravia
Sony Bravia - original sound
I pod
Flash
Martini Bianco
Pepsi
Pampers
Know your limits

35. Task
• Watch the following adverts and note down which
techniques are being used in them:
• 2. Sony - Paint
• 3. Nokia – Film Set
• 13. Fox’s Biscuits – Little Things Mean A Lot
• 14. Ginsters – Park Keeper
• 19. McDonalds - Terracotta
• 34. Radio 2 – Elvis
• 39. Alcohol Know Your Limits - Superhero
Extension

37. Task
• Watch the following adverts and note down which
techniques are being used in them:
• 2. Sony - Paint
• 3. Nokia – Film Set
• 13. Fox’s Biscuits – Little Things Mean A Lot
• 14. Ginsters – Park Keeper
• 19. McDonalds - Terracotta
• 34. Radio 2 – Elvis
• 39. Alcohol Know Your Limits - Superhero
Extension