Learn about various techniques advertisers use to sell their products.

1. Recognizing
Common Advertising
Strategies

2. Things to consider when
viewing an advertisement:
What is the brand name or product?
Who is the target audience?
What are the significant visual images?
What catchy words or slogans are being used?
What needs or desires are being targeted?
What fears are being suggested?
Are any stereotypes being presented?
What advertising techniques are being used?
What is the underlying message in the ad?
What is your personal reaction?

3. Advertisers use a variety
of advertising techniques
and strategies to get
consumers to buy their
products.

4. Emotional Appeals - Needs
NEEDS: Successful advertisements appeal to the
emotional NEEDS of the audience using a promise
that the product being advertised can satisfy
emotional needs such as:
* The need for acceptance/belonging to a group
* The need for security
* The need for change, variety and excitement
* The need to be attractive
* The need for self-acceptance
Advertisers associate their products with luxury,
wealth, fame, beauty, family, fitness, happiness, etc.
There is a suggestion that by using their product
some of these associations will wear off onto the
consumer.

5. Emotional Appeals - Fears
FEARS: Advertisements also make use of the oldest
persuasion method - FEAR. They suggest that terrible
things can happen to a consumer if you don't use their
product. As consumers, some of our common fears
include:
* Being unattractive
* Being rejected
* Being ridiculed
* Being unsafe/in danger
Look at all the ads for unwanted hair, body odor,
dandruff, or weight. Society has been made to feel that
these things are not acceptable. However, FEAR can
also be used to prevent drinking and driving, drug
taking, etc. FEAR works best if it does not scare too
much.

6. Common Advertising
Strategies
Family Fun
Ideal Kids and Family
Facts and Figures
Are You Cool Enough?
Star Power
Amazing Toys
Bandwagon
Weasel Words
Excitement
Put Downs
Scale
Heartstrings
Cute Celebrities

7. Ideal Kids and Families
1
The kids in commercials are often a little older and a
little more perfect than the target audience of the ad.
They are, in other words, role models for what the
advertiser wants children in the target audience to
think they want to be like. A commercial that is
targeting eight year-olds, for instance, will show 11 or
12 year-old models playing with an eight year old's toy.
Ideal families are all attractive and pleasant looking—
and everyone seems to get along! Ideal kids and
families represent the types of people that kids
watching the ad would like themselves or their families
to be.
EXAMPLE

9. Are You Cool Enough?
2
Advertisers try to convince you that if you
don’t use their products, then you aren’t
good enough. Maybe you won’t be accepted
or have the right friends. Maybe you won’t fit
in. Sometimes they will show someone
uncool trying a product and then suddenly
they become hip looking and do cool things.
There’s an emphasis on status and “keeping
up with the Joneses.”
EXAMPLE

12. Amazing Toys
3
Many toy commercials show their toys
in life-like fashion, doing incredible
things. Airplanes do loop-the-loops
and cars do wheelies, dolls cry and
spring-loaded missiles hit gorillas dead
in the chest. This would be fine if the
toys really did these things.
EXAMPLE

14. Weasel Words
4
By law, advertisers have to tell the truth,
but sometimes, they use words that can
mislead viewers. Look for words in
commercials like: “Part of . . .”, “The
taste of real . . . “, “Natural,” “New, better
tasting,” “Because we care.” There are
hundreds of these deceptive phrases.
EXAMPLE

15. ew &
N d
rove
Imp

16. Put Downs
5
This is when an ad puts down the
competition’s product to make its
product seem better.
EXAMPLE

18. Heartstrings
6
Commercials often create an emotional
mood that draws you into the
advertisement and makes you feel
good. The McDonald's commercials
featuring father and daughter eating
out together, or the AT&T Reach Out
and Touch Someone ads are good
examples. We are more attracted by
products that make us feel good.
EXAMPLE

22. Cute Celebrities
7
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sell
pizza. Spuds McKenzie sells beer. The
quot;Joe Coolquot; camel sells cigarettes. Tony
the Tiger sells cereal, and the Nestle’s
Quick Bunny sells chocolate milk. All
of these are ways of helping children
identify with products either now or for
the future.
EXAMPLE

24. Family Fun
8
quot;This is something the whole family
can do together!quot; or quot;This is
something Mom will be glad to buy for
you.quot; Many commercials show parents
enjoying their children's fun as if the
product will bring more family
togetherness.
EXAMPLE

27. Facts and Figures
9
Advertisers use facts and statistics to
enhance a product’s credibility.
EXAMPLE

29. Star Power
10
Sports heroes, movie stars, and
teenage heartthrobs tell our children
what to eat and what to wear. Children
listen, not realizing that the star is paid
for the endorsement.
EXAMPLE

31. Bandwagon
11
Join the crowd! Don’t be left out!
Everyone is buying this product— Why
aren’t you?
EXAMPLE

33. Excitement
12
Watch the expressions on their faces--
never a dull moment, never boring.
quot;This toy is the most fun since fried
bananas!quot; the boy seems to say. Or
one bit of snack food and you’re
surfing in California or soaring on your
skateboard.
EXAMPLE

35. Scale
13
This is when advertisers make a
product look bigger or smaller than it
actually is.
EXAMPLE

38. Let’s see if you can recognize some advertising strategies.

39. Brand Name or
Product – Pellegrino
Bottled Water
“It must be the
water.”
“Lingering at the
table since 1899.”

40. “The standard 99
cent chicken
sandwich.”
“Wendy’s new 99
cent all-white meat
crispy chicken
sandwich.”
“Do what tastes
right.”

41. “Take a
rejuvenating
escape.”
“Its formula
contains a sea
mineral essence
and has an
invigorating
scent.”
“Surprise
Yourself.”

42. “Walt’s people
invented the idea of an
amusement park
. . . They perfected it.
They still do it best.”
quote by Richard
Corliss, movie critic
for Time magazine

43. “Fabulous Hawaiian
estates, millions of
gamers in exotic
cars and bikes. It’s
a fast new life-- all
at your fingertips.”
“9 out of 10.” --UK
Official Xbox
Magazine
“Indulge a new
identity.”

44. “Grab life by the
horns.”
“Need we say
more?”

45. “Guess what
everyone wants
for Christmas?”
“…Blockbuster
Giftcards are the
perfect holiday
gift.”
“Go home
happy.”

46. “A bowl of Cereal
May Help Reduce
the Risk of
Osteoporosis.”
“In fact research
shows that women
who get added
calcium from the
milk that tops their
bowl of cereal get
more calcium in
their diets than
women who don’t.”

47. “You’ve come a
long way, baby.”