Advertising Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information

Advertising

Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media. Bovee/Arens, 1992

Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.

Two kinds of selling n Personal n Plenty of time to deliver the message n Done face to face n Message can be adjusted to fit how it’s getting across n Easy to find customers n Expensive in both time and money n Labor-intensive n Time consuming

Non-Personal n n Limited in time and/or space Don’t know who the customer is Don’t know how the customer is reacting Can’t change the message in mid-stream n n n Message doesn’t have to be created on the spot Extensive research Far cheaper than personal selling

Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.

The Senses n Smell n Touch n Taste n Sound n Sight

Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.

Affirmative disclosure n "Sometimes the consumer is provided not with information he wants but only with the information the seller wants him to have. Sellers, for instance, are not inclined to advertise negative aspects of their products even though those aspects may be of primary concern to the consumer, particularly if they involve considerations of health or safety. . . " Lewis A. Engman, FTC Chair

Puffery n The legitimate exaggeration of advertising claims to overcome natural consumer skepticism

Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.

Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.

Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.

The bundle of values n Functional value n Social value n Psychological value n Economic value n Whatever else the consumer thinks is important

Three ways to differentiate products n Perceptible Actual differences n Easily seen n n Imperceptible Actual differences n Can’t be seen n n Induced No actual differences n Parity products n

Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.

Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media

n n Has been around for a long time We still don’t know what the Lascoux paintings were for

For the first few thousand years advertising promoted locations, services and “want ads”.

Ad written on a Roman tomb n Weather permitting, 30 pairs of gladiators, furnished by A. Clodius Flaccus, together with substitutes in case any get killed too quickly, will fight May 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd at the Circus Maximus. The fights will be followed by a big wild beast hunt. The famous gladiator Paris will fight. Hurrah for Paris! Hurrah for the generous Flaccus, who is running for Duumvirate.

Under the ad was written: Marcus wrote this sign by the light of the moon. If you hire Marcus, he’ll work day and night to do a good job. Daniel Mannix, Those About to Die

Location

Handbills and fliers to promote events or to recruit for the military

Handbill recruiting sailors for USS Constitution 1798

Ad about runaway slave - 1770

Since most products such as shoes and clothing were one-of and made to order you only needed to advertise where to order

Service

Industrial Revolution Early 19 th Century n Mass production of products n Led to three stages of marketing: n

Production-oriented Demand far outstripped supply n Could just advertise the existence of the product and where to get it n Whatever was made was sold n Example: People wanted cars, so car companies made whatever they wanted and the cars were sold before they were built n

Sales-oriented Supply exceeded demand n Companies tried to convince consumers to buy their products rather than their competitors’ n Companies still made whatever they wanted, counting on their ability to peddle their products n Example: supply of cars went up, so the companies made whatever they wanted and convinced people they wanted that n

Marketing-oriented n Supply of products far exceeded demand More choices than any promotion could overcome n Resistance to “hard-sell” n Companies tried to discover what products consumers wanted before making them, then advertise they had it n Non-American companies (e. g. , VW) found out what people wanted, then built cars that had it (e. g. , a gas gauge) n

Let’s take a example The American auto industry

Production-oriented

Sales-oriented

Marketing-oriented

n Early sales-oriented ads were basically “caveat emptor” (let the buyer beware) Producers said whatever they wanted and thought they could get away with n For example, the “Health Jolting Chair” n

Led to consumer and competitor anger n 1938 – Federal Trade Commission given power to regulate deceptive and unfair advertising n Advertising could no longer lie, so new approaches were tried n

40 s and 50 s Era of the hard-sell n Rosser Reeves “irritation school of advertising” n Relied on brain-numbing repetition and treating the consumer as an idiot n The USP – Unique Selling Proposition n It was jack-hammered into consumers’ skulls n

A Reeves ad

60 s n n n The positioning era Shift to the soft-sell n Compare your product to your competitors’ n Treat consumers as intelligent Appeal to emotion more than intellect

General comments on ads n Advertising is limited in time and/or space n n Breaks the rules of grammar and syntax Ads contain two elements Copy n illustrations n

Two basic ways of presenting a sales message n Intellectually Usually about the product’s function n Usually copy heavy and line drawings n n Emotionally Usually not about the product’s function n Usually copy is light with high connotative content n Uses photographs or video n

n Advertising aims at consumers’ subconscious minds much more than their conscious minds n It’s all about getting the consumer to react on a basic, instinctive level, and not think at all n It’s about “act now” on your basic desires – think only of yourself n It’s usually selfish and anti-social

Psychological Appeals n Self-preservation n Constructiveness n Sex n Destructiveness n Greed n Curiosity n Self-esteem n Imitation n Personal n Altruism enjoyment

Self-preservation “Listen to me, I’ll keep you alive” n Because humans are so social, we extend the appeal to others, like family, friends, and social group n

Sex Appeal “Listen to me, I’ll get you laid” n Gender linked because of different goals: n n For men it’s sex with ease and no complications n In other words, attract more women that want to have sex with you n For women it’s attract more men from which to choose n Select the best among the possible choices, and the greater the selection, the better the choice

Sex Appeal n Male and female animals have different sexual strategies based on the cost of sex n Males are promiscuous because the cost is very low n A little time, a little energy, then move on n Criteria are simple – she has to be there, breathing, and impregnable n Females are picky because the cost is so high n Lots of time, lots of energy n Must select the best possible male, not the nearest n Criteria can be complex

n Non-humans are concerned with genetics Males want, on an instinctive level, to have as many offspring as possible to ensure genetic success n Females, because of the cost of reproduction, on an instinctive level want the best genes in their male n Males compete with other males, usually physically, to demonstrate they’re the best choice n Females select the winner because he’s shown he’s better than the other males n

For most animals, it is the female that deals with raising offspring (a major part of the cost of sex) n The male has no place in rearing offspring (she’ll even drive him away) n The major exception is birds n n Even there, the female will often select one male as the father, and another male to help her raise the chicks

Sex appeal in humans Humans have the most complex social life on Earth n Instinctive criteria for men are the same as for any other male animal – she’s there n Criteria for women is far more complex: n n Not just genetically, but socially: n Be a good father – help with raising children n be a good provider – have money, social connections, etc.

Sex appeal for men n n Buy the product, get the woman Think of all those Axe commercials

Sex appeal for women For most female animals, genetic quality is the most important n For women, it’s a good provider n n The ad shows he has money, cares about her as an individual, and will stick around It’s called “romance”

The use of sex appeal in advertising may appear sexist. That’s because it is – on a social level. But sex in advertising aims at instinct, and society is conscious, not subconscious.

Advertising often appeals to one gender at the social expense of the other.

Greed n n n “Listen to me, I’ll make you rich” Human social life requires having resources, usually represented by money Instinctively, “greed is good”

Self-esteem Requires a social group n Requires the individual to be able to make a comparison with other individuals in the group n Thus, requires a sense of self as a separate entity from others n

Self-esteem n Again, there’s an instinctive gender link n For men, it’s competitive n Demonstrate he’s the best male around n Self-esteem comes from a sense of superiority n For women, it’s cooperative n Make and maintain as many connections as possible n Self-esteem comes from a sense of connection

Self-esteem for men n Demonstration of superiority Buy the product, be the superior man Often shows a “loser” beating a “winner” because the loser buys the product

Self-esteem for women n The product increases the number and quality of connections with others

Personal Enjoyment n n “Listen to me, you’ll have more fun” Humans, because of their intelligence, are often easily bored by routine The ad promotes getting out of the routine In other words, have fun

Constructiveness n n “Listen to me, I’ll help you improve things” A desire to build and improve on whatever you have

Destructiveness n n “Listen to me, I’ll tell you how to destroy things” We all have a desire to occasionally blow things up n n Just watch “The Mythbusters” There does seem to be a gender link – men seem to like it more than women

Curiosity n n n “Listen to me, I’ll answer your questions” We all want answers to things – it’s a survival characteristic The problem is raising that curiosity – if the person doesn’t care about the answer, it’s a useless appeal

Imitation n “Listen to me, I’ll make you just like someone else” Requires the person to want to be like the model Almost always linked to one or the top five appeals

Altruism n n n “Listen to me, you’ll give of yourself with no hope or expectation of return” Doesn’t exist as an ideal Reciprocal altruism does exist n n I’ll do for you now, you do for me later Linked to top five

Tricks of the Trade Advertising often uses logical fallacies rather than giving logical reasons to buy the product advertised. n You think the ad is saying one thing when it fact it’s saying something else, or saying nothing at all n

Black/White n n “You want it [whatever it is], you can only get it from us. ” It leaves out any other options, e. g. , “love it or leave it. ”

Buzz Words n Words that seem to say something, but what? n n n “Crisp” “Natural” “Organic”

Weasel Words tossed into a sentence that changes the meaning while leaving an impression that’s different n Examples: n

“Our [canned] corn is as good as fresh cooked corn. ” Libby’s Vegetables Note it doesn’t say it’s as good as fresh corn, but as good as fresh cooked corn. n Cooked corn has had vitamins and minerals boiled out in the cooking process. n And now you have to heat the corn again, which takes out even more nutrients. n The weasel is “cooked” n

“Our dog food contains as much meat protein as 10 pounds of sirloin steak. Alpo dog food Targets people who love their dogs n Doesn’t contain sirloin steak, only as much meat protein as sirloin steak n n That could be any kind of meat – it’s sure not sirloin, and may not even come from a cow

Three out of four doctors recommend the major ingredient in Excedrin.

n “Some studies seem to suggest that eating the major ingredient in our cereal may have an effect on certain kinds of cancer. ”

“If. . . ” The ultimate weasel word

Begging the Question The question contains a statement that has not been and is never proven, basically saying that something is simply because it is. n Example: n “Henry Miller’s filthy books should be banned. ” n Contains the unsupported premise that the books are filthy. n

Dangling Comparative n n There appears to be a comparison, but compared to what? It relies on the consumer filling in the blank

Complaints about advertising n It perpetuates stereotypes Absolutely true n It has to n n Makes people buy things they don’t need Not true n Advertising can’t make anybody do anything n