In almost any commercial you watch today, you will notice that they rarely tell you something about the product being sold. Neil Postman stated, “The television commercial is not all about the character of the product to be consumed. It’s about the character of the consumers of products” (128).
I find this very true.
Commercials combine the use of sight, sound, color, motion, and often humor to put forth an effective message. Within a short period of time, these advertisements can capture one’s attention and convince one to buy their product. It doesn’t matter if the product has value, as long as the advertisers are able to make a consumer believe it does. Playing off of emotions is one of the most effective ways to lure people in because you can’t refute emotions.
Commercials can effectively manipulate and create false perception using emotional appeal to further benefit the advertiser. Television commercials are a persuasive form of communication. One sees tons of images of famous people, breath-taking scenery, fun vacations, and of happy families spending quality time together. But what is this telling a consumer about the product? It tells those who may buy them about their own fears, insecurities, anxieties, and dreams. They do this by constantly reminding them that their lives could be better if they buy this or that. These images are used for psychological purposes and to play off of emotions because we are emotional beings.
The Essay on Product Packaging Influences Buying
The problem is made more complex by several conflicting trends in consumer decision-making. On one hand, some consumers are paying more attention to label information, as they become more concerned about health and nutrition (Coulson, 2000; IGD, 2003c). These consumers are more involved in the product decision and use package information more extensively. On the other hand, modern consumers are ...
People respond to this visual advertising rather than other forms because they like to visualize themselves using the product or service. This is the point that Postman is trying to get across. It doesn’t matter what the product is or whether it’s good or bad. It’s all about the character of the consumer. They have taken the focus off of making a product of value and have put it toward making a consumer feel valuable.
In addition to the emotional response that advertisers are trying to create, people need to realize how this response is created. Advertisers use many things to capture one’s attention, such as: sight, sound, color, and motion. A commercial that I analyzed is a good example of this. It’s about a product that almost everyone has heard of. It’s one of the most famous pills for erectile dysfunction – Viagra. The advertisement is pathos-based because it relies on an emotional response from the person who is watching it.
In this case they are playing off of sexual appeal, sexual desires and humor. It makes the man watching it feel that if he buys it, he will be more appealing and able to satisfy his sexual desires. Using humor, the man will subconsciously associate the product with having fun A very catchy tune was also used and is most likely used so the audience will associate the product with being young and energetic. The whole commercial was black and white with a blue tint to relate to the pill they ” re selling. This use of color triggers emotion and is most likely used to imprint the trademark of the blue Viagra sign.
The commercial has nothing to say about the product, but they get the message across that if they don’t take the pill, they won’t have a good sex life. Once again, it plays off of emotion by making them feel dissatisfied, inadequate, and even fearful. They are lead to believe that if they buy the product, the image in the ad will become a reality, therefore making them “feel” happy and young. In addition to seeing a commercial, many times the emotional appeal will drive a consumer to purchase the product. Because of how the product is portrayed on television, many times the customer will feel more valuable. Making the people feel valuable is the goal of the advertiser.
The Essay on Emotional And Rational Appeals
Emotional and Rational AppealsAbstractIn many studies, data has been led to suggest that rational messages may encourage the generation of content based cognitive responses and lead to attitudes heavily influenced by these cognition's. Studies have also led to suggest that people in negative moods are affected by the quality of persuasive messages. Using manipulations techniques, bad mood may ...
It’s just like taking a placebo pill. You take it, thinking that you are going to get better, and you end up feeling better. All of it is psychological and the advertisers know this, so that’s why they use emotional appeal in advertisements. In conclusion, we need to be aware that advertising does persuade and that it is very effective at communicating society’s need and desires. Advertising plays on our fears, insecurities, and anxieties by constantly reminding us that our lives would be better if only we were to buy this or that. As Neil Postman said, “By substituting images for claims, the pictor al commercial made emotional appeal, not tests of truth, the basis of consumer decisions” (127-28).
Consequently, advertisers operate under the assumption that it’s okay to lure uneducated customers. By using emotional appeal, commercials can effectively manipulate and create false perception. Works Cited Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death New York: Penguin, 1985.
