Advertising theory: Structures, techniques and characteristics

What ARE advertisements anyway? What do they try to do? 

You might think there is a simple answer to this, but in fact, there are a range of subtle purposes for advertising.
1. To promote a new product.
2. To increase product recognition or reinforce ‘brand identity’.
3. To maintain product awareness (‘reminder ads’).
4. To reposition a product towards a new target market.
5. To ‘burnish’ a corporate image.
6. Social advertising (charities, road-safety campaigns etc).

In pairs, think of examples for each.

How do they try to do it? AIDA

Some critics and advertising gurus have argued that advertising tries to take its audience through a FOUR STAGE PROCESS designed to ultimately achieve a successful response. There are various versions of the stages, but they are all fairly similar and are outlined below. The theory is neat, but we need to test it against some real adverts to assess whether it is true.

Here are the stages:

A – Attract ATTENTION: (Awareness): attract the potential customer

I – Arouse INTEREST: “low price!” “exotic location!” “new product”. This may also involve gaining customer confidence: “tested by experts”, “trust me I’m a mother!”

D – Stimulate DESIRE: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service and that it will satisfy their needs. (“Be the envy of all your friends…”)

A – Promote ACTION: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing. This may involve creating conviction, stressing urgency, seeking a response etc: (“you really WANT this!” “hurry!”; “Act NOW!”, “yes, I’ll BUY this”.

Find out some more about AIDA online. DAGS!

The Techniques of Persuasion

How does an ad try to persuade you about the value of its product or service?

OVERT MESSAGES AND ‘HIDDEN’ MESSAGES
You’ll hear various people trying to tell you that adverts are devious little buggers trying to pursuade you in secret, hidden and underhand ways. Adverts DO NOT carry secret or subliminal messages, but their messages may not always be OVERT – they may be operating at a more subtle, CONNOTATIVE level. For example, an ad might try to associate a hygiene product like a deodorant with nature, harmony, peace and freshness through its use of colours and imagery. See the next section!

ADVERTISING BY ASSOCIATION

Adverts try to mobilise desire in the target audience to buy a product or service by associating it with attractive lifestyles or other qualities:

• Happy families glamorous places
• Rich luxurious lifestyles success in career or job
• Dreams and fantasy art, culture and history
• Successful romance and love nature and the natural world
• Important people, celebrities or experts beautiful women
• Comedy and humour self-importance and pride

Find some examples of the above. What sort of audience (demographically and psychographically), might be persuaded by each technique?

PARTICULAR TECHNIQUES TO LOOK OUT FOR:

• UNIQUE SELLING POINT (USP) – what is special about this product compared to other, similar products? What benefits does it have compared to other products? 
• SEX APPEAL - Advert is sexually stimulating, focuses on attraction, beauty, desire.
• SLOGAN - Phonetic or prosodic qualities designed to catch the eye e.g. “Once Driven Forever Smitten.”
• PARADOX - The advert includes contradictions or peculiarities e.g. The Guinness advert
• VALUE TRANSFERENCE – see above, ‘advertising by association’
• Some quality, person or phenomenon is made to seem obtainable through the use of the product, e.g. you (a man?)get the (certain type of ) girl if you buy the Renault Clio.
• POP METHOD - Suggestion that the product is in great demand, or is fashionable.
• NATURE METHOD - Product is natural, and contains ' no artificial ingredients’ 
• FLATTERY - The advert flatters the recipient of the advert in some way. Eg ‘you are a person of refined taste’.
• INTERTEXTUALITY - You are a clever person because you have got the reference!
• EXPLOITATION OF FEAR, GUILT, INSECURITY  - “bad things happen…”
• TEMPTATION - Asserts that the owner of the product can achieve some generally desirable state of affairs or process.
• TESTIMONIAL - Some identifiable person or institution recommends the product. An ‘expert’ or a 'personality’/’celebrity’.
• ENTERTAINMENT - The advert contains a joke, a pun, a funny figure.
• STATUS - Stress on exclusivity, prestige
• CREATION OF PROBLEMS AND PROVIDING SOLUTIONS TO THEM - “Frizzy hair? You need Frizzease!” “Lumpy thighs? Get Smooth-o-creme!”

THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING

The language used in advertising is loaded: its primary aim is to attract our attention and lead us favorably towards the product or service

• Words have feelings or convey feelings - a message; this drink is creamy tasting.
• Advertisers choose attractive names for their products e.g. quiet flame for a new lipstick.
• Branded names work connotatively, again at the level of association - e.g. if a product is described as natural we associate it sub-consciously with being good and pure.

'Now there's a new eye-shadow formula so silky smooth, so luminous, it opens your eyes with colour. Choose from a luxurious array of jeweled-toned brights, airy pastels, and classic neutrals. You'll love the way it glides on and stays on'.