How Advertisements Work - Essay Example

 With the help of technological advancements, entrepreneurship has gone global and therefore made business competitions more intense. Due to this fact, businessmen rely more and more on advertisements to make their products become more popular and therefore more saleable. Consequently, they are not only faced with the challenge of being creative in improving their products but they also have to consider how to bring their products to the consumers. Entrepreneurs do not simply get famous models to promote their products, but they also learn how to convince the consumers that their products are the best in the market. Therefore, they hire experts in human behavior, creative writers and other professionals to work together in order to come up with an advertisement that will surely lure consumers to buy their products. The given paper will prove that advertisements subtly manipulate viewers, because they boost consumers’ egos and present revolutionary ideas about being different. Advertisements may seem logical and generic to viewers, who are sitting in front of their television. However, there is much more happening in the consumer’s mind than what is obviously seen. For instance, there are a number of shampoo advertisements that are presented in one show, but the viewer is more inclined to buy a specific brand not through a random choice, but a specific reason. As the ads are shown, they manipulate the viewer’s perception. For instance the ad of Head & Shoulders presents something that the viewer wants such as soft, free-flowing hair that exudes a desirable aroma. Here the interests of consumers are the first thing that is taken into account. According to a scholar name Jack Solomon, American companies do not simply create products but they also “manufacture status symbols, because American consumers want them” (Solomon 544). As mentioned earlier, businessmen hire necessary professionals such as psychologists to study human behaviors, which can be useful for business. Knowing that most people want to be perceived as successful even though they are not, companies get the idea that even if they sell a product at a very expensive price with the help of a well-researched advertisement, they can actually sell it, because of the status symbol that the product reflects. For example, Nike is a popular brand marketing shoes at a high price compared to similar products, which are less known. The price alone will suggest the owner of Nike shoes must be rich, because he is able to buy such pair of shoes. Moreover, the consumer associates himself to the models, who are oftentimes successful athletes even though he himself is not a sports enthusiast. In relation to the above example, one can also see that ads boost consumers’ egos in order for them to sell the products. The association of the consumer with the successful athlete makes him want to buy the status and therefore buys the shoes. Aside from the status symbol, Americans also want to think of themselves as wise consumers. Good education is one of the proofs of wisdom. Americans want to show that they are well-informed consumers, who not only buy products, but also know a lot about them. This characteristic of American consumers prompted the making of ads where, as Norton mentions, an announcer serves as the “mediator not only between the commodity and consumer but between the salespeople and consumer” (Norton 109). Such ads are similar to infomercials, where consumers are informed about the value of the product. Such advertisements do not simply inform consumers but they also make them think that they are wise enough to buy products, which make them look like they are better than other consumers. Intelligent buying seems to be one of the modern trends among American consumers, which are now very evident in many of ads. For instance, when Nike introduces new products, the company often uses infomercial to let consumers know the advantages of the product or its difference from other similar products. Advertisements nowadays are revolutionary. Such advertisements are very attractive to most young people who want to show their individualism as well as their independence. Radical advertisements are also appealing to older people who want to assert their success in their own rights. If being different was taboo some decades ago, it is now the “cool” thing among young people and even parents. This information is also used in advertisements and such technique proves that what is “in” these days is the one who is different from the others. The days of conformity have passed and the thought of individualism is now the trend as Thomas Frank says: “consumerism is no longer about conformity but about difference” (Frank166). This is reflected through many advertisements which clearly challenge viewers to be daring and different. The ad also suggests daring to be courageous in being different. Nike is one of the products, which use the last technique discussed above. In one of its ads, Nike uses the phrase “dare to Zlatan”. Zlatan is a famous football player who is shown in the advertisement using Nike shoes. He plays in an open field during a storm when there was much lightning. He does not simply play an ordinary football ball but a metal one. In addition, he is blindfolded, adding to the daring act of the footballer. Such spells danger for the player because the lightning could strike the ball and endanger the athlete’s life. Nevertheless, he continues with his task with courage and precision, overcoming the dangers of the lightning. After which, the ad shows him again aiming at a resting tiger (Nike Football: Dare to Zlatan). Such actions implicitly suggest to the viewers and consumers to dare to do the impossible and dangerous things in life. Since Zlatan is known as a successful athlete, he is implicitly depicted as the epitome of someone who dared to be different who eventually succeeded because of his courageous act. Moreover, Nike has always used the phrase “Just do it” in most of its advertisement. Such statement also challenges daring acts in viewers as their models present in the ads. In conclusion, advertisements are made to manipulate people to perceive an image of themselves through the products that they buy. Companies manufacture what people want not only in terms of products, but also in terms of intrinsic desires. American consumers want to have success so they are presented with products that spell out their success. As stated above, advertisements subtly manipulate viewers by appealing to their desires. They boost their ego by showing that they can satisfy their wishes when they buy the products which are advertised. Advertisements appeal to the consumers’ perception of themselves as intelligent buyers. Ads are also revolutionary, because they suggest radical ideas such as daring to be differently successful. Therefore, companies create ads, which challenge consumers to dare to be different and to show their individuality. References Frank, Thomas. “Commodify Your Dissent”. USA: Sonia Maasik & Jack Solomon. 2012. 163-169. Print. n.a. “Nike Football: Dare to Zlatan- Trust Your Instincts”. Youtube. 2014. Web. April 27, 2014.< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxm6Y_v7_SA>. Norton, Anne. “The Signs of Shopping”. USA: Maasik & Jack Solomon. 2012. 104-111. Print. Solomon, Jack. “Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising”. USA: Maasik & Jack Solomon. 2012. 542-553. Print Read More