Classification of Advertisement - Essay Example

ification Essay The ification of advertisements may not be an easy task since an ad itself can have different appeals wrapped up in one. However, there are quite a few advertisements which focus on one or the other to get their message across to the audience. The classification of advertisements therefore becomes important when we need to understand how the appeal is being made and therefore understand if the marketing message is effective or not. To fully understand this, there are three prime examples which show what the ethical, pathetic and logical appeals are when it comes to marketing.

The first and perhaps one of the best advertising campaigns using the pathetic i.e. emotional appeal comes from Apple Inc. The company ran a series of print ads showing famous figures from the past and the message “Think Different” along with the Apple logo as a part of their image making campaign. The drive was launched in 1997 soon after the return of Steve Jobs to Apple and even though the product itself is mass produced, compatible with every other computer and is in fact not very different from the previous computers made by Apple, the viewer is invited to “Think Different” when it comes to the consumer products of the company (Elliott, 1998).

For example, the image of Edison brings about an emotional reaction and links the ingenuity as well the brilliance of the man with the product made by Apple Inc. The campaign was a success and won many awards for each of the print ads was one of a famous personality. The people used for the campaign included some of the most admired high achievers in the world and they came from all walks of life such as business, sports, performing arts, government and even human rights activism (Elliott, 1998).

Interestingly, even though the product being advertised is a computer which may benefit more from a logical appeal that describes the benefits and advantages of using the product, an emotional appeal is used by the company without having much text on the ad itself. Figure 1. Edison Thinks Differently. http://www.electric-escape.net/node/565 Beyond the pathetic appeal, the ethical appeal can also be used in print ads particularly when the message becomes more abstract and a direct point of comparison may not be necessary.

For example, in political campaigns the message of the politician may simply be that s/he is a better choice than the other candidate and thus appeal to the ethics of the audience rather than the logic of the audience. An example of such marketing is given below where Ronald Reagan appears to be looking directly at the viewer as well as into the future. The viewer is told that Reagan will give America the leadership it needs and the image is one of strength as well as understanding (Van Alstyne, 2009).

Figure 2. Reagans Vision. http://it.stlawu.edu/~quack/seminar/reagan_ads3.htm An ad which uses logic as its primary appeal comes from the American Heart Association’s “Got Milk?” Campaign that uses famous celebrities just as Apple’s campaign had done but instead of just showing the face of the individual, the ad also explained the benefits of regularly drinking milk and thus making an appeal to the logical side of an individual. Of course, the idea of using celebrities and enticing an emotional response is also there but the ad explains in writing why drinking milk is important for the development of a healthy body (Healan, 2005).

In fact, this advertisement can also be seen as an example of a print ad using all three appeals simultaneously since the celebrity image brings out ethos while the pathetic appeal comes from the idea that drinking milk can help a person lose weight. Finally, the appeal to logic is covered with the idea a serving of milk can help the metabolism and thus help a person lose weight (Healan, 2005). Therefore, even though the primary appeal of the message is rooted in logic, the additional of an emotional and ethical element makes the print ad more effective. Figure 3. Milk is Good.

http://www.nt.armstrong.edu/Raa05ch.htm Works Cited Van Alstyne, A. 2009, ‘Reagans Paid Political Advertisements’, [Online] Available at: http://it.stlawu.edu/~quack/seminar/reagan_ads3.htm Healan, C. 2005, ‘Got Milk?’, [Online] Available at: http://www.nt.armstrong.edu/Raa05ch.htm Elliott, S. 1998, ‘Behind “Think Different”’, New York Times, [Online] Available at: http://www.electric-escape.net/node/565