A Number of Attractive Advertisements through Different Mass Media Communication - Case Study Example

Easy: How Magazine Advertisements work In this modern era, it is a very difficult task to attract the people towards a particular product because they can easily access a number of attractive advertisements through different mass media communication channels whether consciously or sub-consciously. These advertisements are comprised of a number of conventions and codes that are used to attract different people through different strategies. The major purpose that companies are advertising their products is to persuade and attract the people in order to sell the product to its target market. One of the most affective and proven methods of targeting customers and selling a product to a particular demographic segment is magazine advertising. Although, it is evident from the current market situation that most of the big brands usually invest huge amounts in advertising their products through different mass media communication channels, i.e. television, internet, and mobile advertisement, etc.… but still magazines have retained its market leadership and strong position. It has a very specific niche market because customers purchase a magazine based upon their hobbies, likes and dislikes, needs, wants, and social class, etc.… Therefore, it can be used as a direct medium of communication between the advertisers and customers. Most of the companies used magazine for the promotion of their products because they can easily target a specific market niche by placing their ads in the magazine that are purchased by their target customers on a periodic basis. In most of the cases magazines are gender specific, i.e. they can target either children, men or women at a single time. Most of the men magazine ads are power and status themed where as the magazines of women contain information and knowledge that gives the lesson of belongingness and affection. The example of an advertisement that I am going to discuss in this paper has been taken from the Classic style magazine, which is a pure men magazine and targets different categories of the male segment of the United States population. This advertisement was published by the Butler, Shine, Stern and Partner advertisement agency in an advertisement campaign of “Great and Comfortable Undergarments”. (See Appendices) From the surface meaning of the given advertisement it has been evaluated that the advertisement consist upon the picture of a muscular man standing in the underwear in front of a bed, where a nude woman is positioned on the bed in such a manner that she is giving a sex appeal to the male. From the very first look most of the people will get an idea that the specific ad will be related to a product that is used in certain adulterated activities. But the advertiser is actually interested in advertising the underwear of the male and trying to point out the level of comfort that the model is experiencing. He also intended to show that the specific brand can be used in different settings and manners. He wants to impart the message to his audience that the specific underwear is very attractive and light weighted and it is quite different from the other already available products on the market, because it is also very durable and can benefit the man at different occasions. It will be a possible question that if the ad is designed for men and the product is also aimed to target the male segment of the market, then why the picture contains a cloth less woman lying on the bed behind the man. So to answer this question it is very necessary to understand the intention of the advertiser. The advertiser wants to attract the adult male audience through this ad because underwear is mostly used by the adult male. Therefore, the picture of the women plays a vital role in the attraction of the first glance of the adult male because it is obvious that the opposite sex is attracted more to such types of pictures. The other aspect of adding a female picture in the ad is probably to attract the attention of married or committed males because the picture has been presented in such a manner that it can easily raise the sexual desire of such males and conveys a message that women feel female likes to see their life partners in such branded undergarments. The reason behind taking a muscular model in the ad picture is to exhibit the status and power of the male in the society because usually male is considered and thought to be the prominent figure of the society. The picture also contains a quote “for the benefit of mankind” at the bottom of the ad, which indicates numerous ideological meanings. At one end it indicates the status of male particularly in the US society, which means that males are those creatures of the god that have a great role in planning and shaping the culture of a society and they can get benefited from the fame and popularity they gain in the society. On the other end the phrase “mankind” indicates their superiority over the other segments of the society because males are considered to be the most responsible person of the family and they are thought to be the head and leader to look after their family. The visual poses and their composition also show the superiority of the male in the society and conveys the message that males should have a prominent and explicit position in the society as compared to that of the females. Another aspect of the picture can also be that women are made to serve the sexual need of males. These all assumptions can be made from the picture and the characters that are used in this ad picture, their poses, their positions and the surrounding environment of the room. If we examine the same picture from a different perspective, we will get to know that this picture conveys a message that men should wear such type of stylish and comfortable garments just to impress their women. Hence, taste and choice of the women are the only reasons behind the selection of this product by men, which shows that women can influence the buying behavior of the mens segment of the society. The picture also conveys a message that women are also as important as men because they can persuade men to lead their lives according to their preferences and needs. They guide them in each and every problem and matter of the life and complete their lives. With the help of the above discussion and research, it has been observed that even a single advertisement can convey different messages, which means that the interpretation of a message given in the advertisement is based upon the individual judgments and personality. However, still the advertiser is the person who can play with the minds of the audience and persuade them to make their decisions regarding the product advertised. This will require the advertiser to conduct a comprehensive market analysis and then design the advertisement of his product accordingly. This will help him to capture the target market very easily and make him able to convey his message effectively. Appendices Advertised Picture Work Cited Kokemuller, Neil. “Effectiveness of Magazine Advertising”, The Demand Media, N.p, n.d, 1st July, 2014. Havlena, Willian., Logic, Dynamic., Cardarelli, Robert., & Eadie, Wayne. “Measuring the Synergies and Effectiveness of the Magazine Advertisements”, Magazine Publishers of America, n.p, 31st march, 2007, 1st July, 2014. Stampler, Laura. “You Might be Surprised by the Effectiveness of the Magazine ads in the Modern Era”, The Business Insider, n.p, 8th March, 2012, 1st July, 2014. Knarrer, David. “Magazine Advertising Trade Secret” The Studio 1 Production, n.p, n.d, 1st July, 2014. Read More