Advertising Appeals - Essay Example

Advertising Appeals Comparison Advertising helps push a product into the market thereby making more sales. Marketers design marketing campaigns for their products to ensure that the product sells more than any other does or to have a competitive advantage. The difference between a successful advertising campaign and a losing one is the advertising appeal in each. Advertisements make use of a wide range of appeals based on the reasons for which the target audience needs the product or service. Jim Fowles came up with fifteen advertising appeals that commercial ads use to make their products or services sell. On the other hand, commercial ads also exploit the Aristotelian ethos, pathos, and logos to achieve a similar objective. The Mortal Kombat X commercials and the Game of War commercials featuring Kate Upton portray classic uses of the Fowles and Aristotelian advertising appeals. The two advertisements are of fighting games targeting the same audience. The appeals in each are the difference between making more sales and performing poorly in the market. The Mortal Kombat X is a short commercial running only one minute like most other commercials. The ad commences with a written warning as to the contents. The words “Blood and Gore Intense Violence” invoke emotions of fear thereby preparing the audience for an electrifying view. The effect of this warning could be costly, as audiences below 17 would not view the commercial while those above 17 would weigh between watching a violent and bloody commercial and avoiding the same. The net effect would be a lower reach. “Fight” is the theme of the commercial. The message is spread like wildfire as people scamper for their lives. The ad brings out people’s reactions to the fight alert. Here, the need for attention is stressed. The alerters find people busy with their errands, but he immediately catches their attention by the message. The needs to escape and to feel safe are also stressed in the alerts. Everyone reacts by abandoning their chores and scampering to safety as quick as they can. Even the audience is taken aback at the breathtaking alert but then is filled with curiosity as to what the fight entails. One waits to see what will happen next. As much as people are running up and down, one fatty boss playing the game is busy celebrating a win. The commercial also takes care of the need for sex. A man is shown scampering from the bathroom with only the towel on while a model is shown posing for photographs naked. The bare-chested man appeals to women viewers while the naked model appeals to male viewers sexually. In addition, the physiological need for food is addressed in the commercial. Chefs are shown scampering from the kitchen thereby invoking the need for something to eat. The commercial also highlights the need to nurture. Among the scampering scenes include a person in a wheelchair being pushed by a concerned person at a time when everyone is fighting for his or her lives. On a similar note, a man is shown holding a baby by his chest. An electrician is also shown up in a crane trying to repair power lines. At that position, he cannot come down to escape the fight as all others are running. He is helpless. Another man is also shown escaping on crutches. He cannot move as fast as others are. These four categories are weak people that require nurturing or else they cannot survive dangerous situations such as the one portrayed in the commercial. The need to dominate is highlighted between the sexes. In the scene where a female barber shaves a male person, the commercial depicts the low position of the woman – that of serving the man. Game of War is quite long a commercial running five and a quarter minutes. The entire ad is a combination of short ads of the same game. The advertising appeals here are more or less the same as those seen in Mortal Kombat X with slight differences. “Empire” is the theme in this commercial. The first part of the ad uses logos to justify the worth of the game. Kate Upton uses the words “Empires will remember you… It’s where your dreams come to life…” She is addressing a group of famous emperors where she unleashes the Model Empire to which she refers. Here, the ad drives home the point that the game is as wonderful as the once unbeatable empires. The phrase “where your dreams come to life” raises curiosity in the audience as it makes the audience anticipate what is coming next. “Climb quickly… Build quickly… or be destroyed quickly...” is yet another use of ethos to appeal to the audience. These actions make up the strongest empire ever. In other words, the ad is trying to prove that the game can only be won if the player satisfies the three conditions. The clip shows enemy warriors approaching a kingdom struggling to build walls of wood. The builders are working slowly and with little concern to what approaches. As soon as they become alert of the approaching enemies, a stronger wall of stone surrounds the empire in milliseconds such that the approaching enemies cannot break through with ease. That justifies the three elements of a strong empire and a winning player. The need for sex is also highlighted in this ad. Upton is shown in a bathtub immersed in water, but her chest protruding as staring sexily. Her servants dress her for the war. She puts on a chest protector that leaves her cleavage at the center of attraction. As she sets off for the war, the need to aggress is highlighted. Upton assembles her soldiers, urging them to fight until death. The enemy is hidden in the trees and would emerge anytime soon. The audience is curious to see the enemy. Upton’s soldiers are armed to the teeth with breath-taking weapons. This stresses the aggressiveness necessary to survive. The need to nurture also comes out clear in this commercial. A nanny goat is shown tethered at the very spot where the much-dreaded enemy would emerge. The audience is left feeling pity for the goat and waiting in fear to see what would happen to it. In as much as Upton urges on her soldiers, the need to feel safe is evident upon the emergence of the grotesque creature from the woods. The soldiers step back with their mouths wide agape. They express fear on their faces but surge against the enemy instead. The mighty dragons emerge exhaling fire onto Upton’s soldiers. Most of the soldiers were scared and started running away for safety. Even Upton became scared despite leading the army. Moreover, in the later scenes as the game is highlighted, the words “No One Is Safe… Evil Lurks” instill fear in the audience. The only way out is the forging of alliances, sharing resources, and growing together. The portrayal of Upton, a woman, as the Emperor challenges Fowles’ appeal of the need for dominance. Usually, the man dominates the woman under this appeal, but Upton is shown to be above hundreds of men. She rides on a horse higher as the soldiers stand on their feet. However, the reverse of this takes place when one of the male soldiers brings down the killer dragon. Upton cannot help but to stare in awe and disbelief. The closing section of the commercial shows females shaking their asses on one side while men jump off a roof in the exercise of summersault. This contrast shows just how men can do mighty things compared to women hence the dominance. Aesthetics has been stressed in the commercial. The white color dominated much of the scenes. Upton was dressed in a white robe all through. The surrounding environment was snowy and cold. At the last portion where she is being interviewed, Upton dresses in black and white to match the background, which is also black and white. That satisfies the need for aesthetic sensations. The visual appeal is good for the eye of the audience. Mortal Kombat X did not pay much attention to aesthetics. Overall, the two commercials have some humor in them. Mortal Kombat X is humorous in the way people are scampering for their lives. Game of War, on the other hand, is humorous in the use of grotesque creatures, the shaking asses, and the thrilling interview of Upton. In conclusion, the two commercials have demonstrated the need for advertising appeals in commercials. Fowles’ and Aristotle’s appeals have come out in various forms in the two commercials thereby justifying their effectiveness. These two games have sold massively. As Fowles argues, it is hard to determine just how much contribution commercials make to the sales of a product or service. Nevertheless, the contribution is significant. For this reason, it is proper to conclude that the advertising appeals made the Mortal Kombat X and the Game of War successful commercials. Videos Used Game of War – Fire Age Kate Upton Sexy TV Commercial 2015. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WimNlfW6qvo Mortal Kombat X – TV Commercial Trailer (Live Action). Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H_xXxPsbpw Read More