Ethos involves convincing a person by means of the character of the author. It uses credibility and trust and cites credible sources in its advertising. If the advertiser is respectable, we are more like to listen to them. Other traits such as authority, confidence or the promoter generally being likeable are things we subconsciously look for when watching adverts. The promoter must fully convince the audience that they are qualified to speak or present what they are advertising and are therefore worth listening to. A company may hire someone well liked to be part of the advertising campaign such as a celebrity. A profession such as a dentist is widely seen as respectable and trustworthy so toothpaste, mouthwash and floss adverts will commonly use a dentist to endorse the product. This advert also displays elements of the Pathos style of advertising:
Pathos is persuading by the means of appealing to people's emotions. The words pathetic and empathy have derived from the word Pathos. A passionate delivery to persuade a person to invest in what is being advertised may win over more people, along with demonstrating agreement with the audience on various topics, both underlying and prominent. A pathos-based advert may also appeal to people's fears, in order to sway the viewer. This may be by showing the ill-effects of using something, which can only be solved with the use of the advertising product. Usually, the advert will also directly focus on peoples emotions such as imagination. Their advert may appeal to a person's inner though-process or even their hopes. Pathos adverts are generally graphic and paint an either happy or bad picture for the viewer.
Logos means persuading people using reasoning, utilizing things such as statistics, facts and records. The adverts may also use longer, more intelligent-appearing words to draw people into their world of trust and reasoning. Things such as statistics seem genuine and words such as 'better', 'bigger' and 'cheaper' may appeal to people now more than ever, due to the constantly rising cost of living. The information being supplied by a Logos-style advert makes the advertiser appear knowledgeable and prepared for their audience. Logos can be misleading or inaccurate but, generally it provides a service to the audience. This advert would have appeared to attractive to many people many years ago (it is debatable whether it was true or not) because MORE doctors enjoy their cigarettes than anyone else. Doctors are regarded as intelligent and thoughtful people, so it should be an easy decision to buy the cigarettes.
Advertising Techniques
Persuasive
Though not strictly an advert, the Lord Kitchener World War One era poster remains an extremely persuasive style. The poster was designed to attract people to join the army during the first world war and the image is of Lord Kitchener, who was in charge of the British Army at the time. His pointing finger feels like it is directly being pointed at you and his finger and eyes follow you wherever you go. This and the word 'YOU' being the largest word on the poster attracted thousands of people to sign up to the British Army.
Dramatic
These type of adverts are designed to appeal to people's emotions and are usually used for things such as charity appeals or public awareness adverts. These can be things such as various illness charities or for things such as famine abroad. The idea is to make you feel sad and to directly engage with you to make you do what the advert is saying (donate, buy etc.). The advert below is a dramatic example and is part of a series to help people spot the signs of a stroke in progress. The advert depicts a man or woman with a hole burning in their head, which gradually gets larger and larger leaving them less and less capable of taking any action. The signs mean you will be able to call 999 and identify what is happening to them and 'save more of the person'. There are many sub-techniques to the dramatic style such as conflict, relief and happiness.
Problem/Solution
This advertising technique is used when dealing with a product that literally has a solution to a problem. It may show the before and after of the use of their products, which will obviously show huge benefits and improvements in whatever it seeks to change. For example, a before and after of the application of spot cream. The following is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek use of the technique stating that drinking Coca Cola Zero will help the feel of Monday by making it 'taste like Friday'.
Visual Symbolism
Visual Symbolism involves a picture telling a story for the viewer with the use of none or minimal text. It may also use similes and metaphors and sometimes abstract elements to advertise the product.This type of advert will assist in allowing people to immediately identify the product and have a basic knowledge of what it is about. This may be done very obviously (with the use of clear text) or subtly with an encrypted subliminal message. The visual symbolism may involve a logo in which people would easily be able to identify what is being advertised however. The advert below is advertising aquafresh toothbrushes, using a man with a hairstyle like a toothbrush to show that their brush can reach even the hardest of places in the mouth, which will ultimately result in a better clean.
Sexual Imagery
Sexual imagery is used in many cases to appeal to both genders on certain subjects. They are usually able to grab and hold the attention of people. The advert may feature a cheesy line to promote the brand further and to further illustrate what it is about. The line may tie in with the sexual imagery and the advertisement. The use of an attractive male/female will help to establish a connection between a good-looking person and the product, basically meaning that both are good. The advert below is advertising Rustlers burgers and features a woman sexually bending over to look at them in the fridge. The line on this advert says 'You can never have too much of a good thing'. There are many burgers in the fridge suggesting that they are good whilst the woman is implied to be good also. The connection between good-looking women and good-tasting burgers may be made by some male viewers watching the video.
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