Advertisments In America Today Essay, Research Paper

Advertisements In America Today

Advertisements today are very diverse and always changing to suit the needs of the people everywhere. Advertisers can advertise to billions of people all over the world. The way they sell their products to these people is by using simple, basic techniques that reach a person’s subconsciousness. Some of the methods they use are peer pressure, money, and the most basic of all, sex, (Each of these can be very effective).

In an advertisement for Macanudo Cigars viewers sees a picture of a man holding a cigar with a look of approval on his face. When the viewer sees this, it inspires a sense of longing to be like him. This in turn causes the reader to want do what the man is doing and buy a box of Macanudo cigars. There is also a sense of freedom in the picture, due to the scenery and colors people look at this and want to due what ever it take to have that feeling all the time, so they think about buying the cigars. A statement in the advertisement reads: “Macanudo Robust stands for a new and deeper dimension in true cigar taste.” This reinforces the initial feeling the reader had. It tells the reader that the reason everybody likes it so much is because it tastes great. So the reader subconsciously says to himself if he buys this product, not only will he be a cool person to be around, but he’ll have the satisfaction of great taste, too.

In an advertisement from E*trade there is a picture of a lady in front of seven balls with numbers on each one, and above the balls there is a line that says: “Someone’s going to win the lottery, just not you.” This advertisement is obviously telling the reader that spending your money on the lottery is useless and a waste. Also, the advertisement implies that anyone who plays the lottery is foolish for thinking they might have a chance at winning the jackpot. So, to fill the viewers’ desire to get rich quick, E*trade suggests the viewer invest his money in stocks using E*trade’s on-line investment system. E*trade invests enormous sums of money in this advertising campaign, hoping that the public will choose E*trade’s version of gambling in the stock market, over the government’s version gambling in the lottery. In suggesting this, E*trade makes a strong point: even as volatile as the stock market is, the chances of making a fortune in it are much greater than in making a fortune in the lottery. Thus, compared to the lottery, E*trade looks almost like a sure thing. This is powerful advertising.

In an advertisement selling plug-ins for web browsers, there is a picture of two actors (one male and one female) who were in a movie titled: Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me. They are back to back holding guns the woman is touching the man’s behind. This part of the advertisement is trying to get the reader to think that if he buys this product the web will be more fun than ever before, and he will get the women he wants. The advertisement then reads: “Austin Powers.com uses the Shockwave Player to deliver the web’s most shagadelic experience.” The advertisement’s text is coinciding with the picture perfectly, to show that the plug-in really will make the web much more exciting than before. The reader now realizes that, and wants to buy it no matter what the cost; at least that is what the advertisers hope.

Peer pressure, money, and sex are just a few of the many ploys advertisers use to get people hooked on to their products. The advertisers use these ways of life to reach the most basic reasoning a person can make, to sell their products. People fall for these advertisements because that is what appeals to them. They feel that by buying what they will have a better fulfilled life. When the people no longer are attracted to these things then advertisers will change their methods so people see new advertisements for the same products all the time.