Advertising Essay, Research Paper

Advertising

?Sex Sells? Rich Eison is yelling this as he is running around in his speedo on the set of Sportscenter. Sex and well know people are common in advertising because people like sex and want to be like the stars. Sex is used in all sorts of advertising such as billboards, Television, magazine, newspapers, and radio ads. Famuos people are used to promote products and entice people to visit restaurants and stores. Companies promote their products using a wide variety of tactics.

Famous people are often used in commercials to endorse products related to their field. Three good examples of famous people, who have participated in such a commercial, are Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Tiger Woods. First of all, Michael Jordan was used to promote several different products during and following his historic NBA career. Arguably the most well known product that Jordan promoted was Gatorade. Jordan?s Gatorade commercials were used to make people think that if they drank Gatorade they would be as successful as Michael Jordan. Secondly, Wayne Gretzky has been an ambassador for the NHL since his rookie season in 1979. He is now used in an effort by Anheiser Busch to promote designated driving. Their slogan, ?every designated driver is a great one?, is seen nationwide in commercials featuring Wayne Gretzky, the ?great one.? Lastly, Tiger Woods has a huge endorsement with Nike. Tiger, who has become a dominant figure in professional golf, appears in several commercials promoting the use of Nike products in golf. Glamorous individuals such as Jordan, Gretzky, and Tiger are commonly used in the marketing world to sell products.

Mood is a state of mind or an emotion. Advertisers have to create the right mood in order to cause an interest in their products. Most advertisers are extremely successful in creating the perfect mood in their advertisements. For example, an energetic mood is created in most St. Louis Blues commercials, showing hard body checks, hockey fights, and rowdy fans. On the other hand, Victoria?s Secret commercials employ soft music and sexy colors to create a romantic mood. In advertisements today the romantic mood is more commonly used than any other mood. In most ads there is some reference to sex if it is a beautiful person or if it?s insinuating that one will get laid if one uses their product. The people or props used in the ad are crucial in setting the correct mood for the ad.

Tone is a manner of expression. The tone of an ad is key because the perception of the expression can make or break the advertisement. In the advertisements that I watched a feeling of happiness was expressed. For instance, in the Budweiser commercials all the guys are sitting around having a bud and saying ?wassssss up? to each other. They are showing a friendly tone by sitting down enjoying time with their friends. Another great example is the Gretzky family sprawled out over their king size bed watching Sports center. The family is refreshed from a good nights sleep and at the bottom of the page these words appear, ?Which Sports center do you prefer to watch? with all the times listed at the bottom of the page. This magazine ad is showing how relaxing it can be to get up every morning and watch Sports center with your family. The 7up commercials make people laugh which makes most people feel happy. People laugh when their spokesman says ?Seven up yours? that just creates an inviting tone for the commercial. The commercial suggests that you will be wild and crazy while drinking 7up. There are an exuberant number of tones that could be used in ads like sad, bored, dull and many more.

Propaganda is the process of systematically spreading or promoting particular ideas and doctrines to help one?s own cause or to damage an opposing one. Propaganda is used in commercials to show their customer why their product is better than their competitors. Propaganda is very evident in political ads. In Bush?s ads he would illustrate how great his ideas where compared to Gore?s ideas. Another example is the Ford truck commercials showing how much better their trucks are than its competitors. Finally, Pepsi and Coke go at each other all the time persuading their audiences to think that their drink is better than the others. Commercials would not be as effective if they did not use propaganda because this tactic is how advertisers persuade their audiences to use their product. Propaganda is one of many tactics used in advertising, but arguably the most important.

Stereotyping is a conventional, over simplified conception or image and sexism is a discrimination based on gender. Stereotyping in ads that I watched were more targeted towards an age group, race, or sex. The commercials are targeted to certain group?s taste, assuming they were the only people that will use their product. The purpose in stereotyping is that not everyone uses all the products or things that are advertised. So when companies market their product, they target a certain age, race, or sex. The Toys ?R? Us ads are all geared towards kids, using the slogan ?where a kid can be a kid.? Other good commercials that show some stereotyping are the alcohol ads as they target people over the age of twenty-one. Lastly, cigarette ads also target an age group because they target people over the age of 18. Sexism is a little different than stereotyping: for instance, sexism has to do with gender where as stereotyping is much broader. The idea of sexism is very evident in alcohol ads since it is rare that you will see a women drinking beer. It is always the man drinking and hitting the on women. Most advertisements with males are geared towards sports, alcohol, and cigarettes while women are used more as sex symbols like the Budweiser and Hooter girls or in sympathy ads like Judith Leighton asking people to send money to the poor kids in different countries. Stereotyping and Sexism are two techniques that advertisers use to promote their products.

Advertising is an art that advertisers do to create a picture in their audience?s mind that will persuade them to want their product. People go to school for years to become excellent advertiser

s and they learn the tendencies of their audience. The right ad for a product can make or break it, which means you could loose or make millions of dollars off just one ad.