Advertising: The Different Types Of Advertising

With techniques like humor, testimonies, facts, and generalizations, it is no wonder that in today’s society, we are all susceptible to the messages dealt out by advertisers. There are different types of advertising that may be in magazines, flyers, billboards, and television commercials. We are aware advertising is meant to persuade us to buy a product, but do we know the methods advertisers use? The following types of advertising claims are ones that we see every day, often without even realizing: the weasel claim, the unfinished claim, the “we’re different and unique” claim, the “water is wet” claim, the “so what” claim, the vague claim, the endorsement or testimonial claim, the scientific or statistical claim, the “complement the consumer”

An example of this product would be Maybelline’s Baby Lips lip balm. On this advertisement, the message says “No more basic lip balm.” Not only is the word basic a weasel word, it is also leading the viewer to believe Baby Lips are better than another brand, like they are exclusive. These types of advertisements create an illusion of superiority because they claim to be better than the next brand, which will only make a product that is basically the same. This method of advertising must work, because every day, people buy name brand items over the lesser-known brands. This is mainly due to the fact that these types of brands have advertising that portrays them as unique and

Brands like Mobil use this method to tell its consumer that the product is a “detergent gasoline.” However, all other brands are, as well. This technique states a positive attribute about their product that is true, but is also true about every other product like it, but this attribute is still not very significant. The next type of claim is similar to the “water is wet” claim. It is the “so what” claim. This claim entails the same type of advertising as the previous claim, but rather than the positive characteristic applying to all brands of the same product, it applies to a select few. These claims are less persuasive when compared to others because people are able to think through the advertisement itself easier. Claiming that a product is the reason for “fewer dropped calls” is a declaration that is too vague to test. This is exactly what Chat-r Wireless did in their billboard ad. A statement that is broad and uses colorful, but meaningless words, is called a “vague claim.” This type of claim can interact with others, making it harder to distinguish. This type of advertisement typically doesn’t persuade people to buy a product, but it doesn’t dissuade them, either. Using the vague claim with another strategy of advertising will lead people to buy a