15 Basic Appeals In Advertising

People come across hundreds of advertisements daily without giving it a second thought. Advertisements are presented to people by TV commercials, magazine ads, billboards, radio commercials etc. They surround people in almost every aspect of life. These companies use consumer psychology to invoke emotions or feelings in the consumers to make them want the product being advertised. An extremely effective way to appeal to consumers emotions is the advertisement tool of short commercials. The company Johnson’s appeals to customers very well in their advertisements. They use the Nurture appeal to attract mothers/care takers to take an interest in their products. Advertising companies focus on using appeals to grab the attention of the viewers.

This appeal is directed mostly toward women because they are the primary caretakers in society today, although it’s slightly turning towards men. This appeal is directed at women for the need to nurture their child, family or even pet. It depicts a strong need for the caretaker to properly nurture their child, children and/or family. Jim Fowles, who has avidly studied aspects of American culture and focuses largely on advertising, has wrote in his essay Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals, “Akin to affiliative needs is the need to take care of small defenseless creatures-children and pets, largely” (8). He is saying that the people humans care about most are the ones that are related to them or someone who is emotionally attached to them. These emotionally attached beings are people who humans feel they need to take care of and it’s mostly implying to defenseless creatures like babies, young children and

The baby is laying flat in a tiny bath tub surrounded by clear, sparkly soap bubbles that look so harmless the baby is even smirking. Off to the side there is a Johnson’s baby bottle but the picture is blurred yet still visible. During the commercial there is a women talking but only her hand is shown. The women has a soft, calming voice. There is soft music in the background that sounds like an ocean waves. As the women says, “Johnson’s, so much more” a picture of three bottles of Johnson’s baby wash, shampoo and lotion show up surrounded by soft bubbles and then the commercial is over. This commercial is specifically using the nurture appeal because it shows the cute, helpless baby happily in the bath being washed with Johnson’s soap by her mother. The women even specifically says, “The touch of your hand is stimulating her senses, nurturing her mind and helping her development”. The words used along with the soft music in the background and the serene scene of the happy baby in the bath would make every mother believe that’s what bath time is really like when in reality it’s not. This commercial will make mothers think they are being better caretakers if they buy this product for their