Advertising Techniques

Advertising Techniques

Advertising can be described as a technique used to persuade people in

the public, to respond in a certain manner to the product they wish to

sell.

In the world around us every day, we are subject to advertising

whether we want to see it or not. Everywhere we look, from the T.V. to

the radio, magazines, newspapers and the Internet, there is always a

company trying to convince us that we need their product to make us

popular, prettier, richer or healthier than what we already are. The

ads seem to work on our fears, as the companies know that people want

to be like everybody else.

Today, I am going to look at how a particular product; in this case a

new hair colouring; is aimed at different target audiences.

For example, if the product were in the latest issue of Dolly or

Girlfriend, we would probably see a well-known celebrity or model

promoting it. This is trying to tell us two things. One, this

celebrity is wearing it, so they must like it, and therefore it must

be an excellent thing to spend your money on. It is also trying to say

that if other people wear this, then they will have the looks of the

celebrity and live happily ever after. The advertisement will often be

in bright colours to stand out from the page, and sometimes there will

even be an article about the product saying it was used on a celebrity

in the latest Hollywood film.

If the same product were seen in a magazine such as Woman's Day or New

Idea, then it might be more focused on the cost, saying how this is a

lot cheaper than the others available. The companies do this because

in a teenage magazine, most people have part time jo...

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or the right. In this case, it is the taller model on the left that we

notice first, and then the product is down the bottom. By using this

technique, the company is trying to make us see what we think is the

main focus first. For example, we see the two girls, and the message

is that we will have hair like their's by using the product.

The white background would make this stand out in a magazine because

all of the other pages would have coloured backgrounds. The slogan

with the product tells us that it is 'professional hair care for you',

implying that this was designed professionally just for the person

reading it. The information down the bottom tells us that the colour

will wash out in about eight washes, so people can try all of the

other shades by buying them, and this will make more sales for the

company.