COMMUNICATION CHANNEL: Television
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This advertisement aired during the Super Bowl so it was seen by people of all ages. However, the target audience is adults twenty-one or older.
Well, isn't this commercial the life of the party?
Okay, that was a lame cliche, but it is exactly what this commercial is about: being the life of the party, even in the worst of circumstances.
Let's analyze the persuasiveness of this commerciail. First of all, the slogan: Here we go. This phrase is sometimes used sarcastically to indicate that "the same old thing" is happening again. But this phrase is also used when something really exciting is going to happen. For example, when someone is at the very edge of a dip while he/she is riding a roller coaster, he/she might say, "Here we go!" The slogan is repeated twice in this commercial, once by an excited captain and once by "the voice." Slogans are "catchphrases that express a brand name, its benefits, and its 'personality'" (Larson, 2010, p. 380). Obviously, Bud Light's "personality" is that of fun, parties, and good times.
This advertisement also uses one tactic of Hugh Rank's intensify/downplay model. According to this model, persuaders use strategies to either intensify certain aspects of their product or strategies to downplay aspects of their product. The four strategies of action are (1) intensify good points, (2), intensify opposition's weak points, (3) downplay weak points, and (4) downplay opposition's weak points. There are six tactics used with the strategies: repetition, association, and composition (for intensification) and omission, diversion, and confusion (for downplaying).
Here, the tactic of association is used. Association "links a cause, brand, candidate, and son to something already liked or disliked by the audience" (Larson, 2010, p. 32). Even those who have only seen promos for the popular television show Lost can connect the commercial's visuals with the show's visuals. There is even an Evangeline Lilly look alike. Thos who are living under a rock and don't know anything about Lost are familiar with other stories of being stranded on a deserted island after trusted means of transportation fail like Robinson Crusoe or Gilligan's Island. Associating this commercial with exciting stories of survival ensures that audiences are going to pay attention to the story because they immediately want to know what happens next. Since most survival stories have a happy ending, audiences want to know how the happy ending will come about.
Finally, this commercial uses the AIDA model. This model is is related to the organization by motivated sequence method of organizing persuasive messages. AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. These appear in the advertisement this way:
Attention: The first few seconds in which the survivors seem to be waiting for some news. This catches the consumer's attention because it presents the question: "Why are these people here?"
Interest: The Evangeline Lilly look alike says her lines and the consumer is know interested in the plight of these people. Attention can only be held for so long and can last for only a moment, but interest is harder to turn from.
Desire: The moment everyone starts partying, the consumer wants to party too. The benefit of the product is shown: good times.
Action: When "the voice" announces that Bud Light is "the sure sign of a good time." What consumer does not want to have a good time? "The voice" might as well have said, "If you want to have a good time, get some Bud Light."
Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts
Item #4: Barclaycard Advertisement
COMMUNICATION CHANNEL: Television
INTENDED AUDIENCE: People who live the UK and want a credit card that's easy to use.
Let's move on to something fun.
Barclaycard is a UK-based credit card and loan provider. This commercial advertises Barclaycard's contactless technology. Of course, credit card companies have to work extra hard to convince persuade people since the recent global economic meltdown has made people fear credit cards.
As comical as it sounds, this advertisement actually uses reasoning to get its point across. Reasoning is a type of proof, which is "enough evidence connected through reasoning to lead the majority of typical receivers to take or believe the persuader's adivce" (Larson, 2010, p. 216). It is made up of evidence and reasoning (Larson, 2010). The kind of reasoning used in this advertisment is reasoning from analogy (Larson, 2010). This type of reasoning uses "figurative or real analogies as [a] logical reason for some conclusion" (Larson, 2010, p. 216).
Barclaycard is comparing using one of their cards to going down a water slide. The contactless technology is so easy and so fast that the man can continue going down the water slide without worrying about whether the card scanned or not. Anyone who knows what a hassle it is to physically swipe a card only to find out it was swiped incorrectly or has experieced the frustrating of having to show ID or sign a sign a receipt knows that even "fast and easy" credit cards can take up valuable time.
The song used is "Let Your Love Flow" by the Bellamy Brothers which was a huge hit in 1975 in the United States and Europe. No doubt people who listen to this easy-going song remember when it was popular and the song contributed a feeling of happiness and well-being. The song itself gives feelings of ease, contentment, and happiness. Like the water slide, the song is used as an analogy for the ease with which payments can be made with Barclaycard's contactless technology. The lyrics "let your love flow like a mountain stream" are used with the image of flowing water in a refreshing water slide, which creates an even stronger analogy than would have been created if either the song of the slide were used alone.
The fact that the water slide covers the entire city shows by figurative analogy that a Barclaycard can be used anywhere (except perhaps the library where a credit card would be useless anyway). The city is literally this man's playground because he is able to buy with no hassle. This analogy is emphasized by "the voice" in the end which announces that Barclaycard is "making payments simpler." By creating figurative analogies, Barclaycard succeeds in making their slogan sound like an understatment since the consumer is now convinced that payments made with Barclacard payments are not just simple but effortless.
Item #5: Coca-Cola Advertisement
COMMUNICATION CHANNEL: Television
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Any soft drink consumer, but in this case, mainly men and boys
As is most obvious, this advertisement uses a jingle and a slogan to get its message across. Larson (2010) describes a jingle as "a musical version of the slogan combined with lyrics that tell the 'story' of the brand" (p. 380). As mentioned in Item #1, slogans are "catchphrases that express a brand name, its benefits, and its 'personality'" (Larson, 2010, p. 380). The jingle in this commercial puts the Coca-Cola slogan into music: Have a Coke and a smile. There is also a mini-slogan: Coke adds life.
This commercial also uses the emotional premise of happiness and joy. Emotional premises work through the peripheral channel of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. This model is states that persuasion goes through two routes: the central information processing route (conscious) and the peripheral information processing route (subconscious).
The emotion used (or abused depending on how cynical the consumer is about advertising) is happiness. The little boy has happiness because he has Coca-Cola. He offers it to the football player, in essence, offering happiness in a bottle. Then the grumpy and tired football player becomes happy. Meanwhile, the kid becomes unhappy because not only does he not have his Coke, but the football player was not very nice to him. The football player then gives another source of happiness to the kid. Now they are both happy and it all started because of a bottle of Coca-Cola.
Body language describing the alternate states of "happiness" and "no happiness" is also shown to emphasize the difference. Notice how the football player is slouching and slumping when he comes in, how the kid slumps away with a frown, and how the football player stands straighter as he drinks the Coke. Lastly and most notably is the football player's big smile at the end.
The message is clear: Want to be happy? Drink Coca-Cola.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Any soft drink consumer, but in this case, mainly men and boys
As is most obvious, this advertisement uses a jingle and a slogan to get its message across. Larson (2010) describes a jingle as "a musical version of the slogan combined with lyrics that tell the 'story' of the brand" (p. 380). As mentioned in Item #1, slogans are "catchphrases that express a brand name, its benefits, and its 'personality'" (Larson, 2010, p. 380). The jingle in this commercial puts the Coca-Cola slogan into music: Have a Coke and a smile. There is also a mini-slogan: Coke adds life.
This commercial also uses the emotional premise of happiness and joy. Emotional premises work through the peripheral channel of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. This model is states that persuasion goes through two routes: the central information processing route (conscious) and the peripheral information processing route (subconscious).
The emotion used (or abused depending on how cynical the consumer is about advertising) is happiness. The little boy has happiness because he has Coca-Cola. He offers it to the football player, in essence, offering happiness in a bottle. Then the grumpy and tired football player becomes happy. Meanwhile, the kid becomes unhappy because not only does he not have his Coke, but the football player was not very nice to him. The football player then gives another source of happiness to the kid. Now they are both happy and it all started because of a bottle of Coca-Cola.
Body language describing the alternate states of "happiness" and "no happiness" is also shown to emphasize the difference. Notice how the football player is slouching and slumping when he comes in, how the kid slumps away with a frown, and how the football player stands straighter as he drinks the Coke. Lastly and most notably is the football player's big smile at the end.
The message is clear: Want to be happy? Drink Coca-Cola.
Item #9: Cartoon Network Promos
COMMUNICATION CHANNEL: Television
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Anyone who enjoys watching cartoons, mainly children.
These promos for Cartoon Network aired during the station in the late '90s. Quite obviously, they use humor and mix live action and animation to capture the audience's attention. Most importantly, however, these promos use the common ground to persuade audiences to continue watching Cartoon Network, thereby forming brand loyalty.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that persuasion was most effective when it had common ground. Common ground is "the shared beliefs, values, and interests between persuaders and persuadees" (Larson, 2010, p. 20). Both Cartoon Network and its audience are interested in cartoons. Therefore, the promos use popular cartoon characters in one-minute long cartoons to remind audiences that Cartoon Network is where these cartoons can be watched and where audiences can continue to enjoy the stories that cartoons tell. The network was trying to tell its audience, "You love cartoons, and we love cartoons. Therefore, keep watching us and we'll give you the cartoons you want."
These promos can also be said to use a conditional syllogism. Larson (2010) defines syllogisms as "forms or reasoning with three parts: a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion" (p. 222). Conditional syllogisms use if/then reasoning. In this kind of syllogism, the major premise gives a "logical relationship that is presumed to exist in the world and that receivers are to accept. The minor premise states the existense of one element in the relationship, and the conclusion is then drawn between the relationship and the existence of one element in it" (Larson, 2010, p. 222).
In the case of these promos, these three elements are as follows.
Major premise: "If you love cartoons, then you are looking for a network that will satisfy your want to see them."
Minor premise: "Cartoon Network airs cartoons 24/7, from classics to original series."
Conclusion: "You should watch Cartoon Network."
Of course, this was the 90s. Cartoon Network isn't anything like this anymore, and in my opnion, it's changed for the worse.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Anyone who enjoys watching cartoons, mainly children.
These promos for Cartoon Network aired during the station in the late '90s. Quite obviously, they use humor and mix live action and animation to capture the audience's attention. Most importantly, however, these promos use the common ground to persuade audiences to continue watching Cartoon Network, thereby forming brand loyalty.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that persuasion was most effective when it had common ground. Common ground is "the shared beliefs, values, and interests between persuaders and persuadees" (Larson, 2010, p. 20). Both Cartoon Network and its audience are interested in cartoons. Therefore, the promos use popular cartoon characters in one-minute long cartoons to remind audiences that Cartoon Network is where these cartoons can be watched and where audiences can continue to enjoy the stories that cartoons tell. The network was trying to tell its audience, "You love cartoons, and we love cartoons. Therefore, keep watching us and we'll give you the cartoons you want."
These promos can also be said to use a conditional syllogism. Larson (2010) defines syllogisms as "forms or reasoning with three parts: a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion" (p. 222). Conditional syllogisms use if/then reasoning. In this kind of syllogism, the major premise gives a "logical relationship that is presumed to exist in the world and that receivers are to accept. The minor premise states the existense of one element in the relationship, and the conclusion is then drawn between the relationship and the existence of one element in it" (Larson, 2010, p. 222).
In the case of these promos, these three elements are as follows.
Major premise: "If you love cartoons, then you are looking for a network that will satisfy your want to see them."
Minor premise: "Cartoon Network airs cartoons 24/7, from classics to original series."
Conclusion: "You should watch Cartoon Network."
Of course, this was the 90s. Cartoon Network isn't anything like this anymore, and in my opnion, it's changed for the worse.
Item #10: Head On Advertisement
COMMUNICATION CHANNEL: Television
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Anyone who suffers from headaches, mainly adults
This commercial uses Hugh Rank's intensify/downplay model. According to this model, persuaders use strategies to either intensify certain aspects of their product or strategies to downplay aspects of their product. The four strategies of action are (1) intensify good points, (2), intensify opposition's weak points, (3) downplay weak points, and (4) downplay opposition's weak points. There are six tactics used with the strategies: repetition, association, and composition (for intensification) and omission, diversion, and confusion (for downplaying).
This commercial uses the strategy of intensifying the product's good points using the tactic of repetition.
These commercials parody the repetition in the original. See, it worked! Obviously, the first thing these people did when they had a headache was think about the product!
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Anyone who suffers from headaches, mainly adults
This commercial uses Hugh Rank's intensify/downplay model. According to this model, persuaders use strategies to either intensify certain aspects of their product or strategies to downplay aspects of their product. The four strategies of action are (1) intensify good points, (2), intensify opposition's weak points, (3) downplay weak points, and (4) downplay opposition's weak points. There are six tactics used with the strategies: repetition, association, and composition (for intensification) and omission, diversion, and confusion (for downplaying).
This commercial uses the strategy of intensifying the product's good points using the tactic of repetition.
These commercials parody the repetition in the original. See, it worked! Obviously, the first thing these people did when they had a headache was think about the product!
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