Referring to advertisements past and present, comment upon the different techniques used by advertisers to persuade the customer to buy their product. Refer to at least one Television and one Magazine advertisement
English Course work essay Ben Cocksworth
Advertising
“Referring to advertisements past and present, comment upon the different techniques used by advertisers to persuade the customer to buy their product. Refer to at least one Television and one Magazine advertisement.”
Over the past Century Advertising has become one of the largest and most profitable industries. Everyone is involved in advertising in some way. We are involved in advertising every day, from the clothes we wear to the magazines we read and the television we watch. Techniques and type of adverts has changed dramatically over the years, advertising began to become noticed as a major industry through the early radio and magazines and then gradually developed through the television and other forms of media to the massive and prosperous industry it has evolved into today.
Early television advertisements were in “black and white,” obviously because technology had not developed enough to give us colour television. This meant that it was harder for people to relate to the advert, in particular the product the advertisement was selling. Advertisers tried to combat this problem by inventing techniques that helped the audience/customer relate to the advert. An example of this would be introducing situations to their advert that their target audience could relate to, also “mini-series” advertisements were very popular. These advertisements used story lines to keep the advertisements following on from one another but most importantly to build up an air of suspense in the audience and to make the audience watch the next advertisement, which helped to advertise the product more efficiently. An example of a set of advertisements that used a “mini-series” are most of the “oxo” advertisements. These advertisements simulate an average family right through from the early Sixties until the late Nineties. They use typical family situations like the first day at school, family arguments, University, boyfriends, girlfriends etc… to advertise oxo cubes. Gradually as ideas and technology became more advanced the oxo advertisements used, special effects, theme tunes etc… to help people remember their product. Slogans also played a large part in the oxo advertisements. Many slogans were used in the oxo advertisements over the years, “oxo gives a meal man appeal,” was used when the attitude towards woman was that their place was generally in the kitchen and their role in life was to look after and to impress their husband or boyfriend. This slogan involves a technique called “Assonance,” this is were the vowel sound in word is repeated through a series of words, in this slogan the vowel sound which is being repeated is the “ea,” in the words meal and appeal. This slogan also involves a technique called “consonance,” which is repeating the consonant sound in a series of words. In this slogan it is the “l” in the words meal and appeal. As the attitude that a woman’s place was generally in the kitchen and their role in life was to look after and to impress their husband or boyfriend was phased out so, too was the slogan. The oxo slogans also involved memorable gestures, such as the rubbing of the thumb, index and middle fingers together. This is how an oxo cube is crumbled.
