Firstly, advertisers fail to reassure the consumer about the quality of their products. In recent times, consumers have become health-conscious. They want to be sure that the products they are buying will help them to stay healthy. For instance, when they want to buy cooking oil, they try to avoid brands that contain saturated fat. A certain brad advertised on the television seems to be the answer, for the screen displays a bottle of oil and a mellow voice tells us how much “healthier” this brand is, and it is “low in cholesterol”. Does the advertisement tell us exactly what “healthier” means, and what is it “healthier” than? We also want to know how many grams “low in cholesterol” translates into the advertisement gives us none of this vital information.
Secondly, advertisers try to use psychological appeal to sell their products. It must be admitted that this technique has had successes. Television viewers have seen a product being sold through recounting the history of a family as it goes through good and bad times. That particular advertisement is effective because the story is true to life, and therefore convincing. But what is believable an advertisement in which we see a family dancing joyfully around a box of laundry detergent? The few seconds of the clip are intended to persuade us that this particular brand of soap will promote family togetherness. Viewers know better: it is not detergent that keeps a family close!
Finally, an attempt is made in these advertisements to appeal to our emotions. There must be very few people in this world who would not love to be at the beach, having the time of their lives, enjoying the sun, sea and sand. Thus we feel a twinge of longing when we see laughing holidaymakers in the advertisements quenching their first with an ice-cold soft drink. We are almost persuaded to believe that if we buy the same drink, we can also lead this kind of happy life. The fact is that we do drink the particular brand of fizzy being advertised, but we do so in more boring circumstances, for example when we get home after a long, hot and tiring day at school or at the office. We do not buy an exciting glamorous life when we buy a soft drink, although advertisements try to make us believe otherwise.
In the advertising industry, prizes are awarded for quality advertisements, and many do deserve the reward. The majority, however, tries to persuade us that the quality of the product is superior, and uses our weaknesses to make a sale. If consumers are aware of these tactics, we will think carefully before we rush out to buy these goods.
