Adverts also tend to subconsciously promote their products by appealing to our secret fantasies and wants such as desire, snobbery etc. For example, the Ferrero Rocher™ advert plays on the desire for “The Good Life”, a high social status and elegance – a perfect chocolate to offer when inviting friends or family over! Advertisers entice and tease us to believe that a product can give us more sex appeal, a higher self esteem or make us more confident, faster or even more intelligent. Another instance is the Reebok™ advert which strikes you as a “hard core” and exclusive brand because it uses the celebrity status of world renowned basket ball stars to promote itself. Reebok™ uses internationally known sports men and women to sell products to a younger audience.
Stereotypes are another technique used in advertising. Advertisers use them as they are easily recognisable, often humorous, and the audience can relate to them. For example, adverts tend to depict elderly people as being anti- youth, slow, whiney, needy and always saying the irritating phrase of, “In my time….” However, the Skittles™ advert displays a rapping granny who when she eats Skittles™ suddenly becomes “cool”. She therefore challenges the stereotype. This sends another type of subliminal message, that it’s not just youths who have fun with candy!
We have been studying an advert for Virgin™ Cola and have found the following characteristics used to promote the product. The Unique Selling Point of the brand is that it claims to be a soft drink that “stays cooler, longer!” The advert contains a visual image that reinforces the slogan.
The key image is the super sized bottle, which grabs the attention of the audience as it is centred in the middle of the advert. It has condensation on it, which appeals to the sense of taste, especially when you’re thirsty! I t is highlighted by a shadow and displays the Virgin™ logo, which makes it easily identifiable. The other dominating images are of elderly people of a multi- cultural background. The images appeal to a wide audience. Old and young people can relate to them and find them humorous.
I think the elderly people in the advert challenge the stereotype and are portrayed as being “cool”, just as the soft drink claims to be. The slogan “stays cooler, longer” also refers to the idea of a longer lasting coolness which directly relates to the elderly people who have out- witted the inevitability of growing old.
Firstly, in the bottom left of the poster there is an image of an old, wrinkle covered woman who bears the lines of age and is wearing a “granny- knit”, woolly jumper. These features suggest an elderly status. However, the woman also has a youthful burst of vibrant, pink dye in her hair and she’s wearing a booming pair of headphones. She also has a “scrunched” expression on her face as if to say, “I like this music, hard core!” She therefore challenges the stereotype and promotes the slogan.
Secondly, the man in the bottom right is also elderly and looks like he may come from an aristocratic and English background. He has a silver comb over of hair and wears a suit and a monocle to further express his high status. However, once again, he undermines the stereotype by having his moustache dyed a third bright red, a third of his natural white and a third blue, as if to say “Poppycock Punk!” He carries the slogan, “Stays cooler, longer” well.
Finally, in the top left of the advert is another, surprising, old man, a Hindu this time, of a religious and spiritual background. He has half a head of grey hair, a moustache and a “split” beard to match - a typical old man! However, he also displays a bindhi on his head and he wears a “hippie- looking” necklace and “Ali G” style sunglasses on his fore head. He stands topless. He may even be a typical “teen” having a water fight on a hot, summer’s day. His expression of toughness and confidence shows he has a youthful attitude.
I n conclusion, the images’ “youthfulness” prove effective. They connote the feelings of “cool” and slickness, and present elderly people in a positive way. The advert is successful in getting its message across that growing old may not be so inevitable after all! With Virgin™ Cola, you stay cooler, longer!
By Hadeel Maksoud
