Advertising Techniques Handout

1.
Humour
2. Fear - In advertisements, speeches or even newspaper articles we see that writers and speakers
appeal to their audience's sense of fear. If you can make people scared, then they will believe or buy
anything. We see it in advertising, political campaigns and public service announcements. It is an
age-old technique used many campaigns from the 'War on Terror' to the 'War on Drugs'.
This story by The First Post is critical of an article in The Sun, which appealed heavily to fear and
invented a story to scare people. A study of the original article and The First Post's exposure of The
Sun's lies would provide good material for a written task 1 or 2.
3. Bandwagon Effect - The bandwagon effect is a propaganda technique that suggests one should
do something because everyone else is doing it. It is an argumentation fallacy, because something
does not have to be true if everyone is doing it. It comes from the idea of a parade, where happy
people go by on bandwagons and people in the crowd have the urge to 'hop on'. The bandwagon
effect is an age-old technique used to recruit soldiers for war or sell hamburgers to the masses.
This McDonald's ad is a good example of the bandwagon effect. We see happy people walking by
and eating at the restaurant. If we want to be as happy as the people in the ad, then we had better
eat at McDonald's.
4. Shock advertising is used to gain attention. If an advertisement is controversial, then it gains free
publicity through the press and on blogs. Even though this kind of publicity can be negative, it is still
publicity nonetheless. Shock advertising leads to brand awareness and an eventual rise in sales.
Many companies that use shock advertising do not even show their product. The interest is solely on
creating a very memorable impact on their audience. Studies show that shock advertising can be
effective for increasing brand awareness and sales (see Buyology by Martin Lindstrom).
There are many examples of shock advertising from Benetton to Calvin Klein. The image included
here is of Isabell Caro who posed for Oliviero Toscani and Nolita Jeans before dying of anorexia. This
picture of her emaciated body shocked many viewers and gave Nolita Jeans a lot of publicity.
5. Conflict Advertising - Including a conflict situation in an ad helps sell a product or an idea. This
advertising technique relies on the audience's interest in seeing the conflict resolved. If you think
about how children are intrigued by fights in the schoolyard, then you understand how conflict in
advertising draws our attention to a product. Conflict in advertising can sometimes lead to shock
advertising if scandalous or controversial, which goes one step further in creating a media-hype and
drawing attention to the product or brand.
An ad as simple as this one for Benetton in the early 1990s includes a conflict that the audience
wants to see resolved. We ask questions like: "Why are these men handcuffed together?" "Who has
the key?" "Is one a police officer and the other a criminal?" Asking questions like these engages the
audience with the image and eventually the product and brand.
6. Testimonial - If someone tells you about a personal experience with a product, then you are likely
to believe that person. If that 'someone' is a celebrity, you may be even more likely to buy a product
that he or she is promoting. This kind of story about a personal experience is known as a
'testimonial'. Testimonials are used in advertising and political campaigns to appeal to the audience's
sense of ethos, i.e. that which gives someone credit or a mandate. If a third, independent party has
approved of a product or idea through experience, then the speaker's voice is validated. What's
more, the audience may be able to identify with person giving the testimonial. This is why the
person from the testimonial usually comes from the same demographic group as the target
audience.
The 'Got Milk?' campaign is a good example of advertising that relies on testimonials and celebrities.
This particular ad featuring Susan Sarandon comments on the importance of milk in providing the
nutrients tha families need. She is speaking as both a film star and a mother. Many mothers can
understand this importance to provide nutrients for children. Many people simply think: "If Susan
Sarandon drinks milk, so should I!"
7. Problem-solution technique - If you can convince someone that they have a problem, you can sell
them a solution. This is the kind of persuasive technique used by advertisers and politicians, known
as the problem / solution technique. If an audience can identify with one characteristic of the
problem, then they can be persuaded to believe that they must buy into the solution.
This technique can be found in the Tylenol ad opposite. Many people find air travel a stressful
experience. If you can identify with the stress and headache that this passenger is suffering from,
you may want to buy Tylenol too.
8. Anti-advertising technique - An anti-ad draws your attention to and makes you aware of the
conventions of advertising. In effect anti-ads seems to tell the audience that they are smart enough
to see through the tricks played by advertisers. Not only does an anti-ad break the rules of
advertising. It shows you how and why they have done this.
The notion of anti-advertising started in the 1950s with the 'lemon' ad from Volkswagen. 'Lemon', is
another world for a bad car. Calling their cars 'lemons' shocks readers into reading the rest of a
lengthy infomercial about their strict inspection process at the Volkswagen factory.
APPLICATION:
Below you see several ads. For each ad, state which techniques are being used, by filling out a
table like the one above
1. https://youtu.be/gh5xu35bAxA
2. https://youtu.be/h-8PBx7isoM
3. https://youtu.be/AhxZSs8aMNE
4. https://youtu.be/FHDKHKixKdY
Answers:
What kinds of advertising techniques are used and to what

Advertisement
effects?
German Coast Humor - This ad relies heavily on humor. The joke lies in the
What kinds of advertising techniques are used and to what
Advertisement
effects?
misunderstanding between the coast guard man and the sailor

aboard the 'sinking' boat. Humor makes the ad memorable.
Guard Problem / benefit - This ad shows what kinds of problems can
arise when people do not understand each other. Learning
English is the solution to this problem.
Fear - The expressions on the child and mother's face are

scared, as they watch their father crash is make-believe car.
They scare the audience into wearing their seatbelt.
Embrace Life
Problem / benefit - If you want to prevent your loved ones from
getting hurt or killed in a car accident, encourage them to buckle
up. The benefit is that you keep your loved one.
Fear - The ad scares us about the consequences of global

MTV global
warming. Planet Earth is at first very pristine but eventually very
warming ad
polluted.
Fear - This ad uses fear to warn young adults about the effects
of cocaine. We see the girl deteriorating throughout the evening,
Party All Night ending up at the wrong places with the wrong people
Testimonial - The ad follows one girl. It is her story, which is
meant to convince us to stay off drugs.
Anti-advertising - The copy reads: 'Too old to be in an ad'.

Ironically this is an ad and older women are in it. This Dove ad
Pro-Aging comments on the false reality that advertisers present to the
public and targets a demographic group that is rarely targeted by
ads: older women.
Shock - The sight of men kissing and Muslim women kissing is

very shocking for a lot of people.
Conflict - There are physical conflicts in this film that catch our
attention and startle the audience. These are resolved, as we
UnHate
have a tendency to want to see conflicts resolved.
Bandwagon effect - Everyone seems to be joining in the
celebration of love. People begin kissing and dancing. This joy
seems to be contagious.
Discussion
The ads in this lesson were selected carefully, as they claim to improve you or the world in some
way. This brings up several discussion points worth considering.
Can advertising change the world for the better? If so, how can they do this?
1. Do advertisers have a responsibility to promote social progress?

2. How have advertisements changed in the past 10, 25 or 100 years? What does this say
about this history of mankind or the progress of a nation?
3. Find an ad on YouTube that might instigate social progress. Present this to the class in a
mini-presentation. Explain how this ad instigates social progress.
Optional Tasks for LP:

After studying a particular ad campaign closely, write a letter to its art director, praising or
condemning his or her use of various advertising techniques to achieve certain ends.
Pretend that you are the art director of a particular ad campaign, such as that of Calvin Klein,
Benetton or even 'Got Milk?' Ask a classmate to interview you for your further oral activity.
Remember that you must demonstrate your understanding of the original ads in your interview.

Advertising Techniques Handout

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Advertising Techniques Handout

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Advertising Techniques Handout

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1.

What kinds of advertising techniques are used and to what

misunderstanding between the coast guard man and the sailor

Fear - The expressions on the child and mother's face are

Fear - The ad scares us about the consequences of global

Anti-advertising - The copy reads: 'Too old to be in an ad'.

Shock - The sight of men kissing and Muslim women kissing is

1. Do advertisers have a responsibility to promote social progress?

Optional Tasks for LP:

You might also like