Chapter 11

Question 1: Select 2 advertisements you consider good and 2 you consider bad. Include the ads (or copies) and explain what makes each a good/bad ad.

Here's one that I especially despised:



I thought that this was tasteless and frankly, quite offensive. And to top it all off, the commercial had absolutely NOTHING to do with burgers. It was a blatant appeal to sexuality and wish-fulfillment. And seriously, what was up with the car?

And here's a few commercials I thought were good:



Frankly, it's because they're funny. That's pretty much the only reason I will sit up and pay attention to commercials anymore.

Question 2: Is advertising effective? Why? List some examples of where it did and did not influence one of your buying decision.

Well, of course it is, or it wouldn't be a multi-billion dollar industry. Advertising affects us both consciously and unconsciously, both positively and negatively. Sometimes we are aware of every facet of the advertisements we are viewing. Other times, as we learned in class, it seems as though there are plenty of subliminal messages playing on the two subjects our minds are constantly thinking about--either sex or death. Advertisements are successful because they don't just sell us the product. They sell us the emotion behind the product. If they are trying to sell age-defying makeup, they'll also sell a fear of aging. If an advertiser is trying to sell clothes, they also sell the confidence and attractiveness those clothes are supposed to come with. Advertising works because it makes us think that the product will fulfill an emotional need, rather than a physical one. And sometimes it does. But ultimately, that is why advertising is so effective.
Ads usually convince me to buy something when they give me an actual reason, rather than just throwing images out. Or, frankly, if the advertisements are really really cool, I'll be more inclined to buy the product. I remember liking a Pepsi commercial so much that the next time I bought a soda, I remembered the unique commercial and I bought Pepsi, even though I like Coke better.
However, when ads are thoughtless or boring, I get bored in return, and I tend to steer away from buying those products. The same goes for if an ad is especially tasteless or raunchy. I remember that when I saw the Carls Jr. commercial that was practically pornography, I didn't go back to that restaurant for years, just on principle. It offended me, I didn't think it was clever, so I refused them my business.