How Advertising Perceives Its Audience
As we watch and study our favorite shows and commercial on television, we are unaware that there are researchers studying us. Advertising is used in many ways and comes in many shapes and forms. No matter what we do or where we go we’ll always be surrounded by advertisements whether we know it or not. We will always be a victim of self advertisement, from the clothing we wear to the cars we drive. We are strongly influenced by advertising because as human’s we see something that we want and advertising turns it into a false need. Everything we own includes some sort of logo or brand name that advertises the type of person we are. Companies know that in order to sell a certain type of product, they have to appeal to a certain type of buyer. This is known as stereotyping customers.
Car manufactures are the best at stereotyping because they realize that a fast sports car will appeal to guys while sedans and minivans appeal more to women. Stereotyping customers is not always 100% accurate because there are many different factors. Whereas women might like a fast sports car if it was convertible, men might like a sedan for the improved gas mileage. Advertisements also make people dream of a better life but only if they buy the product. Therefore advertisements persuade people into thinking that the product is a part of their personality, developing a need.
If we purchase a product as a result of great advertising, chances are that we don’t need the product. There was a Lincoln ad in Money Magazine that showed a very sophisticated looking sedan driving away from the city. It appears to be in the middle of the afternoon when most people are at work. The phrase in the ad, “my dream is to fly” has many meanings to it (Lincoln). One main meaning is to fly away or get away from the ordinary. I think this ad is very precise on the type of people who would buy this car. It aims towards both business men and women that are stressed at...
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