For me, the phrase “persuasive advertising” brings to mind those vintage advertisements from Sears catalogues and the like, the ones that feature a big image of the product crowded on all sides by lines and lines of text explaining each and every wonderful feature of the item in question. That's as simple as it gets: here's what the product looks like, here's why you should buy it.

– Oh boy, in store laundry demos! I can't wait!

On the other hand, you probably don't base your soda consumption habits on whether or not a particular type of bear enjoys them, yet Coca-Cola runs their famous polar bear ad campaign every year around Christmas. What gives? Why isn't the bear extolling the benefits of drinking a Coke? Why are cigarettes advertised by a camel with sunglasses? Who even is J.G. Wentworth and why is his phone number stuck in your head?

Brand recognition is one of the most powerful weapons in the marketing arsenal. Human beings in general prefer things that are familiar and safe. Consumer studies have repeatedly shown that people are more likely to buy products they recognize. Brand recognition has all sorts of benefits – consumers prefer familiar brands even in cases where other products are superior. Familiarity can even counteract bad reviews (to a degree). With all these things in mind we can see why consumer-brand relationship is a significant area for marketing researchers and explore alternative purposes for advertising.

Reminder Ads

These are advertisements like the aforementioned seasonal Coca-Cola ones. Everybody already knows about McDonald's, Ford, and Walmart. These companies have little to gain from spreading their names further and their customer bases are already so large that recruiting is difficult or even pointless. Die-hard haters aren't going to suddenly decide that Ford is better than Chevy or Walmart is ethical based on seeing a fifteen second ad. Instead, reminder ads just seek to maintain the brand's placement in your mind for next time you're out somewhere trying to make a decision.

Even people who don't regularly shop at big brands can be guilty of this in a pinch – for example, when traveling or trying to shop on a major holiday. Thoughts like “we can just stop at McDonald's” while in an unfamiliar city or “well, at least Walmart will be open” are the result of marketing efforts by companies to ensure you remember them and their reputation for consistency. That big restaurant billboard on the interstate isn't a plea for you to pull over – it's a reminder of what's there when you do. What would a big red sign with a yellow M tell you if you didn't recognize it?

Informative Ads

On a similar note, informative ads aren't necessarily trying to persuade, although they might end up doing so. Think Play-doh's famous “Fun to play with, not to eat!” slogan. Recent ads for fast food chains have also featured this a great deal as they fight inflation-driven customer decline. The appeal isn't to non-customers, but existing ones: come back or come more often, we changed something. The Pepto-Bismol jingle is yet another fantastic example – quite literally just helping you memorize the product's functionality. They can't persuade you to buy a product you don't need, but when you're feeling ill and wonder what medication you need for your symptoms you already have the information memorized in convenient musical format.

Sometimes companies are required to disclose certain information (e.g. the surgeon general's warning on cigarettes). They might elect to do this in the form of an advertisement and use the warning to their advantage. Horror film producers and video game studios have used this tactic by plastering their products with lines like “X-RATED AND ANIMATED” or “BANNED IN AUSTRALIA,” warnings which, while not strictly persuasive, are certainly tempting to a particular variety of consumer.

Image-related Ads

Brand image is hugely important. People are obviously more likely to buy products from brands that match their self image and values, so much so that people often post compilations of stereotypes as memes (“starter packs”). Ray-Ban has no law enforcement relationship, yet wear a pair of their sunglasses atop your shaved head and the questions will start. Products can change how people view themselves and signal to others how they wish to be viewed.

This phenomenon is so strong that Axe body spray creator Unilever had to dial back their nerd-to-sexy campaign because Axe was becoming associated with unwashed weirdos and losing its appeal. Companies work to cultivate their brand image for the purpose of maintaining good customer relationships and thus good sales, and ads of this variety are probably not persuading anyone of anything. Have you ever seen one of those really avant-garde ads for luxury fashion or fragrance brands?

– L◆U◆X◆U◆R◆Y

I don't really get them either. That's okay though, because I'm not the target audience. Like many other members of Gen Z, I value sustainability. Brands instead prefer to target people like me by designing products to appear eco-friendly (but product design is an article for another time). In the meantime, ask yourself when you see an ad somewhere what its purpose is and who it's targeting – there are more answers than you might think.

#marketing #advertising #informative

Rebecca B. – BS Interdisciplinary Studies (Marketing/Computing) Return to home