Advertising

“Advertising is everywhere you look, whether it is in the newspaper you pick up daily or on that billboard you see while driving down the highway. Some people may say that they are not in fact influenced by the advertising that is thrown at them each day, and that they do not fall into it, but everyone does.”

So, according to the text above, advertising is everywhere and everyone is influenced by ads. This is true: everywhere you go, in every country, in every city, there are ads which, for most people, seem invisible. We are used to ads and after some time they do not call our attention anymore, but sometimes, or always I would say, we are subliminally influenced by them. Reading a newspaper, watching TV, listening to the radio, browsing the internet, walking on the street, everywhere you see ads and even if you do not pay attention to them, you are being influenced as some parts of you brain activate while you are unaware.

So, what is the real function of ads? Just stay there and make the landscape look better (or worse, depends on how you see it) or provoke a response in the reader. I would say that the function is to provoke a response and for that objective there are certain techniques which I'll mention briefly describe:

Emotional Appeal

This technique of advertising is done with help of two factors - needs of consumers and fear factor.

Promotional Advertising

This technique involves giving away samples of the product for free to the consumers. The items are offered in the trade fairs, promotional events, and ad campaigns in order to gain the attention of the customers.

Bandwagon Advertising

We can now say that this image is completely false.

This type of technique involves convincing the customers to join the group of people who have bought this product and be on the winning side

Facts and Statistics

Here, advertisers use numbers, proofs, and real examples to show how good their product works. 

There are many other techniques, but in general, all of them help ads to provoke a response in the reader. So now we can say that everyone is influenced by ads, whether they want or not as there are always subliminal messages that make us react unconsciously towards something. 

Iphone Mini Ad

Commercial Analysis

I found a Gatorade advertisement which, in my opinion, seems very interesting as it shows the evolution of the beverage from the beginning in the 1960`s to the present day. It all started in the 1960’s, era in which players were struggling and needed something to calm their thirst. This is why a scientist creates a beverage called “Gatorade” to help them. The commercial then continues showing different sports and players winning or doing amazing movements and drinking Gatorade.

The ad encourages sportsmen or people in general who like to train different sports to buy Gatorade as it going to help them get better and “continue the legend”.

The ad is set in different places and years, from a 1960’s super bowl final to a 1990’s basketball court or contemporary tennis court and baseball stadium. In the ad, lots of people appear according to the setting: football players for the super bowl, basketball players for the basketball court and a tennis player for the tennis court. There is no celebrity endorsement.

Some of the visual techniques used are the long shot, which is very effective to show a whole stadium or a complete football team and the close up, which is used to show specific faces when drinking Gatorade and how they feel about it.

The Enforcement Policy Statement on Food Advertising of the United States is fully respected as the beverage clearly shows its nutrient content as stated in the policy.