BECOMING A CRITICAL CONSUMER. By Jaspreet Kaur Gloppen

Transcription

1 BECOMING A CRITICAL CONSUMER By Jaspreet Kaur Gloppen

2 Before reading the text, discuss the following points: 1) In what ways do you think that advertisements try to influence your buying choices? 2) How do you know when you are being exposed to an advertisement? When was the last time you saw an advertisement? Perhaps yesterday, when you were playing a football game? Maybe you noticed a smiling football player on the billboards around you? Or was it an hour ago when you were going to watch a video on YouTube and were made to watch an advertising video for five seconds? Could it be on a news website? Or perhaps a magazine you read? You did not necessarily think I need new shoes! when you saw the image of Cristiano Ronaldo smiling on that billboard, but perhaps you looked at the logo in the middle of the advertisement and your subconscious made a subtle observation: Nike, I know that brand! Marketing companies have different strategies to sell a product. The goal is to create brand awareness. One way to do this is to get popular celebrities to endorse certain items. Young people think these celebrities are cool, and in order to emulate this coolness factor, the impressionable youngster purchases items that make him or her relate to a sports celebrity or a movie star. In order to make informed choices, it is important to understand how advertising manipulates our choices and our spending. The first thing we need to do is to understand the intent of an advertisement. The goal of an advertisement might be to get you to: - try a new product - continue using a product - support a charity - change your opinion of a certain person (in the case of political campaigns) TARGET AUDIENCE Advertisements try to maximize the effectiveness of their advertisers campaign by targeting a specific section of the population. Target audience, in the context of marketing, simply means the group of consumers that a product or a service is aimed at. For example, advertisements for antiageing products are generally directed at older women, whereas an acne cream often aims at 1

3 teenagers. Once the target audience is established, the marketing companies start working on strategies so they can create content that will influence consumers buying choices. RHETORICAL DEVICES Rhetorical devices are techniques used to persuade the recipients of a message. Aristotle, in his book Rhetoric, wrote about three modes of persuasion which serve the function of putting the audience in a certain frame of mind in order to influence their behavior. These persuasive devices are called logos, pathos and ethos. LOGOS When an advertisement presents logic and facts as a mode of persuasion, we can say that it is trying to connect to the audience using logos. Statistics can have the same effect on people. Look at the advertisement in Figure 1 for a new type of mascara called fiber mascara from L Oréal. The intent of this advertisement is to entice consumers who want to look as if they have thicker lashes without using fake ones, to try a new product. The presentation of what appear to be facts and statistics triggers the consumer s sense of logic. It boasts of a formula that has 4 mm fibers to add length., and tells you that the sculpting fibers wrap every lash to build an incredible false lash effect. In addition, there are phrases like our most technically advanced. They sound factual but are hard to verify. Figure 1 2

4 Now look at the following advertisement for the Kia car (Figure 2). It tries to get consumers to buy this car by using logical reasoning as an argument. Examples of this is the sequence of thought if then and buzzwords in phrases like A quieter, smoother drive. By buzzwords we mean words that don t really mean anything but sound factual. The argument is that if you buy these cars then you will get the best car for a quieter, smoother drive. The rest of the advertisement uses data, including statistics. The print reads, It s the luxury car certified to deliver a quieter cabin and a smoother, better overall ride than the Audi A8 4.0T, BMW 750i and Lexus LS 460. The advertisement also draws attention to facts like a foam-padded cabin for exceptional insulation, a high-strength steel structure, and a fully independent front and rear suspension. Figure 2 By comparing itself to established luxury car brands, Kia, widely considered an economy car, takes a leap towards being a luxury brand itself. It is to be noted, however, that we are never told how Kia concluded that it is quieter, better and smoother than its competition. Was there a survey involved? Were there test-drives, for example? It goes without saying that the companies who sell these products will say positive things about them. That is why we as consumers need to think for a minute and reflect if we can trust the arguments that the buzzwords are making, especially when the source for the claims being made is not given. To conclude, we can say that facts, statistics and datas presented as evidence in advertisements are examples of the persuasive technique logos. As consumers, we need to be careful not to get swayed by numbers and to question the source of the data. Now, we will work with pathos. Logos, as is stated above, appeals to consumers logical reasoning; pathos, on the other hand, appeals to consumers feelings. 3

5 PATHOS Figure 3 Pathos is a rhetorical device that intends to get an emotional response from an audience. It is an appeal to emotions. Pathos can play on such emotions as fear, happiness, and enjoyment. Look at the powerful advertisement for Amnesty International (Figure 3), a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting human rights. We see a child with a black eye against a dark backdrop. The slogan states, He has his mother s eyes. This ad with its message of despair plays on the phrase people use when they talk about inheriting a parent s looks. The difference here is that playing on words shows us that not only is this child a victim of domestic abuse, but so is his mother. This advertisement hopes to invoke our sympathy towards the mother as well as our protective instincts towards children, thus drawing on the rhetorical device pathos. The advertisement also says, Report Abuse. These words implore us to stop being silent and passive observers of abuse and domestic violence. Figure 4 is another advertisement by Amnesty International and shows a victim of landmines, a child who has lost a leg. The image imitates the custom where children often scribble on the plaster casts of those with broken legs. At first sight, it looks like the child has just broken his leg. However, another look reveals the shocking fact that it is actually a stump and there is no plaster cast. Instead, what seemed to be a plaster cast is actually just print. A closer examination shows that the text on the plaster states When you lose a leg you don t just lose a leg. You lose playing tag with your friends. You lose running in the relay 4

6 Figure 4 The advertisements in Figures 3 and 4 play on our feelings of sadness and sympathy. But pathos can also play on our feelings of nostalgia, our sense of adventure, our desires, our fears and worries, as well as humor and excitement. Positive and negative adjectives vary accordingly to the response the advertisement requires. Let us look at the advertisement for lash mascara in Figure 1 again. We saw that the vocabulary included adjectives such as sculpting, voluminous, exclusive, sculpting, and outrageous to evoke a positive response in the audience. The model looks pleased with her eyelashes and the mood created is one of overall satisfaction with the product she is advertising. These positive adjectives are presented using a font size that is easy to read. It is interesting to note here that the incredibly small print is actually a disclaimer that discloses, Gwen is styled with lash inserts. Lash inserts are actually false eyelashes! Besides logos and pathos, a third form of persuasion called ethos also gives us an insight into how advertisers try to influence a consumer s choices and actions. 5

7 ETHOS Ethos is a form of argument that appeals to ethics and tries to convince the audience of someone s credibility. Credibility means trustworthiness, or in other words trusting someone or having confidence in their expertise, experience and abilities. The idea is that if we trust and respect certain people, their character traits will be transferable to the product they are advertising. Advertisements often use celebrities like movie stars or sports stars to endorse their products. It establishes the credibility of the product as we, the audience, might think If these football shoes are endorsed by an expert and experienced player like Lionel Messi, then they must be good. But even though Norwegians are very proud of their ski star Petter Northug, they will not trust his endorsement for football shoes. Skis are, of course, another matter altogether. Endorsements of products by celebrities are also called their testimonials. Testimonial derives from the word testimony, which means proof or evidence. The advertisement for Cover Girl in Figure 5 appeals to ethos. This is because the advertisement plays on the fact that the famous pop star Taylor Swift, known for her delicate complexion and clear skin, claims that if you do not buy Cover Girl, then your face will not be as clean and light as it would if you did buy it. The name of the wellknown brand, Cover Girl, is also clearly visible as the text size is bigger than the rest of the text in the advertisement. The image Figure 5 of Taylor Swift dominates the poster, and with good reason. Pop stars are often known for their looks, and if someone who needs to look good in her 6

8 profession recommends a certain brand or product, we might be inclined to trust that recommendation. We could say that Taylor Swift is quoted in this testimonial, and her testimony is quite credible and is transferable to the product. Professional experts are often used to quote testimonials. For example, in order to sell a toothpaste whose selling point was no cavities, a real dentist will increase the credibility of the product. In order to become a critical consumer, you need to ask yourself questions like: 1) Who is being quoted in the testimonial, and can we trust their testimony? 2) Would I still buy this product if the celebrity/expert/public figure were not featured in the advertisement? So far, we have been discussing how we can use the theory of rhetoric to understand ways in which advertisers try to persuade an audience to take a certain action. A careful inspection of the advertisements we have looked at reveals that a successful advertisement often has a combination of all the three rhetorical devices discussed above. For example, in the advertisement for the L Oréal mascara in Figure 1, we see that all three persuasive tools are present: 1) Statistics and facts provide a logical argument for the use of the mascara (logos) 2) The advertisement uses pop star Gwen Stefani to sell their product (ethos) 3) Positive adjectives and a model who seems happy with her looks creates a positive emotional response in the audience (pathos) These different modes of persuasion appeal to people in different ways, yet they are dependent on each other to be convincing. For example, it is easier to get an audience to connect emotionally (pathos) to a message if the message comes from someone whose testimony is considered credible (ethos). Similarly, if an advertisement uses statistics and facts (logos) from a credible source (ethos), it can lead to a greater emotional response (pathos) from the receiver. In addition to the art of rhetoric, advertisers use other techniques to improve the overall effectiveness of their advertisements. Let us look at how the structure of an advertisement affects its overall effect. LAYOUT Layout is the composition of the advertisement. In other words, it is the relationship between different elements presented in the advertisement. Some of the components in the advertisement can be: - Slogans - Type of lighting 7

9 - The use of colors - Relationship between text and image Slogans Slogans are catchy tag lines or phrases used in advertising to make a company, product or idea memorable. Certain well-known slogans are Just do it by Nike, Because you re worth it by L Oréal Paris, and who can forget the following slogan by MasterCard? There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard. Type of Lighting Lighting, which can be defined as the deliberate use of light, is an essential tool to create a certain mood or ambience in an advertisement. A bright light can help create an upbeat and optimistic atmosphere. This type of lighting is often used to photograph food, as the colors seem more vivid and stand out. Bright light in portraits creates a happy and youthful effect. In Figure 6 we see how the lighting provides a glamorous glow and creates a soft, dreamlike image. As a consumer you are invited to indulge in this fantasy; if you buy this perfume you can be as alluring and irresistible as the model in the image. In contrast, lighting creates Figure 6 drama and show intensity of emotion in the advertisement against the use of animals for fur by PETA 8

10 as seen in Figure 7. Dark tones and black shadows dominate the advertisement, and this creates a tense mood and sheds light on (pun intended) the barbaric treatment of animals used for fur. The color white is almost non-existent and black tones capture the dark reality of animal cruelty in the world. Dark colors create a gloomy mood and have a grounding effect. Dark tones and shadows grounds the consumer in reality, as seen in Figure 7. By contrast, as we saw in Figure 6 above, bright light has an airy feeling and draws you into a world of dreams and fantasies. The Use of Colors Advertisements are a visual medium. Therefore, aesthetics, which means ideas about what appeals to the eye, plays an important role in how a consumer responds to the product being Figure 7 marketed. Bold colors like red, purple and yellow can create a feeling of excitement, passion and adventure. On the other hand, colors like blue and green can create an atmosphere of well-being and harmony. In Figure 7 we see that the body of the dead fox is dominated by red. This color provides a striking contrast to the dark surroundings and makes the fox stand out, which is exactly what the advertisement intends. Imagine this advertisement in black and white; it is doubtful if it would have the same impact as it does right now. The use of colors is an important strategy in content creation. Many products are instantly recognizable because of their particular color. One can even say that they own that particular color within their market. The color red has become the signature color of Coca Cola, and as such, it gives the product a competitive advantage. Relationship between Text and Image Marketing companies also make decisions regarding the size of the font, whether the text should dominate the advertisement, or if an image should be the dominant factor. Most brand names are often displayed using a large font-size. As stated earlier, a recognizable brand name lends credibility to the product being advertised and is an example of the persuasive technique ethos. In contrast, 9

11 disclaimers are added, using very small print which is almost illegible. This is because companies do not want to draw attention to information which might show their product in an unfavorable light. As discussed earlier, in Figure 1, information that Gwen Stefani is wearing false lash inserts is presented in very small print. Following the principle that a picture says more than a thousand words, most of the time, when celebrities endorse a product, their image dominates the product. We saw this is Figure 1 in the advertisement by Gwen Stefani as well as in Figure 5, where the image of Taylor Swift covers the entire page. These are examples of advertisements where the rhetorical device ethos is important, and the product being sold occupies a secondary position. Now that you are aware of the different elements comprising the layout of an advertisement, let us look at two advertisements and try to analyze their composition. Figure 8 features an advertisement for skin-care products by a brand named Proactiv. The targeted audience is teenagers, as they are more prone to acne. The slogan You have nothing to loose but your acne is catchy and simple. If you use the product, you will lose your unwanted acne. Unfortunately, the word loose is misspelled and should have been spelled lose instead. Bright light creates a happy and positive mood. The image of Justin Bieber dominates the print advertisement, as he is a celebrity most teenagers know of and even worship (in some cases). The color scheme is green and white and Justin s shirt has lots of green in it. It would perhaps be distracting to see a bright red t- shirt here. Green is associated with harmony, and so the idea might be that if you use this product, it will help Figure 8 you gain peace of mind and therefore balance and harmony. Justin is not dressed as a pop star with diamonds or flashy clothes. He is wearing something that makes him one of us, and therefore more relatable. The advertisement also uses a social media platform like Facebook to connect to the targeted audience, teenagers. This advertisement came out in 2011, before Snapchat and Instagram became widely popular. If this advertisement were circulated today, we would perhaps see the icons for Snapchat and Instagram there as well. 10

12 It is true that celebrities often dominate the print advertisements they are endorsing. There are, however, instances where images other than well-known people occupy more space than the text. This is evident from the advertisement by McDonalds in Figure 9. Figure 9 In this advertisement for hamburgers, bright lighting makes the colors stand out. If we look at the color scheme, red dominates. Color psychology suggests that red is considered an appetizing color, which means that red food, or just red surroundings, will make you hungrier. Look at the text scheme: you see three positive words, Big, Beefy and Bliss. The repetition of a consonant at the beginning of words that follow each other is actually a rhetorical device called alliteration, which creates rhythm and make you remember slogans. The slogan i m lovin it, which is the catch phrase for McDonalds, is clearly visible in the bottom right corner. The image of three juicy burgers dominates the advertisement. The names of these burgers are clearly visible. This advertisement s clean design is effective as it adheres to the principle less is more. The lack of complex language, data and statistics makes this advertisement accessible to all members of the public, and many of us will be tempted by the vibrant images of these appetizing hamburgers and will not be able to wait to enjoy them with a cold soda. However, in order to avoid the trap of unconscious consumption, you need to be aware of the manipulative role different elements such as lighting, slogans and colors play in your buying choices. In this text we have talked about ways advertisements try to motivate us to perform a certain action, whether it is to buy a new product or continue to use something on the market. The intent of the advertisement might be to raise public awareness about a certain cause and call for civic engagement like reporting abuse. Advertisements try to maximize the effectiveness of their campaign by targeting a specific section of the population. We have discussed how advertisements 11

13 use public figures to provide testimonials and create brand awareness. Our trust in and respect for these celebrities expertise is transferred to the product they are selling. In order to understand the strategies of persuasion advertisers employ to make the audience relate and respond to a product, we discussed the rhetorical devices logos, pathos and ethos. Finally, we discussed how the layout is chosen. Different elements such as slogans, type of lighting and colors as well as and the relationship between image and text, are arranged with great care to maximize the effectiveness of the advertisement. You should now understand how advertising manipulates your choices and your spending. Hopefully, you can now hone your powers of critical observation and reflection, and become a more aware consumer. Important terms from the text: intent, rhetorical device, logos, pathos, ethos, buzzwords, testimonials, slogan, target audience, design scheme, alliteration, adjectives, credibility, word play, lighting, layout, aesthetics, signature feature such as a signature color 12

14 TASKS 1 Make sentences using the following phrases in such a way that their meaning becomes clear: a. to hone your skills b. to emulate someone c. subtle observation d. impressionable young people e. invoke our sympathy f. more prone to something g. endorse a product h. raising awareness i. to shed light on j. pun intended k. to feel grounded 2 Product placement and content marketing In the text, we talked about advertisements which are direct and which we know are part of a campaign. However, covert or concealed advertising has become very popular these days. Look up the terms product placement and content marketing. Write a short explanation of each term. Look at this video here to see examples of product placement. 3 Analysing advertisements In pairs, find two different commercials and discuss how effective they are in reaching their goals. Analyse them with regard to: 1) intent 2) target audience 3) rhetorical devices (logos, pathos and ethos) 4) layout (slogans, lighting, colors, relationship between image and text) Try to include terms such as intent, target audience, rhetorical device, logos, pathos, ethos, buzz words, testimonials, slogan, layout, lighting, alliteration, credibility, play on words. 13