Advertisement
In today's world advertising is an important part of our economy.
Advertisers are hired by companies, to come up with ads that will sell
their product. Advertisers and marketers say that the world of advertising
is very important, because it helps run the capitalist society that we have
in this country. They say that by advertising, it keeps the economy
running. However, advertisers go way to far in trying to sell their
product. They use a language full of euphemisms to try and trick the consumer
into thinking their product is the best on the market. They use such ploys
as applying their product to children, knowing that children are
inexperienced in the today's market, to try and sell their product. They
also use things like color and coarse language to make the product appeal
to the consumer. Advertisers go too far in their advertisements, in order
to compete with their rival company, and to make money. Your job is to
figure out exactly what each word is doing in an ad- what each word means,
not what the advertiser wants you to think it means." In this quote,
William Lutz describes a form of language that is widely used in
advertising. (Goshgarian 313) The use of doublespeak helps advertisers make
their product seem as if it is a miracle product. In doublespeak
advertisers, don't use definite words. This makes the product have no
definite levels of how good the product works. The only thing these words
express is that the product has exponential or never-ending possibilities.
In this way advertisers are able to show, legally, that their product has
absolutely no flaws. Most advertisers try to make their product seem better
then any other product that is on the market. With the use of doublespeak
they may use lines like, "this product takes out virtually all stains".
(Goshgarian 303-304) However, what does virtually really mean? If the
product can not get out all stains, what stains can't it get out? If
advertisers told people this in their TV commercials, and magazine
advertisements, people would not want to buy the product. That is why they
throw in words like practically, virtually, and almost, so that they are
not telling the whole truth, yet they are not lying either. Lutz talks
about other "weasel words" used in doublespeak in advertising. Words like
"new and improved", "acts fast" and "like magic" help advertisers in making
their product seem better then others. (Goshgarian 304-306) When an item is
new and improved, what is it improved from? What was wrong with the old
version of this item? Also, if there was something wrong with the old item,
what is to say that there will not be anything wrong with the new item?
Still consumers travel down the aisle of different stores and see "new and
improved" and they figure it's has to be the best of them all. Let's
examine "acts fast". When an advertiser describes the product with the
phrase "acts fast" they try to show that the item will work faster then
other products. However, what exactly does that mean? Does the product run
fast, cook fast, drive a car fast, or speak fast? It is not known exactly
what the product does. People assume that the product that "acts faster" is
the best product for them. Sometimes advertisers use the word "like" in an
advertisement. This stops the consumer from concentrating on the product,
and exactly what it can make your life "like". If an advertiser claims a
certain tire makes your car drive like it is floating, people start
thinking about their car floating. Personally, I would rather drive a car
that floats, and so would most consumers. This makes the consumer want to
buy this product, and once again the advertiser wins. Lutz makes a good
point in saying that these doublespeak slogans help sell products.
"Remember, the ad is trying to get you to buy a product, so it will put the
product in the best possible light, using any device, trick or means
legally allowed." (Goshgarian 313) Another thing advertiser use in their
commercials is the use of additives or accessories. In the advertisement of
a product, an advertiser may say that the product has a high amount of a
certain chemical that no one that uses the product actually has heard of
before. If people hear things like "Certs contains a sparkling drop of
Retsyn" (Goshgarian 311) Consumers hear this and say, "wow Certs is better
then Tic Tacs because it has Retsyn!!" However, in reality, what on earth
is Retsyn" For all anyone knows Retsyn is the leading cause of gum disease,
who knows. Consumers hear scientific words like this and think that this is
coming from a smart scientist that knows that Certs is better because it
has Retsyn. Another example of advertisers trying to sell their product by
any means necessary is the tobacco industry. On most cigarette
advertisements, it shows a few good-looking men smoking the cigarette that
is being advertised, and they are surrounded by a few great looking women.
Advertisers find this to be a perfect way to sell their product. If they
have their advertisements focus on children, then the kids, who do not have
much experience as a consumer will believe every word the advertisement
says. For example, if a child sees a commercial for a brand new toy on the
market, advertisers will show the toy almost life size, running through
real swamps (puddles) and climbing real mountains (a mound of dirt). In
some instances the toy even takes human traits like language and movement,
on it's own. When a child sees this commercial he right away knows he must
play with that toy. Children don't usually have a job or a bank account, or
any form of their own income, so they always go to their parents first when
they want something new. If the commercial works correctly, the young child
will be bugging his or her parents for that toy until one of them takes
them to the toy store. Throughout this aisle, the child sees such items as
Lion King action figures, balls, games, coloring books, videogames, CDs,
and other paraphernalia. With the movie that the child had scene fresh in
his or her mind. The toys remind them of the fun time they had at the
movies the other day. They quickly find their mother or father in the store
and try to convince them to buy the Lion King toys for them because they
remember how much they loved the movie. This works for other products too
besides toys. If a mother wanted to buy her child a new toothbrush, and
they show their child a plain red one, and then one with Simba on it, with
out question they will choose the Simba toothbrush. This is just another
example of how advertisers use children to sell their product and make a
lot of money. Types of images also have a part in how advertisers market
their product. The use of colors in commercials and magazine advertisements
appeal to the human eye. For example. In a McDonalds commercial you never
see the color puke green, brown, gray, or blue. This is because the first
color that the brain associates with food is red and yellow. This is why,
in the McDonalds logo all you see is the "golden arches" with red in the
background. This also may be why Coca-Cola sells more soda then Pepsi-Cola.
The Coke can is predominantly red while the Pepsi can is blue. Damn is a
word that has always been considered a borderline swear word. Nowadays damn
is allowed to be heard on commercial television. When someone hears the
word "damn" on TV it is added to the subconscious of their brain. This
message is stored in the person's brain until the next time they need to go
buy new tires. There seems to be no stopping advertisers as they continue
to toy with our basic emotions to try and sell their products. Advertisers
use euphemisms, color, and bold words to sell their stuff. Advertisements
that lure children and "tough" guys, are things that help advertisers
compete in today's capitalist society. Consumers should start becoming
smarter when it comes to deciding what items to purchase for their family.
|
