Advertisement is Brainwashing
Simone Heidenkummer, Katharina Schwesig, Katharina Sieghartsleitner
Introduction
The so called Western civilization lives in a materialistic world today. The worshipping of stuff, no matter if we need it or not, seems like a new form of religion, with the new , priests being advertisers who try to convince us to buy their products. Because of their efforts, our attitudes changed and we want to possess as many things as possible, even if we can’t really afford them. In short: Advertisement is used to change our thought processes ertisement processes.
1. Definitions for „Advertisement“ and “Advertising”
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary s „Advertisement is a notice, picture or film telling people about a product, job, or service.“ Chuck Blore, Advertiser „Advertising is the art of arresting the human g intelligence just long enough to get money from it.“
2. How does Advertisement work basically? dvertisement
Advertisement has got 4 basic dimensions dimensions: • • • • The product or service The message The medium The target group
The main target of advertisement is to sell a product or service. To achieve this goal, the message is . really important. There a 2 general ways to design the message message: • • informative and argumentative psychological and emotional
Today, most of the advertising messages are psychological and emotional designed though it depends psychological designed, a little bit on the goods and services sold (f.e. clothing ads of luxury labels are very emotional, while ads for fridges tend to be more informative and argumentative).
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2.1. The Aida Formula The Aida Formula shows the way the message works:
Attention Interest Desire Action
A well designed message attracts our attention, so that we can develop interest , into the product. If we’re interested enough, desire is created and we want to buy the product. The final goal of the message is to pro provoke action: The consumer shall buy the product.
2.2. Learning Theories in Advertisement Many conclusions from learning theories are used in advertisement to improve the effect of the message on our psyche. Here are a few of them who are used a lot lot: • • • • Repetition Pawlow’s theory of conditioning Learning from a model (Imitation Imitation) Association/ Projection
3. How does Advertisement manipulate us?
There are many tactics advertisers use to manipulate us. The most common 3 advertisement tactics are: • • • Image for Sale Full of Emotions Sex Sells
3.1. Image for Sale Most advertisements do not only promote a product, they also promote a certain image. A connection between the possession of the product and a desirable image is suggested. Of course, for most of the products, this connection doesn’t exist in the real world – it’s only in the ad. ost t In advertisements using “Image for Sale you often find the following psychological theories realized: Image Sale”, • • Conditioning “If you drive this car, people will admire you. If you.” Imitation Katjes, yes!”, ll Heidi Klum says “Katjes, yes yes yes! so you should buy it (and maybe you’ll get a top model by doing so…)
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worshipping
3.2. Full of Emotions Creativity and emotions are very important in advertisement. Concerning products we don’t really need, messages with low emotional content have nearly no effect on our desire to possess a product. Very important for the creation of emotions are colors and music. Musical influences are achieved through: • • • Style Tempo Rhythm
Music can serve the overall promotional goals in one or more of several capacities. To do so, advertisers adopted the mechanisms of entertainment and the music clip branch. Entertainment: • • • Makes the ad more attractive Candy coat spoken narrative sales pitch Engages the attention of the listener
Music videos: • • • • Origin and purpose of music videos is promotional Entertainment is no longer the goal, it is a tool Products can be promoted between successive music and advertisements Self advocating
The HOBA Experiment: • • • • Example for emotional uploading in advertisement. Sample group was alternately shown the picture of a soap called HOBA and pictures of beautiful landscapes and big-breasted women In the end, they associated the product with the nice pictures Although there was no logical connection!
3.3. Sex Sells In 1953 the 1st Playboy was edited, before only a few erotically approaches where made. With this magazine the slogan “Sex Sells” was born and sex in advertising got accepted by the society. How “Sex Sells” works: • • • • • Attractiveness provokes positive responses Products without sexual connection are sold easier in combination with an attractive man or woman It’s human nature to be curious about sex Sex provokes positive emotional responses Through sexual images you can direct the visual attention
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The issue of gender in “Sex Sells”-Ads: • Ads for women: o Man desires the woman in the ad o Woman desires her look/ being Ads for men: o Woman desires the man in the ad. o Man desires his muscles, car,…
•
There is also a lot of criticism on “Sex Sells”. Sexual ads are blamed for: • Obscenity • Objectifying women • Reinforcing sexism and stereotypes
4. Ethics in Advertising
Is there such a thing like ethics in advertising, or should it be? Of course, advertisement is regulated through laws, and there are rules you can rely on. But normal ethics is suspended in the business area. Fashion and style are important for the human culture, and as Freud found out, object love is part of the human nature, so it may seem to us like materialism is something natural and good, but is it?
4.1. Materialism The philosophy of materialism promotes that only things existing physically are important (e.g. money, looks,…). Timothy Kasser, professor of psychology at Knox College, found out that materialistic adults tend to • • • • be more depressed have more behavioral disorders (e.g. eating disorders,…) suffer under physical discomfort have a lower self-esteem
Advertisement promotes materialism. Advertisers sell a whole value system, which tells people that a certain product will make them happy, and if you don’t possess it, you’ll be less worth as an individual. Our needs for love, safety and happiness are abused - in fact, the belief in materialism causes the opposite of the promises in the ads: It makes you unhappy.
4.2. Children Kids need to know the difference between a program and an ad – that’s why it’s forbidden to design children’s ads like a children program. But in fact, many small children can‘t recognize the change from a program to an ad.
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Children are also more likely to be influenced through advertisement, even if they recognize it as an ad. In childhood and puberty the need for love and acceptance is very high, and the value system is still developing. That’s why children and teenagers are more endangered to respond to ads and to adopt their materialistic value systems.
Vocabulary
1. Definitions for “Advertisement” advertising detergent the activity and industry of advertising things to people a liquid or powder that helps remove dirt, for example from clothes or dishes
2. How does Advertisement work basically? ad conclusion conditioning projection target group short for advertisement the formal and final arrangement of something official the training or experience that an animal and a personal haves that makes them behave in a particular way in a particular situation the act of imagining that somebody else is thinking the same as you and is reacting in the same way the group of people who should be effected by an ad
3. How does Advertisement manipulate us? to advocate to approach authoritative capacity image narr
ative to pitch to support something’s publicity a way of dealing with somebody/ something something that you can trust and respect as true and correct the ability to understand or to do something the impression that a person, an organization or a product, etc. gives to the public the act, process or skill of telling a story to try to sell something
4. Ethics in Advertising ethics to suspend the branch of philosophy that deals with moral principles to officially delay something
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Sources
Books Manfred Bruhn, Marketing – Grundlagen für Studium und Praxis, Wiesbaden: Gabler 2002 Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Oxford: University Press 2000 /wiki/Werbung /wiki/Werbepsychologie ezine.articles/?Sex-In-Advertising:-Does-it-Sell&id=14551 www.cbn/livingthelife/features/moneytalks/brainwash.apx Geoffrey Klempner, Ethics and Advertising, 2004. Online ls.cardiff.ac.uk/literature/publications/2004/
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