Commercial Advertisements in Television Essay

Introduction

Commercial advertisements are very manipulative and use tactics that directly and involuntarily appeal to the mind of the target person. Despite ignorance of the same and disbelief in their effects, advertisements remain complex and significant in choice of products owned by an individual. Usually, commercial advertisements appeal to memory or emotional response. As a result, it creates an intrinsic motivation response that triggers the mind to activate affiliation, self-acceptance, and feign community feeling. In the end, advertisements succeed in appealing to emotions through capitalization on biases and prejudices of people (“Introduction to Media Literacy” 3).

This analytical treatise attempts to explicitly review how commercial advertisements misrepresent the reality in terms of their appeal to needs, desires, and values. Specifically, the analysis functions on the claim that commercial advertisements are created to manipulate our perception on the ‘ideal’. The analysis is based on explict reviews of five commercial advertisments appealing to sexuality. These commercial advertisments are Fair & Lovely ad (2004), DAX Hair Care ad (2002), Nivea Skin Care ad (2009), Qymia ad (2010), and Nivea 48 hrs for Men ad (2012).

Commercial advertisements on gender identity and sexuality

Perception of the mind is often ignited through series of propaganda initiatives aimed at awakening involuntary desire to possess or associate with a product or service. Advertising involves building friendly partnership and working relationship with a market segment without necessarily having physical contact with it. In fact, the main source of exchanging information and advertising products is through audio visual medium. Therefore, through timely appeal to emotions and self-prejudice, advertising agencies have realized that human mind is often skewed towards embracing the ‘perceived goodness’ and need to identify with ‘the ideal’(“Introduction to Media Literacy” 4). Interestingly, these aspects are clearly painted as perfect in the various advertisements about products and services.

At the beginning of the last decade, female sexually was widely embraced as shifting from dependency to independency. This was well captured in the DAX Hair Care advertisement which portrayed the symbol of perfection in the image of the beautiful user of the air product. The advertisement appeals to beauty and youthfulness as part of the feminine subjectivity. The commercial is strategically sound since it is designed for the women audience and is driven by the object of perfection designed to convey information to women about the attractiveness of their hair.

Several advertisement criteria have succeeded in influencing human mind into buying products, especially after the same have triggered their minds. For instance, ‘name calling’ as a propaganda advertisement instrument is often tactfully employed towards creating a dismal image of poor quality in order to arouse either fear or mistrust in the minds of customers. Through these damaging epithets, advertisements will portray to the mind negativity on a particular rival product while painting the advertiser’s product as ideal. Through use of dull and depressing words in name calling, the mind is easily swayed towards the targeted perception as designed by advertisers. In fact, when properly presented, name calling may result in permanent erection of “unpleasant connotations in many people’s minds” (Bowden 63).

Within the Fair & Lovely commercial in the year 2004, the product is presented to the targeted audience as the best alternative to generic product since it embraces ‘greenness’. However, the previous contents were retained when aloe vera was added to the ‘green product’. During this period, there was an upsurge in the greenness campaign (Winchester 557). The advertisement is focused to persuade women about the relevance of the product since everybody wants a healthy and glowing skin. Bad skin is depicted in this commercial as the worst enemy to the freedom of women.

Besides ‘name calling’, use of glittering generalities on a product or service aims at influencing the involuntary urge in the mind, to identify with attractiveness or glittery of the product as painted in colorful advertisement. Often, an average mind would easily be influenced by brightness and attractive presentation. In the process of decoding this message, mind is actually tuned towards accepting the rather imperfect product as perfect and very attractive. As a result, the customer would purchase such as product based on influence of the glittery on the mind. Through envision creation of a simultaneous but independently functioning need to identify with attractiveness, a customer is easily swayed into buying the advertiser’s appeal when purchasing (“Introduction to Media Literacy” 4).

Often, the attractiveness is displayed in tonal variation and language affirmativeness that directly appeal to positives emotions among target audience of the pitched idea. In the end, target audience will “accept the product without thinking very much about what the glittering generalities mean-or whether they even apply to the product” (Bowden 65). The same strategy has been found useful in tuning minds of the mass when passing glittery messages.

For instance, in the Nivea Skin Care commercial of the year 2009, the image of the famous singer Rihana is clear and is meant to push the agenda of perfection. The advertisement appeals to beauty and youthfulness as part of the feminine subjectivity. The target market wants to always remain sexy, young and beautiful as the image displayed in this advertisement. The image shows a slim and youthful lady associated with the modern model lifestyle.

Reflectively, the excessive focus on body appearance has contributed to high usage of this cosmetic product. The advertisement has utilized the youthful image of the famous singer to build cultural and social values that associate the product with smooth skin. The product emphasizes the culture of freedom and happiness as visualized in the image of the famous singer. A potential customer may be persuaded to purchase this product frequently to enjoy the freshness and freedom as displayed in the advertisement image. The decision may be influenced by the need to have a smooth and fresh skin to feel the freedom promised in the advertisement image (“Introduction to Media Literacy” 3).

Analysis: How commercials manipulate perceptions

Advertisement offers cognitive perspective of product or service perception to influence the purchasing pattern of members of the target group at the individual level. In product market, life style defines the activities clients are involved in such as beliefs, opinion, health aspect, and interests. Therefore, response to a commercial advertisement will originate from the bandwagon technique which heaps pressure on the mind to follow the perceive crowd.

As a result, the response will form the risk reversal element. Reflectively, human beings are conscious of cueing and are easily influenced to participate or buy a product or service which reminds them of such vivid moments (Winchester 561). The aspect of appealing to ideals of the target population has been perfected by contracting the popular celebrities in the five commercials. Through recommendations from renowned celebrities, the target consumers are persuaded to try out the ‘ideal’ product recommended by their favorite celebrities (“Introduction to Media Literacy” 5).

Through timely appeal to emotions and self-prejudice, the five commercials discussed above were created to skew human mind towards embracing the ‘perceived goodness’ and need to identify with ‘the ideal’. Interestingly, these aspects are clearly integrated as perfect in the commercials through use of bright and powerful communication themes such as the brand name.

A television commercial is pronounced successful when it creates a reliable, informed, and passionate appeal to perception of the target. This is achieved by advertisers through presentation of exaggerated testimonials of the product or idea to target audience. Often, the testimonials aim at triggering ‘identity socialization’, since the target would embrace the product or idea based on recommendations from idol or celebrity figures admired by many (“Introduction to Media Literacy” 6).

Interestingly, advertisers would capitalize on endorsements through testimonials from such figures to promote sales. For instance, in subtle difference makes image stereotyping a perfect situation in minds of target persons. Therefore, when the image of the user as projected in such an advertisement resembles the perceived satisfaction of a customer. Factually, situational image use an advertisement lowers rationality as it raises heavyweight reasoning that is associated with perceived perfectness sense in human mind.

For instance, in the Qymia commercial of the year 2010, and the Nivea 48 hrs for Men commercial of the year 2012, the images in these advertisements appeal to the modern lifestyle which is characterized by perfection, healthy living, and fitness. The mental agenda is heavily influenced by sound and sight of an object. When the stimulus of mental response is evoked, the mind is swayed towards accepting the choice among present alternatives (Winchester 563).

In advertisement, companies have internalized the need for uniqueness in display, space, packaging, and prominence to easily woe the mind into concentrating on the item. As a matter of fact, in this sense, advertisement might facilitate balancing of display and actual perception on a product with several alternatives that share same physical presence. Basically, what makes a product more salient than others is its ability to get noticed. For instance, when shopping in a supermarket, it is almost certain that customers will be wooed by display that resembles their mental position (“Introduction to Media Literacy” 6).

Through advertisement, the probability of salience is doubled, especially on products that are perceived as important in daily life. For instance, through repetition, an advertiser is in a position to maintain familiarity in conscious mind for a particular product. Therefore, repetition boosts salience especially in sound effects advertisement such as jingles which keep ringing in the conscious mind of a potential customer. The same can take the form of cueing which basically appeals to memory of sound and other mnemonic evoking memories. These elements are cleverly integrated in the five commercials.

Conclusion

Generally catchy commercials have higher chances of recognition by the target audience than dull commercials. In fact, less catchy commercials may not work well with the perceptions of the target audience. Creation of content is extremely essential when appealing to customers of diverse social and ideological inclination. Cueing of the perceptions of the target audience was well organized and executed in the five commercials that appealed to sexuality. Therefore, it is in order to state that commercial advertisements are created to manipulate our perception on the ‘ideal’. The five commercials are created and presented on the parameter of influencing the perception of targeted customers. The commercials appeal to sexually through ideal images.

Works Cited

Bowden, John. “The Process of Customer Engagement: A Conceptual Framework.” Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, 17.1(2009): 63-74. Print.

Introduction to Media Literacy. New York: Media Literacy project, 2014. Print.

Winchester, Michael. “Positive and negative brand beliefs and brand defection/uptake.” European Journal of Marketing, 42.6(2006): 553-570. Print.