Introduction
The two advertisements selected for the paper are print ads for Porsche from chapter 4 and Visa credit card from chapter 5 (Belch & Belch, 2011). The Porsche advertisement shows a minimalist print ad with a photograph of a Porsche 911 and a tagline stating “Pity you have nothing left to wish for.” The second print advertisement is that of Visa credit card, which shows the picture of a firefighter and the writings show various levels of security that Visa provides to secure financial transactions.
Main Body
Porsche is a high-end luxury car that targets people with high income. Porsche’s advertisement targets the self-actualization of the audience, appealing to the instinct of viewers that appeals to the attainment of the ultimate desire. Porsche is a luxury car and hence, cannot be achieved or bought instinctively. On the contrary, it requires a lot of investment and hence, incites a sense of pride and loftiness that is exemplified through the ad.
On the other hand, the credit card ad by Visa reinforces the various security levels associated with the product that will ensure safe transactions targets an audience who are conscious of their money and spending and want to ensure nothing is wasted. The difference in the target audience for the two ads is apparent as the first targets those who have affluent while the second targets those who are well off but not affluent.
The target customers for Porsche are high-income professionals who are more likely to read magazines like Times or Wall Street journal. These people are more likely to visit expensive boutiques or malls. These people are usually successful in life and have a need to satisfy their self-actualization need for recognition. The ad aims to attain congruency of the product and self-image of the targeted consumers (Sirgy, 2015). Visa credit card targets at mid-income to high-income individuals or families that aim at optimal utilization of their resources. To these families security is important; hence, the ad reinforces their need for security.
The print ad of Porsche should be placed in lifestyle and automobile magazines, business newspapers, certain social networking websites, and billboards near high-end shopping malls. These three channels will help in targeting the right customer groups. Further, it will increase the visibility of the product for customers who are most likely to purchase the product. The advertisement for Visa credit cards can be given in magazines and newspapers, billboards near banks and offices, and social networking websites like LinkedIn. The ad for Visa credit card will do well in these mediums because they will reach the target audience directly.
Conclusion
Social status is an important element that Porsche targets. Porsche targets the consumers who aim to derive a social status through their purchase of automobiles in this advertisement. Following Maslow’s hierarchy theory, self-actualization is attained when all other needs i.e. need for food, shelter, safety, luxury is attained (Toncar & Munch, 2001). Therefore, Porsche associates its product with the last need of humans, i.e. self-actualization.
This need becomes apparent among people who have attained everything that a man needs or desires. The last need, i.e. self-actualization according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, is the need that goes beyond all other humane needs or requirements. The tagline on the Porsche ad confirms this desire of man – “Pity you have nothing left to wish for”. On the other hand, the Visa ad aims at the security need of man. Security is required when the man has attained his need for food and shelter. Security is required to make man’s life simpler and well rounded. Man aims to reduce risk and enhance stability (Phillips & McQuarrie, 2004). The visa advertisement targets those consumers who have attained that state and seek security.
Table 1: Comparison Matrix.
References
Belch, G. E., & Belch, M. A. (2011). Advertising and Promotion. London: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Phillips, B. J., & McQuarrie, E. F. (2004). Beyond visual metaphor: A new typology of visual rhetoric in advertising. Marketing theory , 4 (1-2), 113-136.
Sirgy, J.M. (2015). Self-image/product-Image congruity and advertising strategy. Proceedings of the 1982 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 129-133). Las Vegas: Springer International Publishing.
Toncar, M., & Munch, J. (2001). Consumer responses to tropes in print advertising. Journal of Advertising , 30 (1), 55-65.