Advertising

Jamie Oliver's TED wish was 'to teach every child about food'. I would argue that we should also teach every child (and adult for that matter) about advertising tactics. We are exposed to advertising in almost every form of information medium; TV, the Internet, radio, the newspaper, etc. Sometimes we see an ad for something that really draws us to buy something but we seldom to think about what made us suddenly want to buy something that prior to seeing the ad, we didn't know exist and didn't even know we need! If we stop and think for a while about what's the message of the advertisement other than the obvious (buy our product!), we will start to realize how psychologically manipulative advertising can be. Advertisements take advantage of our many of our yearnings. For example, advertisements for beauty products or shampoos typically show the 'user' suddenly attracting attention from members of the opposite sex after using the product. On the surface, the advertising message is that our product is effective (maybe in preventing dandruff... or in making hair healthier). But the underlying message is 'use our product and people will start noticing you'. Another underlying message is 'if you don't use our product, then you are not being as attractive as you can be'. Another example is typically seen in advertisements for technology products. For instance, Apple iPhone advertisements show examples of social interactions made possible by their phones; a father using video conferencing to stay in touch with his child, grandparents video conferencing with their grandchild on her graduation day. Other phones show examples of people organizing their 'happening' social lives using their phones; arranging for parties, having awesome multiparty chats. On the surface, the message is 'our phone has lots of cool features'. But the underlying message is 'if you use our phone, maybe you can have a cool social life'.

Another insidious advertising tactic has been to target the 'aspirational consumer'. This consumer is one who cannot yet afford to buy the product but aspires to be in the class of consumers that can afford the product. This tactic is used frequently by luxury brands such as LV, Coach and Gucci. Why do we see advertising for these luxury products everywhere even though the demographic that can really afford these products are very few. It's actually worth the effort to advertise to people to can't afford your product because you create a desire and positive impression for the product. For example, people associate these luxury goods with glamour and celebrities. Once people can afford to buy the product, they will. It's a method for 'inculcating' and 'educating' future consumers. If these luxury labels only sold to people who can afford their products, their sales wouldn't have grown that fast. However, by targeting a new demographic; the aspiring consumer, luxury labels have massively expanded their consumer base. This is the reason why luxury labels are creating 'entry-level' products. For example, you might not yet be able to afford an LV handbag. No worries. You can get an LV wallet first. Then once you have an LV wallet, you start associating yourself with the LV brand, which means that in the future when you have the means, you are more likely to buy their product.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't buy anything, nor should we totally ignore advertising. All I'm saying is that the next time you see an ad and feel like buying something, sit back and analyse your chain of thoughts. What in that advertisement made you want to buy the product. How are they conveying the message? Which of my buttons is the advertisement trying to push? It's one of those things that you don't really notice, but once you start looking out for them, suddenly it's blindingly obvious. It's an interesting exercise in self-examination and will hopefully lead to more rational buying decisions.