CommercialsA brief introduction

Summary

Advertising and propagandaThe 14 most commonly used advertising techniquesLength of commercialsAnalyzing the product: Mountain DewRelevant facts

Advertising and propaganda

AdvertisingIs when a company is trying to sell theirproduct by trying to make/convince youto buy their product; in other words theyare trying to make as much money as possible.

PropagandaIs advertising and/or infomation that is presented in a biased way. Its also meant to influence the way we think and/or persuade us.

Advertising Targets:People with money!Generally people between the age of 18-49 because:1. They are the ones who live on their own. 2. They are more likely to change their minds about what they buy and use, because younger people dont make many decisions on their own and older people are more decided in their ways.

The 14 most commonly used advertising techniques

Ideal KidsHeart StringsFamily FunSounds GoodExcitementCartoon CharactersBandwagonScaleOmissionFacts and FiguresRepetitionsAre you cool enough?Product PlacementStar Power

1.Ideal KidsThe kids on commercials are always perfect looking and wearing the latest styles. That is to try to make younger kids buy the toy, because it will make them look like those kids in the commercial.

2. Heart StringsThese ads draw you into a nice/sweet story that makes you feel good; you see a family being nice to each other and helping each other. It makes you feel nice and want to buy the product.

3. Family FunThis technique makes it look like you just have to buy the product the commercial is trying to sell. If you do, your family will be happy.

4. Sounds GoodMusic and sound effects are put in commercials to add to the excitement of the commercial, particularly ads aimed at kids. The little songs you hear are just a another way to make you think of the product, because the songs sometimes get stuck in your head.

5. ExcitementThis technique makes the product look more exciting than it really is. The advertisers will add fast beat music or dramatic music and will flash images across the screen.

6. Cartoon Characters By having a funny-looking cartoon character representing a product kids remember the product.

7. BandwagonBandwagon makes it look like everyone is buying the product. It gives the impression that youll be a loser or will be out of style if you dont buy the product.

8. ScaleThis technique is when advertisers make a product look bigger or smaller than it really is. They do this by doing close ups to make the product look big and long shots to make the product look small.

9. OmissionOmission is when advertisers dont tell you the whole story. Like Part of a balanced breakfast is saying that its part and not mentioning that the breakfast would still be healthy without it.

10. Facts and FiguresThis technique is when advertisers use facts and statistics to make the product look reliable.

11. Are you cool enough?Are you cool enough? is when commercials show you people who look cool using the product and youll be cool too if you use the product.

12. Repetitions In this technique the advertisers hope that if they repeat the commercial over and over people will buy it. Also the advertisers will repeat the same message over and over again during the short commercial.

13. Product PlacementCompanies that sell clothes will put their name on the product, so the person wearing it will be advertising the company. This also goes for other things other than clothes. Advertisers also put their brand name in lyrics in songs, music videos, movies.

14. Star PowerStar Power is when the company pays celebrities to tell you what to eat or wear. An advertisers thinking is that if a celebrity tells you its good you will think its good and buy it.

Length of CommercialsThe length of a commercial is generally30 seconds or less, but there arealways exceptions. Its usually 30 seconds or less because they dont want to bore you to death, make youlose interest and forget about the commercial and the product.

Analyzing the product: Mountain DewThe commercial for Mountain Dew shows a guy on a bike chasing a cheetah to get his Mountain Dew back.This commercial targets 7-39 because it showed young adults in it which set the age.A chase accrued, which added a sense of excitement. Also the technique of Are you cool enough? was implied because when the guy chased the cheetah he appeared cool.

Relevant facts

Advertisers spend about $200 billion a year on TV advertising The average cost for Super Bowl ads is $2.6 million per 30 second spotThe average American watches about 24,000 TV commercials a year