The goal of
most media messages is to persuade the audience to believe or do something.
Hollywood movies use expensive special effects to make us believe that what
we’re seeing is real. News stories use several techniques – such as direct
quotation of identified sources – to make us believe that the story is
accurate.
The media
messages most concerned with persuading us are found in advertising, public
relations and advocacy. Commercial advertising tries to persuade us to buy a
product or service. Public relations (PR) "sells" us a positive image
of a corporation, government or organization. Politicians and advocacy groups
(groups that support a particular belief, point of view, policy, or action) try
to persuade us to vote for or support them, using ads, speeches, newsletters,
websites, and other means.
These
"persuaders" use a variety of techniques to grab our attention, to
establish credibility and trust, to stimulate desire for the product or policy,
and to motivate us to act (buy, vote, give money, etc.)
We call these
techniques the "language of persuasion.” They’re not new; Aristotle wrote
about persuasion techniques more than 2000 years ago, and they’ve been used by
speakers, writers, and media makers for even longer than that.
Learning the
language of persuasion is an important media literacy skill. Once you know how
media messages try to persuade you to believe or do something, you’ll be better
able to make your own decisions. Advertising is the easiest starting
point: most ads are relatively simple in structure, easily available, and in
their original format. Media literacy beginners are encouraged to learn the
language of persuasion by examining ads. Keep in mind that many media messages,
such as television commercials, use several techniques simultaneously. Others
selectively employ one or two.
1. Association. This persuasion technique
tries to link a product, service, or idea with something already liked or
desired by the target audience, such as fun, pleasure, beauty, security,
intimacy, success, wealth, etc. The media message doesn’t make explicit claims
that you’ll get these things; the association is implied. Association can be a
very powerful technique. A good ad can create a strong emotional
response and then associate that feeling with a brand (family = Coke, victory =
Nike). This process is known as emotional
transfer. Several of the persuasion techniques below, like Beautiful
people, Warm & fuzzy, Symbols and Nostalgia, are specific types of
association.
source:
reason:
The ad tells idea with something already
liked or desired by the audience which is about safe water. Because water
is part of our world. We must keep it clean.
.
2. Bandwagon. Many ads show lots of people
using the product, implying that "everyone is doing it" (or at
least, "all the cool people are doing it"). No one likes to be left
out or left behind, and these ads urge us to "jump on the bandwagon.”
Politicians use the same technique when they say, "The American people
want..." How do they know?
source:
reason:
The ad use
"over 99 billion served" to show the audience or readers that many
people come and buy McDonald's.
3. Beautiful people. Beautiful people uses
good-looking models (who may also becelebrities) to attract our attention. This
technique is extremely common in ads, which may also imply (but never promise!)
that we’ll look like the models if we use the product.
source:
reason:
The ad shows a beautiful people and also
celebrity. She is Bella Hadid, model and actress. The ad attract the audience
that their make up will looks good if they use the product.
4. Bribery. This technique tries to persuade
us to buy a product by promising to give us something else, like a
discount, a rebate, a coupon, or a "free gift.” Sales, special offers,
contests, and sweepstakes are all forms of bribery. Unfortunately, we don’t
really get something for free -- part of the sales price covers the cost the
bribe.
source:
reason:
The ad persuade the
audience with words "buy one get one free every friday" so they hope
the audience will buy the coffee.
5. Celebrities. (A type of
Testimonial – the opposite of Plain folks.) We tend to pay attention to
famous people. That’s why they’re famous! Ads often use celebrities to grab our
attention. By appearing in an ad, celebrities implicitly endorse a product;
sometimes the endorsement is explicit. Many people know that companies pay
celebrities a lot of money to appear in their ads (Nike’s huge contracts with
leading athletes, for example, are well known) but this type of testimonial still
seems to be effective.
Source:
reason:
The ad shows famous
people. He is Cristiano Ronaldo, famous footballers and model. The audience may
will be interested to buy the watch. Especially for his fans.
6. Experts. (A type of Testimonial.)
We rely on experts to advise us about things that we don’t know ourselves.
Scientists, doctors, professors and other professionals often appear in ads and
advocacy messages, lending their credibility to the product, service, or idea
being sold. Sometimes, “plain folks” can also be experts, as when a
mother endorses a brand of baby powder or a construction worker endorses a
treatment for sore muscles.
source:
reason:
The ad shows that the Dental Centre in
Canada is recommended by doctor. He is Dr. Ron Brat, a dentist in Canada.
7. Explicit claims. Something is
"explicit" if it is directly, fully, and/or clearly expressed or
demonstrated. For example, some ads state the price of a product,
the main ingredients, where it was made, or the number of items in the package
– these are explicit claims. So are specific, measurable promises
about quality, effectiveness, or reliability, like “Works in only five minutes!”
Explicit claims can be proven true or false through close examination or
testing, and if they’re false, the advertiser can get in trouble. It can be
surprising to learn how few ads make explicit claims. Most of them try to
persuade us in ways that cannot be proved or disproved.
source:
reason:
The ad use words "fast
whitening action from 1st night" which is measurable
promises. The audience may will be encourage to buy the product.
8. Fear. This is the opposite of the
Association technique. It uses something disliked or feared by the intended
audience (like bad breath, failure, high taxes or terrorism) to promote a
"solution.” Ads use fear to sell us products that claim to prevent or fix
the problem. Politicians and advocacy groups stoke our fears to get elected or
to gain support.
source:
reason:
The ad shows the audience about solutions
of having a bad breath. If you can look at the bottom of the ad clearly, you
will find some words which is benefits for using the product.
9. Humor. Many ads use humor because it grabs
our attention and it’s a powerful persuasion technique. When we laugh, we feel
good. Advertisers make us laugh and then show us their product or logo because
they’re trying to connect that good feeling to their product. They hope that
when we see their product in a store, we’ll subtly re-experience that good
feeling and select their product. Advocacy messages (and news) rarely use humor
because it can undermine their credibility; an exception is political
satire.
source:
reason:
The ad is funny
because it shows before and after lion use shampoo, some people will interested
to buy the product because the image is cute and funny.
10.Intensity. The language of ads is full of
intensifiers, including superlatives (greatest, best, most, fastest, lowest
prices), comparatives (more, better than, improved, increased, fewer calories),
hyperbole (amazing, incredible, forever), exaggeration, and many other ways to
hype the product.
source:
reason:
The ad tells the
audience that the product of toothpaste that claims to “build strong teeth”.
One might determine that this particular toothpaste would make your teeth
strong enough to easily bite through more reasonable objects.
