COMMUNICATION DESIGN I

PERSONAL VALUES

Comfortable life Equality Excitement Freedom Fun, exciting life Happiness Inner peace Mature love Personal accomplishment

Connect with buyer values!

APPEALS USED IN ADVERTISING Fear Humor Sex Music Rationality Emotions Scarcity

FEAR APPEAL

Fear appeals are used because they work

Fear increases both the viewer’s interest in an advertisement and the persuasiveness of that ad.

HUMOR APPEAL

Used in 30% of all ads. Should be related directly to customer

benefit.

HUMOR APPEALS Capture attention Hold attention Often win creative awards High recall scores Consumers enjoy funny ads Evaluated as likeable ads

SEX APPEAL Breaks through clutter Use has increased Not as effective as in the past Advertisers shifting to more subtle sexual

cues.

SEX APPEAL APPROACHES

Subliminal techniques Sensuality Sexual suggestiveness Nudity or partial nudity Overt sexuality

SEX APPEAL – SUBLIMINAL APPROACH Sex cues or icons placed in ads Goal is to affect subconscious Not effective Ad clutter requires stronger ads to get

attention

SEX APPEAL – SENSUALITY APPROACH Women respond to sensuality approach Viewed as more sophisticated Relies on imagination

Requires greater mental processing Can be more enticing than raw sexuality

SEX APPEAL - SUGGESTIVENESS Suggests sexual themes or nudity Clairol “Yes, yes, yes” campaign Encourages use of imagination

Requires greater mental processing

SEX APPEAL – NUDITY OR PARTIAL NUDITY Used for wide variety of products Attract attention Not always designed to solicit sexual

response Underwear commercials

Decorative models

SEX APPEALS IN INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING

Varies across countries Determined by religions, culture, and value

systems

DISADVANTAGES OF SEX APPEALS

Less influence today Reduces brand recall Affects comprehension Creates dissatisfaction with one’s body

Females Males

Stereotyping of females

MUSIC APPEALS Has intrusive value. Gains attention and increases the retention

of visual information. Can increase persuasiveness of an

advertisement

MUSIC APPEALS

• What role will music play?• Will a familiar song be used or new song

created?• What emotional feeling should song solicit?• How does the music fit with the message of

the ad?

RATIONAL APPEALS

Print media is well suited for rational appeals. Used by business-to-business advertisers. Well suited for complex and high involvement

products.

EMOTIONAL APPEALS Based on three ideas:

Consumers ignore most ads. Rational ads go unnoticed. Emotional ads can capture attention

Creatives believe emotional appeals are the key to developing brand loyalty.

EMOTIONS USED IN ADVERTISING

TrustReliabilityFriendshipHappinessSecurity

Glamour/luxurySerenityAnger

Protecting loved onesRomancePassion

Family Bonds

SCARCITY APPEALS

Based on limited supply. Based on limited time to purchase. Often tied with promotion tools such as

contests, sweepstakes, and coupons. Encourages customers to take action.

STRUCTURE OF AN ADVERTISEMENT

Headline Subheadline Promise of a benefit Amplification Proof of claim Action to take

QUESTIONS?