NAME: LIM JOE ONN

ID NUMBER: 0318679

SUBJECT: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

COURSE CODE: PSY 30203

TITLE: SECOND INDIVIDUAL JOURNAL

CONCEPT INVOLVED: PERSUASION

Persuasion refers to efforts to change the attitude of others through the use of various kinds of messages.

The advertisement selected for this journal is taken from The Star. It was published by MacDonald’s, a

worldwide franchise company in order to promote their new chicken foldover.

As people nowadays are more health-conscious, fast food companies such as MacDonald’s are encountering

competition from other food companies that promise to serve healthier food choices. Thus, MacDonald’s

need to apply persuasion strategies to gain customers from a new target market - people who are more

concerned about their health. Therefore, MacDonald’s came out with the new chicken foldover as a healthier

alternative for burgers, fries and nuggets.

In order to persuade customers to buy their chicken foldover, MacDonald’s advertised in The Star, the most

read English newspaper in Malaysia. Credible communicators are applied in this printed advertisement as

they show what the chicken foldover is made of. On the right hand side of the advertisement, pictures of

flatbread, fresh salad, patties and garlic sauce are shown. This successfully persuades customers to buy the

foldover as people tend to trust food companies that provide trustworthy information about the ingredients

of their food.

According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the most fundamental level of needs is physiological.

Physiological needs include physical requirements for human survival, such as food, water and sexual

instincts. As food is one of the most basic needs of mankind, it has a high tendency to draw attention of

people. This makes food an effective attractive communicator. Hence, the advertisement maximizes the size

of the food it is promoting – the chicken foldover to attract attention of readers. The well-thought-out

composition makes the advertisement attractive and persuasive.

Moreover, successful persuasion involves messages that do not appear to change attitudes. Due to

perseverance effect, the public already had a mind-set that MacDonald’s serve unhealthy food. In order to

change this perception, MacDonald’s need to persuade customers to believe that they serve healthier options

but they cannot convey the message directly. This is due to the fact that messages that forcefully change

attitudes will not be effective. Thus, green is selected as the theme colour of this advertisement as it

indirectly gives out the message that the foldover is healthy, resulting in successful persuasion.

Apart from that, messages with emotional content is useful when persuading people. In this printed

advertisement, words that express deliciousness is used frequently. These include ‘crispy’, ‘juicy’, ‘tasty’

and ‘mouthwatering’. While reading the advertisement, people will crave for the foldover as the

advertisement made them perceive the chicken foldover as something appetizing. Therefore, the emotion of

desire is aroused, making the foldover a ‘must-try’ for customers. Also, the word ‘love’ is placed with the

image of the foldover in close proximity. As people perceive love as something wonderful, they associate

positive feelings with the foldover. Lastly, the words ‘limited time only’ are mentioned, encouraging

customers to try this foldover as soon as possible.

(495 words)