Advertising Case

I do my grocery shopping once every week. Most goods I buy are necessities: vegetables, fruits, bread, milk, etc; but sometimes I find myself ending up with all kinds of (unnecessary) snacks the time I get to the cashier.

Take for instance, in China the Oreo biscuit is constantly shown on television. In the ad, a little boy "plays around" with his Oreo, takes the lid off, licks it, dips it in rich milk, then devours the whole thing. I've always loved Oreo; the amazing techniques people put in to bring the advertisement alive, vivid, and "seducing" further "interacted" with my subconscious mind, telling my mind that next time I go shopping, buying Oreo is a must-do. I've asked some of my friends--almost everyone knows this TV commercial! Surprisingly, when I go these days, I always wander to the stalls where they sell biscuits to just "look around"--(an excuse to take a longer look at Oreo, to be honest!) I am really surprised at the effect of the commercial on me--I can remember every detail of the ad. I even feel like I am part of it--an engaging audience.

To act rational, I tell myself advertisements are produced and designed to purposely lure you away. And that to "believe" in advertisement will be like you surrendering to the company selling the goods. But I have to admit some commercials are just too irresistible. I remember a couple years ago there was an amusing Dove Chocolate commercial, with a sensual lady slowly cracking open the chocolate and letting the cream flow out. The slow pace of her eating, the elegance of her movements, the mouth-watering feeling you get will make you never forget this ad. I'm really interested in some advertisements because I feel that they are more than promoting the product and earning profits (this is their primary purpose, of course), but a kind of art. I appreciate the beauty of these commercials, where the producers can bring out the best of a product within a few seconds.

Advertisements are directed at making you want to spend money, and this money flows to the company promoting the product. They are there to increase customer value. Advertisements persuade a consumer to notice a product, to gain interests, and to buy it. The whole process is an encode-decode process: advertisements send off certain messages to the consumer; the consumer interprets the content, and the optimal outcome is for the consumer to understand and buy the product.

Many factors influence our everyday consumption other than advertisements. Peer opinions, for example, can alter the way we view our own needs since teenagers all have tendencies to conform. If our peers are influenced by daily ads, if they are bombarded by ads each day, then their opinions will more or less be affected, and in return, affect us. Diamond rings are no longer diamond rings, but a symbol of everlasting love. By accepting certain advertisements, we are in another way accepting the symbolism behind the ads; and these symbols play large roles in our lives.

Maslow hierarchy of needs states several stages in human needs, with physiological needs at the bottom, and self-actualization at the top. Consumption is only able to satisfy the few needs at the bottom. It can be said that too much emphasis and attention from a person on consumption will forbid this person from climbing higher up the ladder (to self-actualization.) Frequent advertisements on how to lose weight and look skinny has made women completely