Emotional Appeal Used in Visual Advertising

In almost any commercial you watch today, you will notice that they rarely tell you something about the product being sold. Neil Postman stated, "The television commercial is not all about the character of the product to be consumed. It's about the character of the consumers of products" (128). I find this very true. Commercials combine the use of sight, sound, color, motion, and often humor to put forth an effective message. Within a short period of time, these advertisements can capture one's attention and convince one to buy their product. It doesn't matter if the product has value, as long as the advertisers are able to make a consumer believe it does. Playing off of emotions is one of the most effective ways to lure people in because you can't refute emotions. Commercials can effectively manipulate and create false perception using emotional appeal to further benefit the advertiser.

Television commercials are a persuasive form of communication. One sees tons of images of famous people, breath-taking scenery, fun vacations, and of happy families spending quality time together. But what is this telling a consumer about the product? It tells those who may buy them about their own fears, insecurities, anxieties, and dreams. They do this by constantly reminding them that their lives could be better if they buy this or that. These images are used for psychological purposes and to play off of emotions because we are emotional beings. People respond to this visual advertising rather than other forms because they like to visualize themselves using the product or service. This is the point that Postman is trying to get across. It doesn't matter what the product is or whether it's good or bad. It's all about the character of the consumer. They have taken the focus off of making a product of value and have put it toward making a consumer feel valuable.

In addition to the emotional response that advertisers are trying to create, people need to realize how this response is created. Advertisers use many things to capture one's attention, such as: sight, sound, color, and motion. A commercial that I analyzed is a good example of this. It's about a product that almost everyone has heard of. It's one of the most famous pills for erectile dysfuntion - Viagra. The advertisement is pathos-based because it relies on an emotional response from the person who is watching it. In this case they are playing off of sexual appeal, sexual desires and humor. It makes the man watching it feel that if he buys it, he will be more appealing and able to satisfy his sexual desires. Using humor, the man will subconsciously associate the product with having fun

A very catchy tune was also used and is most likely used so the audience will associate the product with being young and energetic. The whole commercial was black and white with a blue tint to relate to the pill they're selling. This