The social norms created by society cause people to look to
products in order to acquire commodities like health, luxury, or
masculinity/femininity. Advertisers’ job is to carefully consider these ideals
and to manipulate products in order to target a specific audience, which is
done in more ways than one. Because of the creativity and keenness of the
advertising world, products like alcohol can be made to be portrayed as healthy
and gourmet cheeses can be appear to be masculine.
Two advertisements that appeal to the health-conscious
consumer is this McDonalds advertisement for a veggie burger and Skyy Vodka’s
ad for a “natural” pineapple-infused flavored drink. The McDonald ad has
vegetables arranged in the shape of a cow, with carrots as appendages, a freshly
harvested potato as a body, and a red pepper as a head, contrasting the
difference between a meat burger and the new addition of a vegetarian meal.
This ad appeals to emotions and the desire to be healthy and environmentally
considerable of the treatment of animals. Also, this makes McDonalds appear to
be a company striving to improve the health of its customers, even when this
establishment is iconic for selling products like a Big Mac. While I personally
only go to McDonalds to satisfy my craving for a juicy burger, overly salty
fries, and a thick vanilla milkshake, McDonalds is now advertising healthier,
more natural options. As a country, health is a prominent subject and being
unhealthy in remotely related to laziness and a lack of motivation, another
aspect enforced in our society, the desire to be driven and successful. People
value healthy food with natural ingredients. 
Another “food movement” that has swept the nation is the
idea of all natural, organic products. Even high carb drinks like alcohol have
made the switch to “natural” products. Skyy Vodka claims to use natural
pineapple instead of a manufactured additive. The picture of the pineapple is
even larger than the actual product, showing the advertisement’s extreme
dedication to expressing the health of this alcoholic beverage. Even luxury
items like wines, teas, and alcohols are promoting all natural ingredients. However,
what is even stranger about our food culture is items typically meant for
enjoyment and taste are being altered so that “eating something is really like
eating nothing.”
I also found an advertisement for Kaptiti Designer Ice
Cream. I never even knew ice cream could be considered couture, but this just
shows how simple, basic, enjoyable foods like ice cream are being altered to be
luxurious, exotic treats. Our society is based around the “American Dream”, and
the more lavish correlates with higher class status. Like in the article we
read observing labels on potato chips, this ad is a way advertisers create
further separation between classes by targeting a higher income audience. In
this ad, an expensive watch is “melting” into ice cream, showing how money and
status is related to selling designer ice cream.
Advertisements also target specific genders and male and
female characteristics. Advertisements geared towards men make ads seem more
masculine, tough, and rugged while ads specifically for women create a feminine,
soft image. Also, in terms of food advertising for genders, food ads for men
focus around “gaining weight” or “bulking up” while food ads for women include
slogans like “slim down” and “lose a pant size in two weeks!”
As I mentioned earlier, even cheese can be portrayed as
manly simply thorough the use of wording or shape of font. This Canadian cheese
company uses the words “Strong. Bold. And a Touch Nutty. SHOW US WHAT YOU’RE
MADE OF.” The font is all bold, almost in an intimidating manner, like a challenge
to eat their cheese. The way the ad is written is targeted towards men, down to
the contrast, font, and simple, impactful wording.
Advertisers have mastered the art of connecting with people
in order to promote messages often enhanced my media in our culture. They latch
on to concepts like history, health, tradition, and convenience. Just through
the slight altercation of a logo, a product, or a phrase, certain audiences can
be targeted through ads’ affective use of rhetoric and manipulation. Although
they are all creative advertisements, something all these ads have in common in
their simplicity and lack of words. Imagery is emphasized in order to get the
point across, and a majority of the ads are conducted in similar fashions,
because most of the time, a majority of ads are attempting to promote the same
ideals for completely different products.
No comments:
Post a Comment