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1、Advertising: The Selling of a Product1 A consumer walks into a store. He stands in front of hundreds of boxes of laundry detergent. He chooses one brand, pays for it, and leaves. Why does he pick that specific kind of soap? Is it truly better than the others? Probably not. These days, many products
2、are nearly identical to each other in quality and price. If products are almost the same, what makes consumers buy one brand instead of another? Although we might not like to admit it, commercials on television and advertisements in magazines probably influence us much more than we think they do.2 A
3、dvertising informs consumers about new products available on the market. It gives us information about everything from shampoo to toothpaste to computers and cars. But there is one serious problem with this. The information is actually very often misinformation. It tells us the products benefits but
4、 hides their disadvantages. Advertising not only leads us to buy things that we dont need and cant afford, but it also confuses our sense of reality. Zoom toothpaste prevents cavities and gives you white teeth! the advertisement tells us. But it doesnt tell us the complete truth: that a healthy diet
5、 and a good toothbrush will have the same effect.3 Advertisers use many methods to get us to buy their products. One of their most successful methods is to make us feel dissatisfied with ourselves and our imperfect lives. Advertisements show us who we are not and what we do not have. Our teeth arent
6、 white enough. Our hair isnt shiny enough. Our clothes arent clean enough. Advertisements make us afraid that people wont like us if we dont use the advertised products. Why dont I have any dates? a good-looking girl sadly asks in a commercial. Here, replies her roommate, try Zoom toothpaste! Of cou
7、rse she tries it, and immediately the whole football team falls in love with her. Thats a stupid commercial, we might say. But we still buy Zoom toothpaste out of fear of being unpopular and having no friends.4 If fear is the negative motive for buying a product, then wanting a good self-image is th
8、e positive reason for choosing it. Each of us has a mental picture of the kind of person we would like to be. For example, a modern young woman might like to think that she looks like a beautiful movie star. A middle-aged man might want to see himself as a strong, attractive athlete. Advertisers kno
9、w this. They write specific ads to make certain groups of people choose their product. Two people may choose different brands of toothpaste with the identical price, amount, and quality; each person believes that he is expressing his personality by choosing that brand.5 Advertisers get psychologists
10、 to study the way consumers think and their reasons for choosing one brand instead of another. These experts tell advertisers about the motives of fear and self-image. They also inform them about recent studies with colors and words. Psychologists have found that certain colors on the package of an
11、attractive product will cause people to reach out and take that package instead of an identical product with different colors. Also, certain words attract our attention. For example, the words new, improved, natural, and giant size are very popular and seem to pull our eyes and hands toward the pack
12、age.6 Many people believe that advertising does not affect them. They know that there is freedom to choose, and they like to think they make wise choices. Unfortunately, they probably dont realize the powerful effect of advertising. They may not clearly understand that advertisers spend billions of dollars each year in aggressive competition for our money, and they are extremely successful. Do you believe that ads dont influence your choice of products? Just look at the brands in your kitchen and bathroom.
