Understanding Ads 1 Five thousand! That's about how many advertisements you are exposed to in one day if you live in a metropoli
tan area. Researchers' estimates of the actual number vary from three hundred to six thousand, but everyone knows that ads are everywhere. Advertising goes down the street with us; it's on trains, planes, and buses. It shouts at us at sporting events from the banners on display and the electronic scoreboards. Advertising takes the form of brand names and logos on our clothing and accessories. You can't even turn on the television or check out your favorite website without watching an advertisement. At every point, advertising shouts, whispers, or cajoles us to “Look at me! Buy me!” But how exactly do advertisements do it? As it turns out, just a few formats characterize the majority of ads. A graphic image shows a city street with colorful ads on tall buildings 2 One common, and very persuasive, type of advertisement is known as the association ad. This advertisement could be a picture of a famous person wearing a designer's shoes or clothing, or driving a certain type of car. It does not bother to tell or show you what the product does. Instead, the message is “you've got to have this product because of who you'll be associated with if you own it or wear it.” 3 “Look,” one ad implies, “there's your favorite basketball star wearing those sneakers. Don't you want to be just like him?” 4 “And listen,” the next ad invites, “to the soundtrack that forms the rhythm and beat of the lives of the cool people who wear these headphones.” 5 These types of advertisements may also present an entire socioeconomic or cultural group that it intends the viewer to associate with the product. Moreover, every one of them dresses, looks, and acts the way that the target audience aspires to look, dress, and act. “You want to be those people?” it asks in a voice so subtle you can barely hear it. “Well, then,” it answers for you, “buy our product.” A graphic image shows a group of teenagers modeling the latest clothes and wearing the same brand of sneakers 6 Another ubiquitous advertising type is the “you've got to have it because look what it does” format, which demonstrates a product. For example, one stain removal product proves to be superior to another by removing a seemingly impossible stain from a shirt. In a television commercial, the viewer learns how rapidly and perfectly a super chopper cuts up vegetables. Often the accompanying voice you hear is straightforward, knowledgeable, and quite friendly. In another variation of this format, the voice can be cautionary instead, warning you about what will happen if you try a competitor's products. A graphic image shows an ad featuring an appliance that chops and blends food 7 Ads that tell a story are found most often in commercials, as a story relies on multiple images and a sequence of events. This format has infinite variations, but imagine one that goes like this: A man is driving in his old car and pulls up next to a new, shiny car at a stop light. He looks at the driver in the new car and imagines that he is the one driving the fancy new car. Images flash across the screen—images of how different the man's life would be if he had that car. Suddenly he flashes back to reality. The brand flashes on the screen or is highlighted prominently on the rear of the new automobile as the light turns green and the car speeds off in front of him. The last scene of this story? Man driving to the new car dealership for—you guessed it—that same car. 8 Then there's the endorsement, which often features someone's voice describing the product. You have to have this product because . . . I lost weight with it . . . my hair grew back . . . I can do the things I used to do again . . . the basic message being, “look what it did for me!” The speaker may be holding the product, tasting it, wearing it, showing before and after pictures. This format is about the message. A photo shows an ad featuring a woman with a bright white smile and holding a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush 9 You will notice from these examples that the lines between ad formats can get blurred; some endorsement ads tell stories, and some story ads also depend on associations. However you categorize them, it does appear that most advertisements fall into a pre-determined type. While that may seem repetitive, it is a model that works. Out of five thousand ads a day, one of those is certain to catch your attention. What is the intended purpose of the passage? a. to inform readers about different types of ads b. to entertain readers with stories about advertising c. to persuade readers to avoid advertisers d. to inform readers about the amount of ads they see
