Sunday, November 11, 2012

The Hidden Message of an Advert




The Hidden Message of an Advert
                                                          by Preslava Petrova (Bulgaria) 


Every day while watching TV we cannot avoid seeing adverts as well. They are an inevitable part of every single TV program and this is not at random.

Each one of us is familiar with The Coca-Cola Company. Their products are widely spread around the world. The company is also very well known for their advertisements, especially the Christmas ones. When the Christmas adverts start showing up on TV we all know that the holidays are approaching. 

The advert that I chose to talk about is one of these. Its message is to persuade as many people as it can to buy the product by tactfully using the holidays. The leaders of the company paid a lot of money in order to achieve this effect, because if it had been done the right way, it would have gained times more.
Throughout the year people impatiently wait for Christmas to come. This is also a part of a technique used by the Coca-Cola Company in order to accumulate consumers, who belong to the “target group”. I personally think that the advert in question is designed particularly for children. To support my opinion I would say that adolescents are most likely to trust what is being told or shown to them. The ad tells about a magical Christmas, which is what all kids believe in – that miracles happen on Christmas. There are a couple of clues used to achieve this. On the one hand is the fact that the advertisement is animated, which immediately transfers the “target group” to an imaginary world.  On the other hand is music. The melody is truly catchy and gets stuck into people’s minds easily. Thus, whenever the song is being heard, the image of the advert will emerge and will unconsciously make somebody buy a bottle of Coke.

While watching an advert we do not pay attention on the “tools of persuasion” which aim to make us buy the product. But if you look deeper, those techniques can be easily spotted. Association is such a tool, used in the advert. Santa is the symbol of Christmas. Despite not being shown he is actually presented. The trucks passing through the town spread gladness, enjoyment and happiness just like Santa does. But instead of presents they give away bottles of Coke.

Like in every story, in this one there is also a part that remains not being told. The ad shows just the basics of the story matching with most people’s ones. After watching the ad viewers complete the created picture with personal details that are significant to them. These can be memories, habits or traditions, which bring them back in times they were glad and contented. Doing this the advert aims to get into their mind and stay there.

To sum up I would say that consumers should be more cautious, because on the surface of it advertisements are made just to promote a service or a product. But in reality they are sources of media which aim to manipulate audience’s minds.



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