Advertising Today

3 Pages 639 Words

Advertising Today

Beer, cigarettes, perfume, hair products and cars are just a few of the many items advertised in magazines across the globe. Some are sold by tempting the reader with scantily clad men and women posing in exotic locations, looking deep into your eyes and begging you to buy their product. Others are sold by cute animals that appear so nice and friendly that you just have to buy the products. These “tricks of the trade” are what make the rich businessmen even richer year after year. If you study the advertisements closely you will discover that companies sell the same product to different consumers using distinctly varied ads. Since not same people read the same type of literature, the product ads are designed to meet the varied interest of the consumer.
Figure 1 is an ad from Sports Illustrated that advertises Jim Beam Bourbon. This particular ad pictures four men standing in tuxedos in what appears to be a church. All the men are smiling, and next to the picture it says, “You asked them, her father and her. In that order.” At the bottom of the page it says, “Real friends. Real bourbon.” The ad also has a big Jim Beam Bourbon bottle at the lower right-hand corner of the page. The targeted audience for this ad would be middle-aged married men. The ad suggests that this brand bourbon should be drunk only with close friends. It also insinuates that this liquor can bring friends together. The language in this ad plays a big role in selling the product. The words suggest that this bourbon is good enough for only “real” friends. It implies that friends are more important than a wife is in fact, the woman is the last mentioned on the list. They go so far as to suggest this product even symbolizes
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friendship. The first thing indicated that should come to mind when thinking of liquor is a bunch of friends gathered together talking about the “good times.” The ad was probably placed i...