The final goal
of advertising is to get us to buy something.
Part of getting us to buy something is to first convince us we
need it. The more innocent
pleas attempt to convince us that because something is “new and
improved”, we should buy it to replace the similar product we already
own or use which isn’t as good. Or,
we are assured that a version of a product is now packaged in such a way
that it is a better value than the form we’ve purchased in the past.
Both ways encourage us to upgrade to something better, in value
or quality. And when we do
so, we feel good about ourselves, smug in the fact that we are such
smart and conscientious shoppers. The more
malicious advertising strategy is to convince the consumer that they
will not be beautiful, popular, happy or loved unless they purchase the
product or service. A key
element of this strategy is to develop and propagate standards of
beauty, popularity, happiness and love that can’t easily be obtained,
and certainly can’t be obtained without the continuous use of a series
of products and services.
© Salahub 2003 |