Approval Needs: Average PeopleMost people have a strong need for a sense of certitude and approval from outside sources; some people seek to get this from association with "average people" -- or "plain folks." Many people like to see themselves as the norm -- the typical guy, the regular fellow, the average person. Thus, they can relate to, and empathize with, ads appealing to such normal people, not the elite, nor the most popular. Some people like being in the middle, safe and secure. Every country has some abstract personification who represents the average person: in America, it's John Doe, or John Q. Public, or Joe Six Pack, or G.I. Joe; in Russia, Ivan Ivanovich; in China, Chang San. Editorial cartoonists often exaggerate them as caricatures. But, advertisers are much more sophisticated in their use of this concept. In ads, "plain folks" does not mean using stereotypes such as the country bumpkin. It means using actors who seem to be "regular people" for the target audience of the ads. For example, if ads are selling candies or clothes to kids, then the actors (kids) used should seem "just like us" to their target audience: "friend figures," not goody-goodies or nerds (who may appear as the non-buyers of the product). Techniques used in "plain folks" ads may include man-in-the-street interviews, amateurish "snapshot" pictures, cinema-verite movies (handheld camera, grainy film) to give the illusion of realism and authenticity. Words spoken often uses current slang and informal speech, appropriate to the purpose and audience. Audience-centered ads try to associate the product with pleasant emotional feelings of "good things" already liked by the intended audience. Such feel- good ads are often not logical or true, but can be very effective.
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Key Words:authentic Back to: Audience-Centered Claims
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