The A B Cs of TV Ads
by Professor Hugh Rank -- http://faculty.govst.edu/pa
AAds are units of persuasion.
B Benefits are sought by everyone.
C Claims in ads are predictable.
D Disclosures are the"small print" in ads.
E Emotional appeals are the dominant tactics of ads.
F Feel Good ads are common with standard products and big corporations
G Getting attention is the first job of an ad.
H Harmful effects of advertising can be indirect, delayed, and cumulative.
I Ignorance is dangerous for you.
J Jingles, slogans, brands, and logos are repeated often to be remembered.
K Kids are the special targets of ads.
L Lures (especially TV) deliver audiences to advertisers.
M Market research is a major part of the advertising business.
N Negative ads are common in politics, but uncommon in commercial ads.
O Omission of disadvantages or problems makes ads one-sided.
P Patterns of ads are predictable, using a 1-2-3-4-5 "fingertip formula."
Q Questioning ads is the best way to protect yourself.
R Response is the goal, the final purpose, of any ad, and of all persuasion.
S Scare-and-sell ads stimulate fears with problems, then offer solutions.
T Trust is very important to establish.
U Urgency is common in many ads, but not in "soft sell" ad
V Visuals imply: they implicitly suggest much more than words explicitly say.
W Web (WWW) ads are like TV ads in many ways.
X X-Rated ads will never appear on Channel One.
Y You need to identify your own limits, priorities, values, needs and wants.
Z Zapping and zipping works with VCRs, but not in real time.
Summary / Review - ABCs & sub-categories
Analyzing ads is the easiest way to learn about all persuasion techniques. Ads are usually seen in carefully crafted packages (30-second spots on TV; radio, or in print) with coherent messages, involving simple transactions ("buy this"). Other kinds of persuasion (political, social, religious) are harder to analyze because the subjects are more complex, the emotional issues are more involving, and we experience them in bits and fragments (in headlines, TV news, in random discussions) often edited by others. Note the 1-2-3-4-5 pattern of "the Pitch" (1. Hi -- 2. Trust Me -- 3. You Need -- 4. Hurry -- 5. Buy) as the basic structure of all ads. © 2008 by Hugh Rank. For more about advertising and political language, see: Persuasion Analysis | http://faculty.govst.edu/pa