How does advertising appeal to customers?

Advertising is an important phenomenon in today markets and the overriding aim is to make customers or would be consumer want to spend their money on needs, sometimes which are not even important. Numerous studies have been done on the subjects on the factors that contribute the success of advertising by the likes of Jib Fowels and Cohen and Bovee.

According to Fowles there are fifteen basic appeals of advertising that when used effectively keep customers buying the products in large numbers, despite the fact they may not at all need them. For example a brand is effectively reinforced by use of Sex as advertising’s appeal, if attraction is the underlying factor (Jib Fowles, 659). In this category includes cosmetics, clothes, perfumes and clothing. The needs for sex, achievement, affiliation, nurture, guidance, as well as the need to fulfill psychological and aesthetic sensation are part of the fifteen advertising’s appeal.   Some of the appeals my not be obvious at the moment but they are at the centre of any advert. This is attributed to the fact that human nature is always attracted to by something, be it a person, place or thing and hence has a natural desire to possess it.

 Apart from use of advertising’s appeals, there are also strategies that are used by advertisers to obtain success.  Cohen suggests ways in which to obtain an effective advertising layout.  Appropriate choice of colors, timing of, for example, a television advert and the clear and concise wording are some of the strategies that advertisers employ for an effective advert (Cohen, 682), while Bovee et al, suggests that an effective sales pitch contributes to advertising’s appeal to customers.  

When sex appeal is used effectively, that is, when a brand has been built around the theme, it can only serve to reinforce the message. In the Coors lights advertisement, which is intended to make the beer appeal to customers, the effect is minimal. This is as a result of inappropriate use sex as part of the advertising appeal. The advert was titled Cold Activated Bottle and was done for MillerCoors Company, DRAFTFCB Advertising Agency in Chicago. It sought to give the classic Monday Night Football theme a ‘refreshing’ twist with Coors Light beer. It took the old theme music for the football night which, for ages, has been an orchestrated piece done solely, and in place put lyrics that served to position Coors Light beer as the most suitable and preferred alcoholic drink to have during NFL football. The advertisement started with a solo rock guitarist and some guys who were playing football. Then followed others scenes: guys roughhousing, quarterbacks that were getting tacked and other masculine images. All the while there was a voice in the background narrating and describing the depicted scenes. For example the narrator said that he loved playing two hands touch, too much eating and watching his team win with the twins. After mentioning the twins, two scantily dressed beautiful blondes emerged and jumped up grasping pom-pom in their hands. This is a definite case of a poor choice of advertising appeal. What captured the imagination of the target group was not Coors lights bear but the scantily dresses blondes and the masculine bodies that were captured in the commercial. Sex in this case failed to sell the Coors light.

Colors do communicate psychologically. Blue, in its lighter shades conveys daintiness, fragility and youthfulness. In this case therefore, the use of color blue in the background served to convey the message that taking the beer was the way to go for the young and the young at heart. Market segmentation was at play here in that the youth were the targeted consumers. Use of young football flayers and blondes communicated this well. They were depicted as happy and care free.

Another way that advertising appeals to customers is by satisfying the need for aesthetic sensation. In Coors lights Adverts, the background music as well as the dancing blondes served this purpose well. Those who love creativity and art could have been attracted to the commercial by capturing their imagination as the old theme music was replaced with the company’s piece. By capturing their imagination therefore, they got to be informed about Coors light.

The human nature is such that it desires to achieve or win when faced with a difficult situation. An advertisement that reflects the need to achieve, that is, the ability to accomplish something difficult and succeed identifies the product with winning.(Fowels, 663 ) The association of masculine images with the drink, in Coors lights could have been intended to convey strength needed play the football game that requires lots of energy.

Effective use of sales pitch also makes advertising appeal to customers. A sales pitch refers to a script that informs the end users about the product/service being advertised. Basically it tells them the things to expect from a given product/service.  Sales pitch ought to be brief and to the point, given that marketing media is limiting. In Coors Light advert, the statement is easily comprehensible, thereby making the customers relate to the product. Putting the needs of the client before the needs of the company also results to an effective sales pitch. For example at the end, customers are advised to drink responsibly by being warned not to drink and drive. They are reminded that they hold the keys to their vehicles. This strategy appeals to customers in that the customers can see that the company is interested in there wellbeing and not profit making. In the same breath, using words like “your” Coors light is cold as opposed to “my” or “our” reflects customer centeredness as opposed to company centered advert. As such the customers are convinced that the product puts them at the center contributing to the adverts appeal.

Another way that an effective sales pitch can make an advert appeal to customer is when it highlights only the major benefits that the customers can get from the products. Placing the customers in all angles of the pitch give them the impression that they are truly valued. This is obtained by discussing more about the customers and less about the products /service.

In conclusion, advertising, when properly done can be a tool that generates lots of sales for a company. They do so in that by appealing to the need of the consumer, they end up buying certain products that they wouldn’t need in the first place. There is the need to put the needs of the customers at the front and provide true information about the products which is lacking in most of the modern day advertising. Effective use of advertising appeals, attract customers to the commercials.

It is also important to note that we live in an era of technological advancement with digital technology readily accessible. As such people are bombarded with numerous advertisements day in day out with advertising agencies struggling to obtain their attention. With this in mind, some think that the easiest way to do this is to appeal to people’s basic desire as well as provision of and/or omission of injurious information. However, many advertising agencies fail to realize that when not properly done could result in deconstruction of a brand by confusing the viewer or not reaching them at all. Coors Lights which is a brand name Millers Coors beer missed the point by introduction of the scantily dressed twin blondes at the end of the advert in that it served to switch the attention from the beer to them.

Work cited

Bovee, Courtland L., and William F. Arens. Contemporary Advertising. 3d ed.Homewood,IL: Irwin, 1989.

Cohen, William. The Entrepreneur and Small Business Problem Solver. 2d Ed.New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990.

Jib Fowles.Mass advertising as social forecast: A method for futures research Author. New York: Greenwood Press, 1976.