Prompt #4 - "Why Good Advertising Works (Even When You Think It Doesn't)"

Prompt 4: “Why Good Advertising Works (Even When You Think It Doesn’t) by Nigel Hollis.

Central Argument:

            Hollis states that a good advertisement engages an audience and implants memories that affect their behavior, influences their actions in a subtle way, and leaves impressions, which allow the audience to see the product in a positive light.

Essay:

            Mid-way my first semester of junior year, I entered my best friend’s room and I witnessed horror. I saw my friend and her roommate, along with five other people, sitting on one bed, playing a game called “Tetris Battle” on Facebook. They had paused their games to have a conversation with me that lasted thirty seconds, and then went back to playing. Offended, I walked out of the room and went to my own where my roommate was playing the game. She did the same thing to me; it was only later I realized that the game only allowed you to pause for thirty seconds. Still, it was a bit rude. When I went to school, I saw EVERYONE playing it. In classes, during break, lunch, and before going to bed. I was appalled. I would always hear people praising “Tetris Battle”; they would tell me the joys of winning the battles, about looking forward to gaining more energy, and about how addicting it was. I thought it was all nonsense when I first heard of it. I was disinterested and I made a vow to myself saying that I will never play that game. But that didn’t happen, and the result, I’m addicting like those seven girls playing “Tetris Battle” on one bed. My friends had left an impression on me; they had made me believe that the game was truly utopia. They had advertised the game to me, and I had fallen for it. With my little experience, I believe that Hollis is correct in saying that good advertisements leave an impression and create memories, which make you want to relive that moment. Good advertisements have humor that create memories and ads with celebrities leave an impression.

            Many Americans look forward to the Super Bowl, not only for the football matches, but also for the hilarious TV commercials that air during the tournament. The Super Bowl is a time for families to bond, get together, and watch games – that seems more like a pastime than Baseball for Americans. The Super Bowl commercials are present to enhance the feeling of togetherness among family members. They marketing companies take advantage of that and create commercials, which are funny to make things more memorable. The companies know that funny ideas, comments, actions, and so on stick to people more than anything else, and therefore, they try and use humor to get people to buy their product. Watching the commercials with family and having a good laugh, makes people remember the advertisement better. When they come across something that triggers that memory, people will want to go and buy to product in order to relive that certain moment.

            We know we’re not perfect and that’s what makes us humans. That is why we have role models, those we can look up to and those we can try to be like. Marketing companies tap our insecurities and make sure that they include celebrities we look up to, celebrities who are famous. This makes their advertisements successful. They use the idea of ethos in their commercials. I recently watched a commercial that promoted Pepsi. The advertisement had Elton John commenting on people’s talents. The message basically stated that Elton John drinks Pepsi, and so should you. Though it’s a logical fallacy, the audience doesn’t really look and analyze it closely, instead, they are mesmerized by the advertisement and want to go out and buy Pepsi because Elton John drinks Pepsi. The advertisement leaves an impression and wants you to feel like you need to go out and buy that product because it is the “in” thing to do.

            There are some commercials out there where we know what they are trying to do. They just straightforwardly convey their message. The audience normally feels taken aback by this and doesn’t want to go out and buy the product, just because they blatantly promoted it. The human mind works in weird ways, and even though more subtle commercials are doing the same thing, we see it in a different light. Commercials like this are trying to make memories for us which reminds us of the good times and makes us want to buy the product; it also leaves impressions by adding role models into their commercials. Commercials were we feel like we can relate more to are those, which are more successful. They are the ones that get the better results and the greater profit.