Advertisement is everywhere, on television, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, and billboards. Our everyday life circles around advertisement. Many people tend to blame the advertisers for the inaccurate information in their ads. That is why the advertisers should be cautious of what they post in their advertisements. In “With These Words I Can Sell Anything” by William Lutz, “The Language of Advertising” by Charles A. O’Neil, and “Targeting the New World” by Joseph Turow, different sides of the argument are said. In this paper I will talk about how advertisers often focus on the importance of capturing the emotions and attitudes of the audience by using some major advertising skills like Language, power of images and power of suggestion.
Advertisers often use some words that say one thing but in reality it means something totally different, Lutz call these words “weasel word”. Advertisers use this language skill to advertise their product, this may not be fair for the consumers but it is a fact that is happening. Lutz is giving the word “virtually” as an example of a very common weasel word as it may sound very simple and has no other meaning but what it really means that its not a fact. Advertisers can use words like these to cover up some parts in there advertised for product. Lutz claim that advertisers like to leave a memorable thing in your mind after you watch, read or see their advertisements, this will help them create something in your mind out of nothing in reality. O’Neill also talks about this language skill that advertisers often use he claims that the advertisers work hard to fulfill our day with advertisements using television channels, the internet, mobile devices and billboard on the subway station, which will control our way of thinking to encourage us to use their products.
Another skill the advertisers use is the power of images, which can easily convince the audience of something that is not true and does not exists in reality. Lutz gave us an example of that when he mentioned a battery advertisement which will last longer, the advertisers did not clearly stated that the battery will last longer but the images and videos in the advertisement had its power to create this idea in the audience’s minds. Lutz also claims that the visual aids are much more powerful that the unfinished word even when they both come in one advertisement. O’Neill also mentioned the power of images and visual aids, he says that the advertisers seduce us by using some visual aids that will give the consumer a feeling of glory once he achieves their product. He also says that advertisers use their techniques to give us any feeling they want by using warm, entertaining, or comforting images. They may also use the power of the images of celebrities and famous people to deliver a message to their audience that they will be just like their favorite celebrity buy wearing this fashion trend or buy drinking coke. This shows that an image or a video has a power to control minds and push people to do stuff they wouldn’t normally do.
The power of suggestion is also a smart skill that advertisers use to tell people what they should do but not giving the order directly the sometimes sugarcoat the idea with a suggestion to leave an empty space in our minds to think about it but we will still do it at the end without noticing that we actually did it because of the advertisers told us to do so. Lutz says that advertisers sometimes use both weasel word and the power of suggestion to cover up their main claim in the advertisement, however when advertisers use the power of suggestion they let the audience create a claim out of the advertisement, but the advertisers are not responsible for what the audience thinks the claim is about. Lutz also gave us the word “help” as an example, it suggests to do something without knowing what will you help with whether its cure or heal or something else.
At the end, now we all know that advertisers are not as truthful as they look like and their advertisements may carry a lot inside their words and pictures. They may also use our emotions to drag us directly to their products without giving us a chance to think about it. Language, power of images and power of suggestion are some of the most common and affective skills that is being used in advertisements. We all need to be aware of what we are buying and we must not let the advertisers use their skills on us.