Our class discussion upon ads this
week has sparked curiosity and an understanding upon advertisements that I’ve
never had before. Specifically, I’m referring to the mental filter that we
create in the presence of the continual bombardment of advertisements we’re
exposed to. According to Jim Fowles in the article we read in class,
“Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals,” the average American is exposed to about
500 ads a day, (likely more today), and that we are only aware of about 75 of
these, and that only about 12 of these create a reaction. We do this to
“preserve’s one sanity.” This is a phenomenon that I’ve never realized before
and makes a lot of sense. Since aware, I’ve been trying to observe all the ads
that surround my environment and which ones actually penetrate my “whatever”
filter.
Pandora interruptions, rows of mundane road signs, magazine
ads trying to distract me from reading Nat Geo, commercials with every TV
channel; whatever. These ads are
everywhere, continual, and I don’t pay attention to all of them. Only when they
pop-out amidst the mix I’ll turn my head, even if it doesn’t cause an emotional
reaction from me. Jokes, catchy songs, absurd depictions, or really pathetic
ads usually do it for me.
One of the most notable ads that I
saw this week was Taylor Swift jamming out on a treadmill and then absolutely
wiping out to the ground, an ad for Apple Music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK_zwl-lnmc While I don’t see myself being
convinced to subscribe to Apple Music, the ad is pretty darn funny, and I will
remember it for some time.
A tactful
approach that I saw in San Francisco this week was when an ad was placed amidst
no other ads, in the sky. A Geico banner, (while I don’t even remember what it
said), was being flown by a plane. This further showed me that I tend to pay
attention to ads that aren’t like other ads.
In noticing what catches my attention and what doesn’t, we
can see the battlefield that marketers have in grabbing moments of thought from
people. By having an advertisement that sticks out from the rest, I would have
to say, makes it an effective ad. So “they,” or the brands, ads and marketers,
are in pursuit of making their “whatever” become noticed.
As for the 12 ads that caused a reaction, only the ads that
were relevant to me got classified as this. I’m not going to even care to pay
any attention to the law group that wants me to file a report on a recalled medicine.
But I will note down the name of the website that had some pretty cool rugby
gear shown in an online ad. Thus, “they” become more effective when ads are
catered to specific desires. This would be another tactic of marketers.
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