Advertising Appeals

Advertising Appeals

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Advertising appeals are created for the purpose of activating human needs and desires The advertiser has to determine the needs which can be targeted with the message. Taking a dekko at the human needs - As per Abraham Maslow physiological needs are the most basic of all human needs. An individual is first concerned about satisfying his basic needs like food, water ,sleep and other biological needs .Once these basic needs are satisfied , he looks up to satisfaction of the next higher order of needs and then the next and so on. Generally several needs operate simultaneously to generate a specific response from the consumer, but some are more important than the others. These are the ones to be identified and kept in mind by the advertiser. Appeals and buying motives: Both of them are closely inter-linked to each other . Appeals provide the stimulus required for the customer to act. They are thus developed on the basis of buying motives. Kinds Appeals can be categorized into rational, emotional and moral appeals. Rational ones are aimed at the mind of the customer and set him thinking logically regarding the message contained in the ad. Sometimes there arises a conflict between the rational and emotional appeal but since there is no clear line of distinction or demarcation therefore it is difficult to segregate the two into separate compartments. Nevertheless some of the rational ====== appeals are as under: (1) Performance- A writing instrument like Reynolds ball point pen that is sold on this platform . (2) Usage-As in case of thermostat in a heat convector which cuts off the system on reaching a specific temperature. (3) Quality-A set of Bose speakers or a Nakamichi music system are considered the ultimate in terms of music performance which is its parameter for high quality. (4) Price- All types of coolers - both branded and unbranded are available in the market but many people go for the unbranded ones as they are much lower priced as compared to the branded ones as it is believed that so far as their working is concerned they will be giving a near same performance . (5) Longevity- as in case of a lubricant which needs to be changed only after 20000 kms. (6) Economy-in operating the Tata Indica in terms of fuel economy. (7) Resale value-as in the case of Bajaj scooters.

Customers when asked the reason for purchasing a specific product often package it in terms of rational reasoning. Even if they have been purchased on emotional grounds, as happens in certain cases, the customer will not admit

Emotional Appeal ---------------------For this the customer does not weigh the 'pluses and minuses' of buying the product. Emotion is a mental state of mind which goads us to make a decision 'by the heart'. They may not be recognized by the customer and even in cases it happens her may not admit it As he might feel it would lower him in the eyes of his peer group. These can be divided into two sub- types namely positive and negative emotional appeal Positive appeals-These highlight product benefits which influence consumer behavior. Appeals like joy, prestige etc are used very extensively. Appeals like parent’s love for the child like for health food and drinks, O T C products or child’s love for the parent like Raymond’s suiting is used very extensively in soft drinks, eating joints. Thrill appeal is used for vehicles like motor vehicles. Humor appeal too is well known and has been widely used by the advertisers as in Bajaj scooters, Cadbury chocolates, Trics scooter, Amul butter, stationery items like ballpoint pens and their refills etc. Other emotional appeals could be: a) Wish to be different as in lifestyle products like Mercedes car, chivas regal liquor etc. b) Desire to conform (desire to be in clothes from Benetton ,Levi’s etc-appear young. c) Desire to attract the opposite sex, Axe deodorant ,Red Tape shoes d) Desire for prestige as in Esteem VX. Moral Appeals These are directed at the sense of judgement of the prospect between right and wrong and are mostly used in social awareness advertising as in adult education, polio vaccination, child abuse, drugs awareness etc. INFORMATIVE ADVERTISING All buying nowadays takes place in a preconceived , well planned manner where for major purchases sometimes expenses are allocated . Before the final purchasing is done, consultations are actually carried out, including window shopping, counter shopping etc. There are broadly 2 categories into which advertisements fall- informative and persuasive . Usually advertisements should fall within these two extremes. A way of informative advertisement is to put it forth in an editorial way nearly similar to the real editorial. The phrase ‘advertise’s announcement’ is carried at the end of the advertisement. Here the appeals are rational.

Advertising is roundly criticized on the basis that it exaggerates facts, hides inherent weaknesses of the product- which is irrelevant and the heavy cost of advertisement only adds to the increased costs- be it products or services which are being advertised. For many products- a mere listing of the facts and figures is enough like ayurvedic products aimed at enhancing the beauty of the user e.g. Medimix or any other ayurvedic soap when it is advertised , the advertisement highlights the aspects like neem, haldi, reetha, etc. – but for other beauty related items like cosmetics and creams and lotions- list of ingredients does not help a woman to decide on purchasing a specific brand or product . When she decides to go in for purchasing such a product, it is not merely just a product that she is purchasing, she is also purchasing hope— Hope to look attractive, beautiful and glamorous. These kinds of products use emotional appeals- that too very successfully.