A consumer walks into a store .he stand in front of hundred of boxes of laundry detergent .he chooses one brand ,pays for it, and leaves. Why does he pick that specific kind of soap? Is it truly better than the others? Probably not. These days, many products are nearly identical to one another in quality and price .if products are almost the same ,what makes consumers buy one brand instead of another? although we might not like to admit it .commercials on television and advertisements in magazines probably influence us much more than we think they do.
Advertising informs consumers about new products available on the market .it gives us information about every thing from shampoo and toothpaste to computers and cars .but there one serious problem with this .the information is actually very often misinformation .it tells us the products benefits but hides their disadvantages . advertising not only leads us to buy things that we don’t need cant afford, but it also confuses our sense of reality .zoom toothpaste prevents cavities and gives you white teeth! The advertisements tells us .but it doesn’t tell us the complete truth : that a healthy diet and a good toothbrush will have the same effect .advertisers use many methods to get us to buy their products . one of their most successful methods is to make us feel dissatisfied with ourselves and our imperfect lives .advertisements show us who we aren’t and what we don’t have .our teeth aren’t white enough .our hair isn’t shiny enough .advertisements make us afraid that people wont like us if we don’t use the advertised products.
If fear is the negative motive for buying a products ,then wanting a good self –image is the positive reason for choosing it .each of us has a mental picture of the kind of person we would like to be .for example ,a modern young woman might like to think that she looks like a beautiful movie star .a middle aged man might want to see himfelf as astrong ,attractive athlete . advertisers know this .they write specific ads to make certain groups of people choose their product .two people may choose different brands of toothpaste with the identical price ,amount ,and quality; each person believes that he or she expressing his or her personality by choosing that brand .
Advertisers get psychologists to study the way consumers think and their reasons for choosing one brand instead of another .these experts tell advertisers about the motives of fear and self-image .they also inform them about recent studies with colors and words .psychologists have found that certain colors on the package of an attractive product will cause people to reach out and take that package instead of buying an identical product with different colors .also certain words attract our attention .for example ,the word ''new''. ''improved'' , ''natural'' ,and ''giant size '' are very popular and seem to draw our eyes and hands toward the package .
Many people believe that advertising does not affect them .they feel that they have freedom of choice ,and they like to think they make wise choices .unfortunately .they probably don’t realize the powerful effect of advertising .they may not clearly understand that advertisers spend billions of dollars each year in aggressive competition for our money ,and they are extremely successful .do you believe that ads don’t influence your choice of products ?just look at the brands in your kitchen and bathroom .
"The I L I ENGLISH SERIES"
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