Here's what we went over today 12/17/09. Please review it and put it in your blog.
Watch commercials and figure out which persuasion techniques they are using. (It is possible for a commercial to use more than one technique.)
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The goal of most media-messages is to persuade the audience to believe or do something. Hollywood movies use expensive special effects to make us believe that what we see is real. News stories use several techniques such as direct quotation of identified sources-to make us believe the story is accurate.
The media messages most concerned with persuading us are found in advertising, advocacy, and public relations. Commercial advertising tries to persuade us to but a product or service. Politicians and advocacy groups(groups that support a particular belief, point of view, policy, or action) try to persuade us to vote or support, using ads, speeches, newsletters, websites, and other means. Public relations(PR) "sells" us a positive image of a corporation, government, or organization.
Learning the language of persuasion is an important media literacy skill. Once you know how media messages try to persuade you to believe or do something, you'll be better able to make your own decisions.
1. Association: This persuasion technique tries to link a product, service, or idea with something already liked or desired by the target audience, such as fun, pleasure, beauty, security, success, wealth, etc.
2. Bandwagon: Many ads show lots of people using the product implying that "everyone is doing it"(or at least,"all the cool people are doing it"). No one likes to be left out or left behind, and these ads urge us to "jump" on the bandwagon."
3. Beautiful People:Advertisers use good looking models(who may also be celebrities)to attract our attention. This technique is extremely common in ads, which may imply(but never promise!)that we'll look like the models if we use the product.
4. Bribery:This technique tries to persuade us to buy a product by promising to give us something else, like a discount, a rebate, a coupon, or a "free gift". Sales, special offers, contests, and sweepstakes are all forms of bribery. Unfortunately, we don't really get something for free--part of the sales price covers the of the bribe.
5. Celebrities:(A type of Testimonial-the opposite of plain folks.)We tend to pay attention to famous people. That's why they're famous! Ads often use celebrities to grab our attention. By appearing an ad, celebrity implicitly endorse a product;sometimes the endorsement is explicit. Many people know that companies pay celebrities a lot of money to appear in their ads but this type of testimonial still seems to be effective.
6. Plain Folks:(a type of testimonial-the opposite of celebrities.)This technique works because we may believe a "regular person" more than an intellectual or a highly paid celebrity. It's often used to sell everyday products like laundry detergent because we can more easily see ourselves using the product,too. The plain folks technique strengthens the down-home, "authentic" image of products like pick up trucks and politicians. Unfortunately, most of the "plain folk" in ads are actually paid actors carefully selected because they look like "regular people"
7. Experts:(a type of testimonial.)We rely on experts to advise us about things that we don't know ourselves. Scientists, doctors, professors often appear in ads and advocacy messages, lending their credibility to the product, service, or idea being sold. Sometimes, "plain folks" can also be experts. For example when a mother endorses a brand of baby powder or a construction worker endorses a treatment for sore muscles they are considered experts because they use the product.
8. Explicit Claims: Sometimes is "explicit" if it is directly, fully, and/or clearly expressed or demonstrated. for example, some ad s state the price of a product, the main ingredients, where it was made, or the number of items in the package-these are explicit claims. So are specific, measurable promises about the quality, effectiveness, or reliability, like "Works in only fives minutes!"Explicit claims can be proven true or false through close examination or testing, and if they're false, the advertise can get in trouble. It can be surprising to learn how few ads make explicit claims. Most of them try to persuade us in ways that cannot be proved or disproved.
3. Beautiful People:Advertisers use good looking models(who may also be celebrities)to attract our attention. This technique is extremely common in ads, which may imply(but never promise!)that we'll look like the models if we use the product.
4. Bribery:This technique tries to persuade us to buy a product by promising to give us something else, like a discount, a rebate, a coupon, or a "free gift". Sales, special offers, contests, and sweepstakes are all forms of bribery. Unfortunately, we don't really get something for free--part of the sales price covers the of the bribe.
5. Celebrities:(A type of Testimonial-the opposite of plain folks.)We tend to pay attention to famous people. That's why they're famous! Ads often use celebrities to grab our attention. By appearing an ad, celebrity implicitly endorse a product;sometimes the endorsement is explicit. Many people know that companies pay celebrities a lot of money to appear in their ads but this type of testimonial still seems to be effective.
6. Plain Folks:(a type of testimonial-the opposite of celebrities.)This technique works because we may believe a "regular person" more than an intellectual or a highly paid celebrity. It's often used to sell everyday products like laundry detergent because we can more easily see ourselves using the product,too. The plain folks technique strengthens the down-home, "authentic" image of products like pick up trucks and politicians. Unfortunately, most of the "plain folk" in ads are actually paid actors carefully selected because they look like "regular people"
7. Experts:(a type of testimonial.)We rely on experts to advise us about things that we don't know ourselves. Scientists, doctors, professors often appear in ads and advocacy messages, lending their credibility to the product, service, or idea being sold. Sometimes, "plain folks" can also be experts. For example when a mother endorses a brand of baby powder or a construction worker endorses a treatment for sore muscles they are considered experts because they use the product.
8. Explicit Claims: Sometimes is "explicit" if it is directly, fully, and/or clearly expressed or demonstrated. for example, some ad s state the price of a product, the main ingredients, where it was made, or the number of items in the package-these are explicit claims. So are specific, measurable promises about the quality, effectiveness, or reliability, like "Works in only fives minutes!"Explicit claims can be proven true or false through close examination or testing, and if they're false, the advertise can get in trouble. It can be surprising to learn how few ads make explicit claims. Most of them try to persuade us in ways that cannot be proved or disproved.
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