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Science 5: Advertising Techniques 129 Views


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Description:

Hurry, click now on our fantastic video about advertising techniques, and we'll include free jokes. (While supplies last.)

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:06

[Dino and Coop singing]

00:13

Picture all the iconic advertising characters you can think of... [Kid smiling in front of a TV]

00:17

The M&Ms...

00:18

…Koolaid Man...

00:19

…Ronald McDonald...

00:20

…Tony the Tiger...

00:21

…the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

00:23

They all seem pretty friendly, right? [Pictures of the characters appearing around the boy]

00:24

Well, that's because you haven't seen them when they've all grown out their evil super-villain [They all grow mustaches]

00:28

mustaches.

00:29

Not so nice now, are they?

00:31

Okay, so those characters actually don't have evil mustaches – and for good reason.

00:35

See, advertisers intentionally use cartoon figures and talking animals to make you feel

00:40

happy and to maybe…just maybe…convince you to buy their product. [Kids sat round watching the TV]

00:44

Because seriously, if you were walking down the breakfast cereal aisle, would you be more

00:48

likely to reach for the box with the friendly leprechaun on the box, or the box with, say, [Lucky Charms box jumps out at the woman]

00:52

a gigantic octopus with pickles for tentacles? [Woman looks scared]

00:55

Okay, we'll be taking the Lucky Charms instead of the Octopickles thank you very much.

00:59

In addition to friendly characters, advertisers also use a “call to action” that tries

01:04

to tell you what the right thing to do is. [Big order now button]

01:06

Ever seen a TV infomercial that urges you to “call now” in order to cash in on some [Woman waving phone that says call now]

01:11

super super-sweet deal that they swear won't last long?

01:14

Yeah, that's a call to action.

01:16

And spoiler-alert: Those deals never go away.

01:20

Many advertisers also use funny commercials and humor in order to convince you to buy [Someone diving into a washing machine]

01:24

their product.

01:25

Of course, sometimes they try so hard to be funny, it just ends up being flat-out annoying.

01:29

Which we here at Shmoop have never done… [People dancing round the Shmoop office]

01:33

…Uh…moving on.

01:34

Advertisers also tend to make bold claims about their product and what it can do for

01:38

you – sometimes to outrageous lengths. [Claim! pops up all around a woman]

01:40

A vacuum that can reach all the hard-to-reach places with ease?

01:43

Okay, that sounds reasonable.

01:45

But a vacuum that can reach all the hard-to-reach places with ease because the vacuum is actually

01:50

a fully walking and talking robot maid who will spend 24-hours a day cleaning your house, [Robot vacuum cleaning the floor]

01:55

cooking your meals and giving you back rubs?

01:57

First off, yes please.

01:59

We'll take twelve. [Guy looking excited]

02:00

Secondly…that might be too good to be true.

02:02

Advertisers want to convince you that their product is the best thing ever, so they often use

02:07

“hype words” like amazing, incredible, unbelievable, stupendous,

02:11

and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. [The words popping up in bright colors]

02:13

Okay, maybe not that last one.

02:15

It probably wouldn't fit on the billboard anyway.

02:17

No matter the tactic, the goal of the advertiser is the same: to convince the audience that

02:22

they absolutely must buy the product in order to make their life great.

02:27

And most of the time, it's probably at least a little bit embellished. [Guy with a trolley full of stuff]

02:30

Because no one needs to have a certain kind of breakfast cereal, vacuum, car, shampoo

02:34

or pair of jeans in order to make their life great. [Guy chucking all the things out the trolley]

02:37

But you know what you absolutely do need?

02:40

A pair of tongue slippers. [Tongue slippers are revealed by a red curtain]

02:42

Order now and get a free set of matching teeth earmuffs, while supplies last! [Woman wearing teeth earmuffs]

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