In today’s world advertising is an important part of our economy. Advertisers
are hired by companies, to come up with ads that will sell their product. Advertisers
and marketers say that the world of advertising is very important, because it
helps run the capitalist society that we have in this country. They say that by
advertising, it keeps the economy running. However, advertisers go way to far
in trying to sell their product. They use a language full of euphemisms to try
and trick the consumer into thinking their product is the best on the market.
They use such ploys as applying their product to children, knowing that children
are inexperienced in the today’s market, to try and sell their product.
They also use things like color and coarse language to make the product appeal
to the consumer. Advertisers go too far in their advertisements, in order to compete
with their rival company, and to make money. Your job is to figure out exactly
what each word is doing in an ad- what each word means, not what the advertiser
wants you to think it means.” In this quote, William Lutz describes a form
of language that is widely used in advertising. (Goshgarian 313) The use of doublespeak
helps advertisers make their product seem as if it is a miracle product. In doublespeak
advertisers, don’t use definite words. This makes the product have no definite
levels of how good the product works. The only thing these words express is that
the product has exponential or never-ending possibilities. In this way advertisers
are able to show, legally, that their product has absolutely no flaws. Most advertisers
try to make their product seem better then any other product that is on the market.
With the use of doublespeak they may use lines like, “this product takes
out virtually all stains”. (Goshgarian 303-304) However, what does virtually
r
eally mean? If the product can not get out all stains, what stains can’t
it get out? If advertisers told people this in their TV commercials, and magazine
advertisements, people would not want to buy the product. That is why they throw
in words like practically, virtually, and almost, so that they are not telling
the whole truth, yet they are not lying either. Lutz talks about other “weasel
words” used in doublespeak in advertising. Words like “new and improved”,
“acts fast” and “like magic” help advertisers in making
their product seem better then others. (Goshgarian 304-306) When an item is new
and improved, what is it improved from? What was wrong with the old version of
this item? Also, if there was something wrong with the old item, what is to say
that there will not be anything wrong with the new item? Still consumers travel
down the aisle of different stores and see “new and improved” and
they figure it’s has to be the best of them all. Let’s examine “acts
fast”. When an advertiser describes the product with the phrase “acts
fast” they try to show that the item will work faster then other products.
However, what exactly does that mean? Does the product run fast, cook fast, drive
a car fast, or speak fast? It is not known exactly what the product does. People
assume that the product that “acts faster” is the best product for
them. Sometimes advertisers use the word “like” in an advertisement.
This stops the consumer from concentrating on the product, and exactly what it
can make your life “like”. If an advertiser claims a certain tire
makes your car drive like it is floating, people start thinking about their car
floating. Personally, I would rather drive a car that floats, and so would most
consumers. This makes the consumer want to buy this product, and once again the
advertiser wins. Lutz makes a good point in saying that these doublespeak slogans
help sell products. “Remember, the ad is trying to get you to buy a product,
so it will put the product in the best possible light, using any device, trick
or means legally allowed.” (Goshgarian 313) Another thing advertiser use
in their commercials is the use of additives or accessories. In the advertisement
of a product, an advertiser may say that the product has a high amount of a certain
chemical that no one that uses the product actually has heard of before. If people
hear things like “Certs contains a sparkling drop of Retsyn” (Goshgarian
311) Consumers hear this and say, “wow Certs is better then Tic Tacs because
it has Retsyn!!” However, in reality, what on earth is Retsyn” For
all anyone knows Retsyn is the leading cause of gum disease, who knows. Consumers
hear scientific words like this and think that this is coming from a smart scientist
that knows that Certs is better because it has Retsyn. Another example of advertisers
trying to sell their product by any means necessary is the tobacco industry. On
most cigarette advertisements, it shows a few good-looking men smoking the cigarette
that is b
eing advertised, and they are surrounded by a few great looking women.
Advertisers find this to be a perfect way to sell their product. If they have
their advertisements focus on children, then the kids, who do not have much experience
as a consumer will believe every word the advertisement says. For example, if
a child sees a commercial for a brand new toy on the market, advertisers will
show the toy almost life size, running through real swamps (puddles) and climbing
real mountains (a mound of dirt). In some instances the toy even takes human traits
like language and movement, on it’s own. When a child sees this commercial
he right away knows he must play with that toy. Children don’t usually have
a job or a bank account, or any form of their own income, so they always go to
their parents first when they want something new. If the commercial works correctly,
the young child will be bugging his or her parents for that toy until one of them
takes them to the toy store. Throughout this aisle, the child sees such items
as Lion King action figures, balls, games, coloring books, videogames, CDs, and
other paraphernalia. With the movie that the child had scene fresh in his or her
mind. The toys remind them of the fun time they had at the movies the other day.
They quickly find their mother or father in the store and try to convince them
to buy the Lion King toys for them because they remember how much they loved the
movie. This works for other products too besides toys. If a mother wanted to buy
her child a new toothbrush, and they show their child a plain red one, and then
one with Simba on it, with out question they will choose the Simba toothbrush.
This is just another example of how advertisers use children to sell their product
and make a lot of money. Types of images also have a part in how advertisers market
their product. The use of colors in commercials and magazine advertisements appeal
to the human eye. For example. In a McDonalds commercial you never see the color
puke green, brown, gray, or blue. This is because the first color that the brain
associates with food is red and yellow. This is why, in the McDonalds logo all
you see is the “golden arches” with red in the background. This also
may be why Coca-Cola sells more soda then Pepsi-Cola. The Coke can is predominantly
red while the Pepsi can is blue. Damn is a word that has always been considered
a borderline swear word. Nowadays damn is allowed to be heard on commercial television.
When someone hears the word “damn“ on TV it is added to the subconscious
of their brain. This message is stored in the person’s brain until the next
time they need to go buy new tires. There seems to be no stopping advertisers
as they continue to toy with our basic emotions to try and sell their products.
Advertisers use euphemisms, color, and bold words to sell their stuff. Advertisements
that lure children and “tough” guys, are things that help advertisers
compete in today’s capitalist society. Consumers should start becoming smarter
when it comes to deciding what items to purchase for their family.