Persuasive Techniques

7th Grade SB 2.5•To recognize methods that advertisers often use to persuade•To analyze advertisements for these techniques•To apply the techniques to different audiences

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What Do You Know?

• In your table groups, determine how advertisers try to influence our purchases.

• Write your ideas in your composition books.

Persuasive Techniques

• Advertisers use many techniques of persuasion to make us want to purchase their products.

• Read the following descriptions of advertising techniques.

• Paraphrase and create a visual representation of each technique.

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Persuasive TechniquesDo not copy! Paraphrase and give a visual cue

Bandwagon:•Advertisers make it seem that everyone is buying this product, so you feel you should buy it too. For example, a game states: “The best, most exciting board game is sweeping the nation. All your friends and neighbors are playing.” This statement is intended to make you feel left out if you are not playing.Avant-Garde:•This technique is the opposite of Bandwagon. Advertisers make it seem that the product is so new that you will be the first on the block to have it. The idea is that only super-cool people like you will even know about this product.

Testimonials:

•Advertisers use celebrities and regular people to endorse products. For example, a famous actor urges consumers to buy a product. Pay close attention: sometimes the celebrity does not actually say that he or she uses the product.

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Persuasive TechniquesDo not copy! Paraphrase and give a visual cue

Facts and Figures: •Statistics, percentages, and numbers are used to convince you that this product is better or more effective than another product. However, be aware of what the numbers are actually saying. What does “30 percent more effective than the leading brand” really mean?

Transfer: •This technique may be hard to spot. To recognize it, you need to pay attention to the background of the ad or to the story of the commercial. The transfer technique wants you to associate the good feelings created in the ad with the product. For example, a commercial that shows a happy family gathered around a bowl of soup may want you to associate a feeling of comfort and security with their product.

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Persuasive Techniques

• In pairs, write a headline using the technique assigned to advertise a common object, such as a paper clip.

• Who is the most appropriate audience for your ad? Who would most likely buy your product?

• What kind of person would be most persuaded by the headline?

• Identify a different audience and rewrite your headline.

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Analyzing Ads

• As you view the following advertisements, note the– Source– Product– Technique Used

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Source?

Product?

Technique?

Magazine Ad

Coca Cola

Transfer -– drinking Coke will make washing a car and pay back (spraying someone with a hose) fun. Notice that the product is not the main focus of the ad

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Source?

Product?

Technique?

Magazine Ad

Proactiv

Testimonial – Jessica Simpson’s picture along side of the product makes reader assume she uses it.

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Source?

Product?

Technique?

Sign

McDonald’s food

Bandwagon– If McD’s has served billions of customers, then their food must be good. “Everyone” eats there.

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Ad example 4

Source?

Product?

Technique?

Commercial

J.C. Penny

Testimonial– Ellen DeGeneres is seen browsing through a J.C. Penny story, but she never says she shops there.

Print ad/Magazine

State Texting Laws

Facts and Figures– The ad shows graphs, charts, and statistics.

Response

• Which advertisement was the most persuasive? Why? Would you buy this product based on the advertisement? Why or why not?

• How do advertisers attempt to influence consumers?

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