Advertising nowadays has become more manipulative than informative tool of marketing. Many of the advertisers in fact rely on advertising to boost the sales of the product. Marketers are aware of the factors that make advertisements appealing and attractive to the potential consumers. The consumer attention eventually results in increased profit levels for the corporate firms.
On contrary, informative advertisements are perceived to be plain enough to ignore. However, not all the advertisers use advertising as manipulative tool as they believe in ethical use of marketing tactics. Whether it is about skincare or baby care, advertisers take benefit of consumers’ psyche to influence their purchase decisions.
Get Emotional: Advertising Encourages Compulsive Buying
For instance, linking motherhood with the product makes a new mother feel associated with the advertisement. She will see herself as the mother portrayed in the ad, which will eventually lead her to buy the product. It is interesting to note that a mother would want to ensure the best for her baby, so she would be ready to pay any cost that she can afford. In this manner, advertising world can be misleading people in buying unnecessary stuff. However, the debate on what is needed or not by a modern human is extensively done by researchers and psychologists. Our desires, needs, wants, and dreams may reflect same meaning in one or more ways, but these terms are entirely different.
Human needs are based on our survival; products that are required by humans to survive in a society. These include food, shelter, and security. Regardless of one’s social status, he has to meet these needs in order to survive. Next level of products is based on our wants. People often tend to confuse wants with needs that can result in excess expenditure.
Wake Up: You are being manipulated
For instance, food is a need and anything that is food can be purchased to silent one’s hunger pangs. But if a customer wants to eat a hamburger or pizza in dinner, then that pizza or hamburger is want, not need. This is where most of the advertisers tend to play with consumer’s decision making. They create that craving and temptation in potential customer for their food item. The manipulation has gone to the extent where customers find it hard to distinguish between need and want. It is not bad to eat pizza or expensive food once in a while but if someone is tricked into buying it every other day, then it is disruptive both for the pocket and one’s health.
Advertising uses visual material To stir emotions
This aspect is concealed by advertisers as they use tempting images of cheese, bacon, and salami loaded on a pizza. To put a lock on customer’s choice, marketers further devise deals and discount packages on the purchase of the product. It is challenging to differentiate between an informative advertisement and a manipulative ad anymore because of the immersion of wants into needs. In a nutshell, advertisements use a certain level of manipulation where marketers feed on people’s insecurities and personality complexes.