Advertisement is everything in America. You drive on the highway to school and you see many billboards and signs. The ones that draw my attention the most are the electronic billboards. It’s all about grabbing peoples attentions. Doing what you have to do to get your product out there. Here are some examples from the readings:
Susan Kuchinskas talks about how if there is an ad advertising a product, the ad has to satisfy the consumer because if not it will cause the consumer to believe that this product is horrible. She talks about how we watch a movie and we think it is a great movie and then the ending is terrible so we conclude that the whole movie is terrible. The same goes for advertisements. The better the ad the better the good will of your product.
Martin Lindstrom talks about how advertisement subliminal messages that work! For example, consumers will buy things on how they feel, where they are from, the tradition, the size or shape, or even by the music playing in the background.
Thomas Frank opens up by talking about Americans not knowing what is wrong with America and how nothing has changed in the past thirty years. He calls this idea the countercultural idea. I agree with Frank, he talks about advertisers wanting to be unusual. When people are watching an ad they don’t want to see boring white people standing in line going to church! HAHA! Loved that! He’s right people want excitement; they want something they can relate to, such as a problem going on in our lifetime or a specific tragedy that has occurred. DIFFERENT IS OKAY and what Frank is trying to say is that when America sees different they talk, they make fun of, they don’t like different. America does not like change!

Advertising is the scariest thing in the world. How stupid does that sound. Because it is. Just because you put a puppy dog in a toilet paper commercial doesn’t mean that I, Amy Schneider the biggest puppy fan in the world, will not buy that brand. The idea that advertising actually works like they say it does in the articles is complete nonsense. Don’t get me wrong I’m not for American conformity and society pressuring you to be something your not. But I don’t believe that it is like that. A good friend of mine will not watch Twilight because she thinks everyone is stupid for liking it and she doesn’t want to be like that. She’s my best friend and God bless her heart but she’s stupid. I’m not a Edward or Jacob fan but I do like twilight I think it’s a cute story but I didn’t buy a shirt saying Team Edward. Because not everyone in the world can be persuaded by the media. I do believe that once you see a commercial you can buy something but I don’t believe someone can say “Did you see the duck dancing against the pigeon?! I saw that and went from that stupid Gecko to Aflac.” . “This simple act, which caught on like wildfire, is generally credited with helping Corona overtake Heineken as the best-selling imported beer in the U.S. market.” (Lindstrom) Cause God forbid that maybe it’s a better beer. Or that half of our country is Jewish and they still have problems with the Germans. Advertising isn’t some mind control people make their own decision. Advertising isn’t Jedi mind tricks.

Americans have been advertising for ages. New techniques like social networking ads have begun to take advertising into a new generation. Advertising techniques like billboards and radio ads are still being used today and are still quiet affective. It is pretty much impossible to go a day without seeing or hearing a commercial. They are everywhere, the radio, driving, and of course you can’t watch a show without a commercial.
In “How advertising works our nerves” by Susan Kuchinskas, she explains that advertising is all about creating something memorable to a customer. If a commercial is funny and makes the consumer laugh, then that person is going to give a shot at trying out a product or at least knowing about it. A product does not necessarily be good for us to want it, instead as Kuchinskas said “a great ad can make you want the product, so you can have the good feeling again.”
Martin Lindstrom explains many different aspects of the advertising world in his article “How Subliminal Advertising Works”. He tells us it’s more than just a commercial that makes people buy a product. A product's country of origin can subliminally influence what we buy. Lindstrom gives us an example of a person getting offered the same car from turkey and one from Switzerland, that they would buy the one from the Swiss because they are known for great craftsmen ship. His message is that we buy things based on where they are from, made in, tradition of things like corona and lime, and music while shopping in a store.

All of the articles in this assignment pretty much state that the psychological effects from an advertisement have a huge affect on not only what we purchase but also where we buy the products. Advertising has reached all the corners of America and no matter where you go there will be some sort of advertisement in your view wether it is on a billboard, on televesion or most prominently on the internet.
Mark Lindstrom talks about how subliminal advertising works and how it gets burrowed beneath our minds. He states that consumers will buy certain products just becuase they feel right when they hold them, or becuase of the tradition of the product. I have to say that I fall for the old trick, that is, the heavier the product the more superior of a product it is. He also states that where a product is made will influence on whether someone purchases it or not, and also that music and shape have a distinct influence on what we purchase.
Susan Kuchin Skas discusses how ad that is being advertise must not only satisfy the consumer but also relate to them so that they get a positive feeling about the product. For, if the ad has a negative on the customer then it will turn them away from the product being advertise. Susan gives an example of this by saying that if a "family" of products consumers will be more interested in them because it fits the stereotypical size of a family.
In the article, "Why Johnny Can't Dissent", Thomas Frank suggests that consumers buy products based on standing vs. trying to fit in. He also states that we not only try to buy products that are appealing to us but we also buy certain products because they are portrayed as being a neccesity. In the end, Frank is saying that advertisers want to promote rebelling becuase it makes their product more interesting and everyone wants to buy something that's different rather than something that is similar to everything else.

The readings this week were about advertising. More specifically, about the hidden subliminal messages and the psychological affects advertisements have on their customers. First of all, advertisements aren’t just a way for companies to get consumers to buy their products; they have almost become a way of life now. Advertisements are literally everywhere. On billboards alongside the highway, on the radio, there are even some playing right now on the television in front of me as I write this. With all of the millions of advertisements everywhere you go, how is it even possible for companies to compete against each other? Well, it depends on what the actual content of the advertisement is. For example, in the article “How Advertising Works Our Nerves,” the author explains how some commercials or billboards are more memorable than other. It is shown that ads that have a good feel to them, whether it being happy, humorous, or just having to do with something that grasps your attention, make it more likely for someone to go out and buy that product that is being advertised. I wouldn’t say that is totally true. I remember when I was younger the Jonas Brothers were on a commercial for the candy Baby Bottle Pops. Although I did like the candy as well as the band, I didn’t go out and buy a bag full of the product, even though a million obsessed little girls probably did. The article “How Subliminal Advertising Works,” basically explains different techniques used to convey subliminal messages. One of the techniques used in stores now is as simple as how fast the beat of the music playing is. The faster the beat, the faster you shop and get out of there. I definitely agree with that. When I go into stores like Forever 21 and all that stupid, upbeat, fast-paced music is playing, it drives me crazy. I feel overwhelmed and like I need to get out of there, which by the way really bugs me, because they have cute clothes.

Advertising no doubt plays a huge role in what people buy/use/do almost every day of their lives. The reference to the subliminal influencing used by ads can hardly be refuted when we look at our own experiences even. Susan’s reference to the “Why We Use Our Past Behavior To Determine Our Current Attitudes” article explains how the human mind can pretty much be tricked into replacing personal views on an advertised product with those shown by the ad itself. As Aggarwal stated, giving products human traits often helps us view that product more positively, this tactic appeals to our emotions by viewing products as likable people around us. There are many different marketing strategies used today to try and influence us to want a certain product or even choose one product over another.
As Lindstrom shows us, stores use music to further influence us to buy more even though we may not consciously know it and even go as far as to influence what we buy depending on the music itself. Lindstrom lists several other marketing strategies such as product shape, origin, familiarity, and even goes as far as to tell us how some people are influenced by things like the weight of the product. All these show me that marketers try not only to cater to the need or wants of their consumers, but also to try and influence and manipulate those need and wants of their target consumers. Generally it goes unnoticed in society today, but personally, just reading these articles has made me reflect just how much I’ve been affected or influenced by advertising. Agreeably I’m not an impulse buyer or anything of that sort, but I consider advertisements to be a kind of virus in my brain, with their catchy theme songs or heavily emotional scenes, where these “viruses” subtly influence my everyday actions.

I agreed strongly with the subliminal advertising because I felt that is how majority of the companies in our generation market their product. Companies feel that if consumers can relate then they need the product. Thus, the use of good looking people,families. With their hidden messages appealing to human nature, consumers jump head over heels to obtain said item. For example, Hollister sets a beach theme store in the midwest and teens flock to it because we all want something we can’t have, but will take any measure to reach it or come close. In Lindstrom’s article, he mentions they companies main tactic is to appeal to the senses. The use of musics appeals to the ears, another tatic Hollister uses, they play music in the store to not only add to the feel of the store but make the costumers stay longer. Shapes appeal to the eye. Hollister also drags teens into their store by the look of the store, it stands out in the mall, consumers eyes are immediately drawn to it because of its unique store front. As an advivd shopper of Hollister, although the jeans say new cut or slimer fit doesn’t always mean I didn’t buy the same jeans last year. I can completely relate to Lindstorm’s remark on “they’re the same model, the same make, the same color…” because I still bought the jeans anyways. Recently, I’ve noticed how companies use anything to bring people back into a store, whether its playing music, standing out in the mall, or just using slightly different words to get rid of a product. But conformity plays a major role in advertising because everyone wants the sense of belonging and all a company has to do is appeal to their target consumers needs, i.e. teens really like the beach. Thanks Hollister. 

This week the articles in this assignment were about advertising. Whether advertisements are boring, funny, or sad they stand out to different types of people. As mentioned by Susan Kuchinskas in “How Advertising Works our Nerves” she mentions that some ads are memorable to the audience viewing the advertisement. I feel like this is true because when advertisements for example phone companies compete against each other like Verizon and at&t always use the whole arguing over who’s better commercial doesn’t attract many viewers, but once at&t had the flash mob commercial it became more memorable to me. A different article by Thomas Frank talks about how advertisements try to be different and they want the audience to buy the product as a necessity basically. Personally I do get persuaded easily by advertisements. From the past few classes I have learned about ethos, logos, and pathos. Although all of them play a role in advertisement as well as persuading the audience, I feel like pathos has more control over fully persuading a person. When I watch those commercials about helping the unfortunate little kids’ emotion plays a big role in me and I end up helping at times. Overall advertisements are everywhere and we cannot stop them from persuading people around the world. There are different kinds of people around the world; people who are persuaded very easily in advertisements because they see their favorite animal, or celebrity on the commercial and there are some people that know what necessities are and do not easily get persuaded with advertisements.

Advertising in America is becoming more and more scheming as time progresses and these articles basically show that the psychological effects from the advertisements have great impact on what we purchase and from who we purchase it. In Ruth Shalit’s “The Return of the Hidden Persuaders” she states of how advertising is developed to the point of using our own subconscious feelings to persuade us in buying from that corporation. They believe it would increase our interest in what they are trying to advertise such as the Shell Oil which was an example used by Shalit in the article. In Susan Kuchinaskas’ article “How Advertising works our nerves” she states there are two things that interest marketers which are by ascribing human form to an item such as talking cars or the Geicko gecko and also a great ad that leaves you with a good feeling. I agree with Susan because I personally more likely positively evaluate an ad that has an anthropomorphized item and it really catches a person’s attention. In Mark Lindstrom’s “How Subliminal Advertising works” he basically states that subliminal advertising is deceptive and yet it happens every day. He believes there are hidden messages embedded in ads and persuade peoples mind to buy the product being advertised. He gives five techniques that are used to persuade the minds of buyers. The one I agree with the most has to be that we fall for “Tradition”. Many people will just follow customs and rituals when buying products and so corporations use that to their advantage and put them in the ads.

Advertising has taken a toll in our society. Everywhere we go we see ads of every different kind. Advertising plays a huge role into our everyday life. Some ads catch your attention at first glimpse while others are unforgettable. It’s amazing to know how these minds that create all the ads function. For example, in the article “How Advertising Works Our Nerves (In a Good Way)” it explains that when you are in the store if they the music loud you want to look and leave out as fast as you can, but when they are playing slower more relaxing music shoppers are willing to look and actually buy something. They work to to persuade our minds. our populations does get easily trapped into media. As stated in the articles a good ad that takes your attention will indeed make you buy that product. In the article “Why Johnny Can't Dissent” Thomas Frank states that with the catchy phrases people get reeled in very quickly. Advertising has been a form of communication in America to get people to buy a certain product. Everywhere we walk we see billboards and ads that catch you eye. Many ads are inappropriate and have been a negative impact on America. For example all the alcohol, tobacco, or skinny models that have taken away are all billboards. All these ads give the human eye a persuasion that they need to be like that, or they need to drink or smoke in order to fit in. Yes, advertising is made to sell product but I think now more than ever they have taken that into a new level, a negative level. As Ruth Shalit states that advertising is an easy persuasion, and has taken over our mind set.

Businesses use advertisements to lure customers in to buy their products. When Shell Oil Companies advertising manager, Sixtus Oeschle, set out to find the reason behind the sale of gasoline, he found out that the notion behind sales is more complicated than he ever thought. After performing dream therapy, he asks his research participants to draw an example of what they thought of Shell, then to draw what they would want it to be like. The results were stunning, at most impossible. Oeschle decided there had to be a better way to reach consumers, so he ran a research involving hypnosis. He took his participants back to their first time at a gas station. Many were very young, and when asked why they chose a specific gas station, one woman responded that she has always gone to Texaco, which is the reason she still goes. This showed Oeschle that Shell should be targeting kids, as well as , adults. This will make an imprint on them from a young age where their minds are easy to capture. As with Daimler Chryler, they found out that in order to capture a person’s mind, it takes the logic of emotion (pathos). Stealing a piece of their heart will make them feel a little lost without that product. This seem to also work with big companies like Apple. Apple seems to top the market, because their products target young and old. As with the Apple Ipad, which can be used by little ones (video games), or adults (computer). This is an excellent tactic. Apple also use a kind of manipulation, by releasing products with an irresistible upgrade, that can only be bought in their stores. It also raises higher standards above other companies by conducting constant research and issuing upgrades before anyone else.

Marketing has by far become the most powerful tool for any successful company. The ability to grab a viewers attention and instill an interest in their hearts has become a science all its own. In my own personal opinion, after reading the articles and more closely observing advertisements around, ive come to realize that the vast majority of advertisements do very little to broadcast their products as opposed to appealing to the senses of the viewer. Ads with loud music, flashing light, scantily dressed woman have seemed to overshadow the product by associating it with something that is not related to it In anyway. The impression of the product on the consumer is usually greatly associated with the ad for that product. As mentioned in Susan Kuchinskas article, student who view a humors ad of a film have a harder time remembering how enjoyable the ad was as supposed to those students shown an informational clip. I also find it cleaver how companies use the fact that we consumers tend to trust anthropomorphize things. They play off this fact to instill a sense of trust between the consumer and the product, giving the consumer the feeling that they are actually dealing with a person. This not only deceives the mind of the consumer, but also the heart, arising emotion for the humanized product. This technique is very deceiving, yet very clever. The ability companies have to subliminally influence our decisions on a daily basis is really intriguing. Simple, unnoticed techniques such as paying certain music, advertising tradition, or giving a product certain shape or feel, strongly influences the consumers decision as explained in Lindstorms article.

It is difficult to go anywhere in America, at any time, and not be overwhelmed with the grumblings of a radio ad, maybe about how you’re getting ripped off by your car insurance, by the eccentric performance of an 80’s song on a “Swiffer” commercial, by the light pollution meccas that are billboards, those little coupon ads on the back of your Kroger receipt, that text you just got about a free Redbox rental, the lowly, but ever present bumper sticker, or the worst of all, the FREE T-SHIRT! Like long time presidential candidate Ralph Nader says in an interview about, "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold", the only place one can go to escape the orgy of marketing and advertisement we call everyday life, is to “Go to sleep”. In, “Dissent”, it is clear that Frank is very displeased with the way corporate America has taken on the role of the rebel to engage the consumer. In, “How Advertising Works Our Nerves”, Kuchinskas sheds light on a few ways the businesses advertise to us almost without advertising at all by using music, anthropomorphism, and characters made up by the advertising company. In, “How Subliminal Advertising Works”, Lidstrom describes one controversial reason why we buy what we buy, sublimal messages (dun dun dun…). Company’s play on what we think is a good thing, like my 2 lb remote, its heavy so it’s sturdy! Or my Swiss made anything, Come on! The Swiss have more money than they know what to do with, literally! And as mentioned above: music. Markets play slow, easy music while shoppers indulge their eyes in the aisles of their stores because they know the slower the music, the slower you shop. This is why I listen to Skirllex on my way to school.

Advertising is not just billboards or pictures on the side of your Facebook page. Advertising, to me, is something that can be considered an art. It has been studied so in depth that every buisness owner or CEO knows exactly how to get in the head of its consumer and tell them exactly what it is they need or want. In Martin Lindstrom's article, "How Subliminal Advertising Works", he talks about the psychological effects that advertising has on us. Us having to pay more because we think lightweight products are faulty or dont work is kind of silly to me but producers know what we want. also, how you advertise something means everything. In Susan Kushchinkas, article she talks about how humorous commercials will stay in your head longer and stronger then plain monotone commercials. If Apple was to have a commercial just listing off all the reasons that getting a Mac is better then getting a P.C. it would be a boring commercial and it wouldnt influence people at all. However, Markerters know that if you put Justin Long in a commercial (representing a Mac) arguing with a somewhat nerdy guy (representing a P.C.) in a humurous way, that we as consumers will remember this commercial whilest purchasing our brand new computer.

The have imparticulary this special thing in common, they state how advertising can affect the minds of the viewer. This can either Determine where they buy the product and how much they are willing to spend. Most ads today have attention getters, which grab the viewers in different ways. In "How Subliminal Advertisin Works" Martin Lindstorm states, "Music also can direct us to certain products". With this being stated I feel that it is true, mainly because Im guilty sometimes when I see ads. Its like the mind gets vulnerable and I then begin to say I want. I also noticed something about my Boyfriend, everytime the Gears of War
Three Video Game ad comes on, he thinks its sweet. The action, special affects themes, plots, and music of the ad really can drill you in. I can see that most of these ad makers have special ways while tryinh to pursuade a person into purchasing a video game. Its like nomatter where you go something or someone will throw a pursuasive move on you. Whos to say ads are wrong though? Everyone has to make a living of some sort, right? Just think a world with no Advertising, No adventure or No New things being discovered. In my opinion, that sounds very boring. America my Home, Lives off of a Advertising and Pursua

Advertising. We see it all day everyday. We are all so desensitized to seeing, hearing, and readimg advertising everywhere we go that we can assume its as natural as the sky or clouds. In a way, advertising is our most common and powerful form of rhetoric. The purpose of persuasion and advertising in particular seem obvious: to get others to do what you want. In the case of advertising, the desired response is to exchange money for a
product or service. While the ultimare goal of advertising and persuasion seem simple, our individual relationships and reactions to advertising are anything but; as a result the use of persuasion and advertising raises eyebrows on ethics, influence and resistance.


In "how subliminal advertising works", Martin Lindstrom talks about how advertising affects us on a subconscious level, he tells us how simple things in advertismemts, from one word, to a simple jingle or the content of an ad in general can cause us to think of these products and ultimately buy them.