Jib fowles 15 basic appeals

JIB FOWLES “ADVERTISING’S FIFTEEN BASIC APPEALS” Advertisers do their homework before broadcasting or publishing their advertisements. They use a variety of signs to appeal to consumers’ different needs. Here are some of the most common needs that advertisers try to address through their advertisements. I’ve also included some typical signs that advertisers use to try to appeal to those needs. There are other signs too, so try to think of some that aren’t listed here. Do not confuse the product with the need that is being appealed to. What I mean by this is that students often try to say that insurance advertisers try to appeal to the need to feel safe. Yes, that might be true, but it’s quite obvious. I once saw an advertisement for cigarettes; a meteor was headed towards Earth and a person had cartons of cigarettes and was running to a hole in the ground for protection. Cigarettes do not directly have anything to do with protection (although some people might disagree with me), but the advertisers were still trying to appeal to that need. 1. Need for sex – I think this one is so obvious that you don’t need me to elaborate. 2. Need for affiliation – This is the need to feel like one belongs to a group. This can be

displayed through the form of a couple or a group. It might even show someone who is alone because s/he does not use the product being advertised.

3. Need to nurture – This is often targeted at women since advertisers often follow

traditional gender roles. This can be displayed through signs such as small animals or children.

4. Need for guidance – This is often seen through signs such as older people representing

the product or professionals such as lawyers, doctors, teachers, and so forth. Tradition also can be a sign such as “100 years in business” or anything similar to that. This shows that the product is a from a trusted company or source.

5. Need to aggress – This could be shown directly through fighting, but it could also shown

in less direct ways such as verbal arguments or debates. 6. Need to achieve – Often celebrities especially athletes might be used to show this idea

of achievement. Sometimes the product has nothing to do with the celebrity or athlete, but that celebrity’s fame suggests a certain level of achievement. Even sales and discounts can come under this category since they make the consumer feel as if s/he has achieved something by saving money even if it’s for a product that was unneeded in the first place!

7. Need to dominate – This doesn’t just have to be dominance over another human being (much like we might see above in #5). It could also be a sense of dominating over nature such as the truck commercials going over rugged terrain.

8. Need for prominence - This is similar to the need to achieve. Again, there may be

celebrities, but there are other signs as well. For example, the use of superlatives such as “The greatest,” “The best,” “The most,” are often used. Also, consider the camera angle and position of the signs. Perhaps the person using the product is higher up than the others, or the camera angle suggests that the viewer is looking up to that person.

9. Need for attention – This is usually shown by everyone looking at the person using the

product, and often that person is not looking back as if to suggest that the attention is only one-way.

10. Need for autonomy – This is in contrast to the need for affiliation. In these types of

advertisements, the person might be alone, or if a crowd is shown, this person stands away from the crowd.

11. Need to escape – This can be similar to the need for autonomy since the advertisements

often show one person escaping from the rest. However, escape can also be a couple or a whole family escaping. Usually there is a more natural scene. For example, a car is driving out of the city into the countryside or forest. My favorite one, even though I hate beer, is the series of Corona commercials where someone is on the beach and nothing else is happening except the sound of the waves hitting the beach. Now that’s escape!

12. Need to feel safe – This is similar to the need for guidance. This is often seen in people

who become more confident and less anxious by using the product. 13. Need for aesthetic sensations – This means anything that is pleasing to the five senses:

sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Often sight and sound are the main two senses that are being appealed to through advertising, but sometimes touch and smell can be addressed as well such as in perfume ads in magazines. Often those inserts have a different texture and smell to them. Taste is a little more difficult to address unless someone wants to try to lick the paper…uh, I don’t think so.

14. Need to satisfy curiosity – Often shown through trivia, statistics, jokes, and riddles. This

gives the consumer a sense of anticipation and then satisfaction at the punch line or the fact that is shared.

15. Physiological needs – Other than sex, this includes hunger, thirst, clothing, shelter, etc.

This one is fairly basic and literal, so you might not want to address this in your papers. It’s usually too obvious.