An advertisement is something such as a short film or a written notice shown or presented to the public in order to help sell a product. Jib Fowles, a professor from the University of Houston, wrote an article describing the emotional appeals of an advertisement. According to Fowles, “The continuous pressure is to create ads more and more in the image of audience motives and desires” (Fowles 33). The goal of the advertisements is to relate to the needs and desires of the audience.
Although the Kindle ad and the Energizer ad both have relatable pictures, they have different appeals: The kindle ad uses appeals to the need to escape and the need to satisfy curiosity because it targets young adventurous people, while the Energizer headlight ad employs the need to nurture, and need for guidance because it is targeting middle class families. The first ad is for the Kindle Paperwhite. This ad was published in People magazine on page 44 published on July 22, 2015. A Kindle is a small hand-held electronic device for reading books, which has been developed by online retailer Amazon.
The Paperwhite is adapted to be used outside. The ad is showing the consumer it can be used outside anywhere. The target audience of the Kindle ad is young adults looking for an easy way to read and research. The ad faces a page in the magazine which talks about the twelve hottest books to read in the summer. The ad placement grabs the consumer and makes them want to buy it and read the hottest books of the summer. The second ad is advertising an Energizer headlight. This ad was published in People magazine on page 76 on July 22, 2015.
The headlight is a flash light with a band which goes on your head for hands free tasks. It features a pivoting light and comes with an adjustable head strap for added comfort during use. The target audience of this ad is a middle class family person. In the middle of the advertisement is a coupon to buy the product. Most middle class people enjoy saving money on products they buy. The ad grabs the attention by showing a father with his daughter and a dog. The ad faces an article “Lessons from my father. ” It is a tribute article from celebrities to their dads for father’s day.
This article placement helps create the target audience for the Energizer Headlight. The colors of an ad are very important to the audience. The kindle ad has light neutral colors which are satisfying to the eye. The ad shows a person holding a kindle. On the table there is a map and a cup of coffee. The scene takes place at a lake with two other people and a camper. The words on the kindle is a Wikipedia page describing the lake the people are at. The ads audience is for young adventurous people because of the scenery and the caption in the middle of the page.
According to the Kindle ad, “Amazon asked us to take the kindle Paperwhite with us on the road. We stopped outside Torres Del Paine National Park to let the girls explore, while I downloaded Lonely Planet South America and planned our next move” (People Magazine 44). It relates to younger people because it includes Instagram and twitter addresses. The color scheme of the Energizer Headlight ad is dark and mysterious. The ad includes a father holding his daughters hand and walking his two dogs. It is night time so he needs a flashlight. They are walking in a park or down a street.
The father and daughter add a warmth to the ad because it relates to a family oriented person. According to Fowles, “Advertisers respond, urging us to ‘reach out and touch someone” (Fowles 41). The goal of the Energizer headlight ad is to reach out to a family oriented person in hopes of selling their product. The kindle ad appeals to the need to escape and the need to satisfy curiosity. According to Fowles, “The consumer exposed to the advertisement in invited to momentarily depart his everyday life for a more carefree experience, preferably with the product in hand” (Fowles 46).
The ad invites the consumer easy access to a different experience with knowledge right in their hands. The ad makes the consumer believe it is simple to just get up and go on vacation without worrying about a loss of knowledge. With the kindle Paperwhite it makes it easy to read and research while enjoying the environment around you. According to Fowles, “Human beings are curious by nature, interested in the world around them… ” (Fowles 48). The kindle makes it possible for the consumer to search information right at their fingertips.
In the ad the person is searching about Ushuaia, which is nestled on the shores of the Beagle Channel. It makes the consumer able to look up anything or make their next move for a vacation. The Energizer Headlight ad appeals to the need to nurture and the need for guidance. According to Fowles, “Akin to affiliate needs is the need to take care of small, defenseless creatureschildren and pets, largely” (Fowles 41). The ad directly shows pets and children in it. The Father is walking the dogs and the child at night. To keep them safe he is wearing a headlight so they can see where they are going.
The Fatherly instinct is to keep his family safe. The ad includes a slogan “Buy one headlight, get two hands free” (People Magazine 76). By not having to hold a flashlight the man can multi-task and enjoy time with both his daughter and his pets. Similar to the need to nurture is the need for guidance. “The opposite of the need to nurture is the need to be nurtured: to be protected, shielded, and guided. The Headlight is used to keep the family safe. Its job is to produce light to help them see and warn off people or things which may hurt them.
The Kindle Paperwhite advertisement and the Energizer headlight advertisement do have similarities with each other. Both the advertisements relate to adventure and spending time with family. They both have captions in the center of the page to grab the audience. “Buy one headlight, get two hands free” (People Magazine 76) and “Amazon asked us to take the kindle Paperwhite with us on the road. We stopped outside Torres Del Paine National Park to let the girls explore, while | downloaded Lonely Planet South America and planned our next move” (People Magazine 44).
Both advertisements relate to a family oriented aspect but also an adventurous aspect to. The job of an ad is to attract people to buy their ad. The companies appeal to the fifteen appeals created by Henry A. Murray. Each appeal relates to senses and emotions of the consumer. The Kindle Paperwhite ad does a better job appealing to their target audience using the need to escape. It places the consumer in an environment where it is hard not to buy the product. Personally, I have the Kindle Paperwhite and the ad does it justice. The Energizer Headlight ad could ad more relatable aspects to the advertisement.