Advertising: Introduction to advertising

Our new topic is Advertising and Marketing and to start with we're going to look at how producers use narrative and persuasive techniques in advertising.

For example, you will need to be able to apply the four narrative theories we have studied previously to advertising texts (possibly an unseen text). You may also need to analyse persuasive techniques in unseen texts too.

Narrative theories: a reminder

You can find the original lesson notes on narrative here. To summarise each theory in a word or phrase:

• Todorov – Equilibrium
• Propp – Familiar character types
• Barthes – Enigma and action codes
• Levi-Strauss – Binary opposition

Narrative in advertising: Jonah Sachs

American writer Jonah Sachs has highlighted the importance of storytelling in advertising and marketing:

“The story wars are all around us. They are the struggle to be heard in a world of media noise and clamour. Today, most brand messages and mass appeals for causes are drowned out before they even reach us. But a few consistently break through the din, using the only tool that has ever moved minds and changed behaviour – great stories.”

Narrative in advertising: examples

There are a huge number of examples of adverts that use narrative. This marketing blogpost highlights 12 examples (including some we looked at in the lesson).

Airbnb: Breaking Down Walls




Persuasive techniques

Advertisements are generally trying to persuade their target audience to:

• Buy a product or service
• Believe something or act in a certain way
• Agree with a point of view

There are many persuasive techniques used in advertising. A selection include:

• Slogan – a catchy phrase or statement
• Repetition – constant reference to product name
• Bandwagon – everyone is buying it
• Testimonial/association – e.g. celebrity endorsement
• Emotional appeal – designed to create strong feelings
• Expert opinion – ‘4 out of 5 dentists…’

Examples:

• Slogan – Just Do It
• Repetition – Go Compare
• Bandwagon – Maybelline ‘America’s favourite mascara’
• Testimonial/association – Nespresso / George Clooney
• Emotional appeal – WaterAid ‘Dig toilets not graves’
• Expert opinion – Max Factor ‘The make-up of make-up artists’

Case study: Marmite

Marmite has a long history of unusual advertising based around the idea ‘You either love it or you hate it’. How many of the persuasive techniques can you spot in these adverts?







Introduction to advertising: blog tasks

Create a new blog post called 'Advertising: Introduction to advertising blog tasks'. Read ‘Marketing Marmite in the Postmodern age’ in MM54  (p62). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. You may also want to re-watch the Marmite Gene Project advert above.

Answer the following questions on your blog:

1) How does the Marmite Gene Project advert use narrative? Apply some narrative theories here.

2) What persuasive techniques are used by the Marmite advert?

3) Focusing specifically on the Media Magazine article, what does John Berger suggest about advertising in ‘Ways of Seeing’?

4) What is it psychologists refer to as referencing? Which persuasive techniques could you link this idea to?

5) How has Marmite marketing used intertextuality? Which of the persuasive techniques we’ve learned can this be linked to?

6) What is the difference between popular culture and high culture? How does Marmite play on this?

7) Why does Marmite position the audience as ‘enlightened, superior, knowing insiders’?

8) What examples does the writer provide of why Marmite advertising is a good example of postmodernism?

A/A* extension task

Read the marketing blog linked above on narrative in advertising. Which campaigns are particularly impressive in your opinion? How do they use narrative to connect with their audience?

Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.