Advertising and the Visual Medium

"Words are easily forgotten, but pictures stay in our minds." - Paul Lester.

For thousands of years people have tried to entice consumers to buy their products. From dish detergent to potato chips, the use of visual advertising has been employed. So what makes an advertisement convincing? Well, some basic guidelines for effective advertising are:

· The product must be reliable.
· The product must be something that the consumer deems as a necessity.
· The product must be priced correctly.
· The product must save labor or be deemed by the consumer as important.
· The product should be helpful
· The product should be stylish and attractive
· The product should be repeatedly advertised.

With these guidelines in mind, let's look at some popular advertising campaigns of recent times.

The Absolut vodka campaign has been popular throughout the 80's, 90's, and into the new millennium. So what are the elements of visual advertising that have made their ad so popular?

Well, liquor wouldn't necessarily be a product deemed necessary by the individual. It is also one of the higher priced fine spirits, so it might not be the most cost efficient product. It's not truly labor saving. Then what about this ad makes it so popular? It is stylish and hip. What Absolut ads lack in promoting their product as necessary and labor saving, they make up in an artful representation of their bottle. This repeated use of presentation in different mediums keeps a fresh look for Absolut and keeps people coming back.

Another ad campaign made popular by repeated advertisements is the Taco Bell dog commercial that saturated television commercials in the late 90's. While many of us, the consumers, weren't sad to see this lovable chihuahua is gone, this ad increased Taco Bell sales by the millions.

Again, while it is a popular ad, it does not follow ordinary rules of advertising. It does not present the consumer with reasons as to the necessity of the product. Nor are tacos labor saving in any way. This commercial uses humor as its persuasion. A little chihuahua begging for Taco Bell is in some way amusing. Does this make it more marketable?

Coca - Cola - The American Way

"Before McDonald's or EuroDisney, there was Coca-Cola. No export served as a more potent symbol of the American way of life than Coke." -Richard Pells.

We know that Coca-Cola is known the world over. Why? Many believe it is because of its shrewd marketing approach, especially considering visual advertising. Coca- Cola may just be a soft drink, but there is something about it that represents freedom, spirit, American lifestyles, and of course, refreshment. So what makes this product so popular the world over? Some say it is the imperialistic marketing scheme of Coca-Cola executives to force Coca-Cola down the throats of foreigners. Others credit the marketing of Coca-Cola. Let's analyze Coke's advertising and uncover the mystery…

As you can see, this Coke ad appeals to our senses, even though we are only using our eyes. The beads of water forming on the bottle, the ice surrounding, it tells us that this beverage is cold and desirable. The spray from the bottle almost comes right out at you. It makes you crave it more because it's right there. While the sensory cues are very important in the selling of Coke, there is a more important marketing tool…Product recognition.

You'd have to be out in the most remote regions of the Himalayans to not recognize the Coke label. The bold red background and old glass bottle with the Coca-Cola insignia is hard not to notice. Especially with the global market employed by Coca-Cola, you can't really get away from it. So, does it really work? Yes. Coca-Cola has remained the top selling soft drink bottler for over fifty years.

Advertising and the New Age

"Visually dominated advertising provides the consumer with a perception of greater
familiarity with the product." -Elizabeth C. Hirschman.

In the age of the Internet and popular television, it might be assumed that as a whole we have abandoned written media. But the reality of it is that as humans we remember about 10% of what we hear, 30% of what we read, and about 80% of what we see. Considering this evidence, it is easy to see why we are such a visually dominated society. Paul Lester, a leading psychologist in visual advertising says,

"We are becoming a visually mediated society. For many, understanding of the world is being accomplished, not through reading words, but by reading images."

What does this mean for the advertisers of tomorrow? They, like us, will have to adapt accordingly. That means better advertising on the Internet, without saturating our eyes. More images spliced with words. Better understanding of the products through visual analysis.