Sorry if that thread title was a bit inflammatory. Here’s what sparked the question. I’ve always been intrigued by the use of particular words in advertisements and my assumption that every little word is chosen with care to maximize gross margin return on investment (GMROI.) Last night I was watching a video tape (yes, a video tape) of some comedy shows I had made while living in Florida. There was a commercial of a car dealership with a young, attractive couple sporting huge, beautiful Colgate smiles, which went as follows. “Our credit was in the dumpster! Blankity Blank Ford got us the price and the financing we deserve!” Deserve. Deserve? Now, the linguist in me knows full well that this word simply ripples with the capacity to be manipulated. The young couple has just stated that their credit was in the dumpster, so the dealership has a verbal shield ready when actual couples with actual bad credit flock to this dealership in search of a .0005% rate on their loan and instead receive a 45%. But of course, we all know that the word also has an emotive feeling of entitlement, the same feeling which was being projected by those huge, Colgate smiles. I personally know better than to allow word choice in ads to affect me, but what about the general populace? Through the next two hours of the video, I heard the word deserve used no less than seven times. The price you deserve. The financing you deserve. The selection you deserve. The service you deserve. Etc.
The message is directed at the couple with the poor credit, though. It is directed toward their perception of what they deserve. Think about it. If you are a young couple who feels their low credit score is unfairly laid upon them, instead of taking responsibility for why it is low, might they not think they deserve a better break? This is not to say that the credit scoring system is perfect, though. The metrics used are somewhat surprising and more than a little arbitrary.
100% agreement, and pretty much the point I’m trying to make. The commercial is carefully choosing wording that incites our sense of entitlement to something better then what we (the greater we, or they) may actually deserve.
the ones that get to me are the companies that say call us and we will get your interest rates reduced or eliminated. Now the rest of us are paying the interest at the high rate so how come should someone who spent the money get a break. It simply means all our interest rates end up going up but the poor guy who gets it reduced sits there laughing. I know life isn't fair but could it be a little bit leveller.
so, the advertising world is one of illusion, sleight-of-hand and outright lying... what did you think it was? one of the stupidest commercials i've ever seen is currently showing... it's for tropicana's 'valencia' oj and claims proudly that the orange they show as representative of what they make their juice from, has 'been allowed to ripen on the tree for a full year'!... as if that's desirable, for pity's sake!!!... just picture what an orange will look like, after it stays on a tree for a year... does the word 'mummified' or 'petrified' come to mind?...
When I think of the word "deserve", I am reminded of the classic expression that one "deserves a second chance." This notion assumes one has "learned from a lesson" and feels "contrition for the prior mistake or misdeed". From this perspective, the word "deserve" is the perfect choice to connect with people who ruined their credit. Its a GOOD advertising for the intended customer...i.e. people who want a second chance. As a side note, some copywriter made a lot of money crafting that advertisement. If you have good word smithing skills and want to earn a living in "writing", advertising offers a good opportunity that might even be recession-proof. I say recession-proof because during business downturns, competition for limited customer dollars intensifies and most businesses respond with more advertising. .....NaCl
This is precisely why I watch as little TV as possible. There are people out there right this very second being paid to think up new ways to separate you from your money. And somewhere along the line somebody thought the word 'deserve' was just the ticket.
Know your enemy. I believe it is far more effective to look at the enemy straight on, and understand his strategy. Critical thinking is the skill of analyzing an position and distinguishing the facts and the legitimate arguments form emotional manipulation and other fallacious persuasive techniques. Essentially, you scrape away the manure to find what, if anything, of substance lies beneath.
I've wondered about that one myself. But the one that really bothers me is, "Have a happy period." A "reasonably comfortable" or a "not totally miserable" period maybe. But HAPPY? Who writes this crap?
OMG!!!! I am in pain I have laughed so hard...LOL!! Some of the stuff that comes across the screen...totally asinine!!! I honestly believe they enjoy insulting my intelligence...what little is left after watching some of that babble...I feel my IQ drop every time I see those mens body spray commercials...Really? Please!!!
A particularly AWEsome example! And they get Regina King, with her smooth, confident, trustworthy voice to sell you on the "Happy Period." You have hit the nail on the head, Chim! After reading through the responses within this thread, they fall into two main categories: ~ Yes, the advertiser is most definitely manipulating wording in order to pluck emotional strings which connect to the take the credit card out of the wallet/purse reflex. and... ~ I hate commercials because they are so blatantly attempting to force me into a reaction that all I can do is laugh or vomit. There was a very, very, small (tiny) minority vote for: ~ They are doing their job, which is to manipulate us. Hooray advertisers! So I ask the question again. At whom are they advertising? Who is the actual target demographic for this verbal slight of hand? We seem to detest commercials so much; are they really doing a good job at getting our money? These are paid writers, after all. I have to assume they received an education appropriate to their field. Perhaps it’s just desperation. The advent of digital video recorders has rung the death knell of the commercial, IMHO. Products are being placed within shows again. People no longer drink the anonymous can of generic BEER or SODA in your favorite Thursday night comedy show. Children no longer eat CEREAL at the breakfast table. Adults actually drink Budweiser and Pepsi again. Children eat Cocoa Puffs and Fruity Pebbles!
honeybun, to any woman of child-bearing age, who's not ready to change poopy didies, any period is a happy period!
