Social Psychology

Figure 1: Thank You Mom Advert

Source: Silverchair. (2012).

Figure one’s advert features a multinational corporation named P&G, whom are an umbrella band. Therefore any advertisement they choose is very important as bad publicity could cause a knock on effect for every product on their market line.  Within this advert it is evident that the ‘halo effect’ technique has been utilized. The Economist. (2009). Indicates that if people are good at doing A then they will be good at doing B, C and D (or the reverse—If people are bad at doing A they will be bad at doing B, C and D).

The advert focuses strongly on the halo effect, due to the fact that it highlights the general role of mothers within society as looking after and taking care of their children. This links in the mother using P&G products which are repeatedly shown in the background for reinforcement purposes of the products which this brand produces, by using P&G products it could be seen as indicating that the mother and the brand share the same credentials as loving and caring, also with the children all being successful within their sporting events at the end of the advert this could also be seen to link in with the credentials as they are all appear and seem to be successful products.

However, Nisbett, R, Wilson, T. (1977). Notes that if we like a person, we often assume that those attributes of the person about which we know little are also favorable. Also, The Economist. (2009). Reports that the halo effect was highly influenced by first impressions. If we see a person first in a good light, it is difficult subsequently to darken that light. Both references indicate that if for instance someone was to enjoy using P&G products then this type of advertising would be beneficial as it would persuade the individual to carry on purchasing their products, however a conflicting argument could be that if a person had issues with the brand P&G or did not like their products this type of advertising strategy would be unsuccessful as it would not entice them into purchasing their range of products.

Figure 2: Holidays At Home Advert (Solidarity)

Source: Visit England. (2012).

The advert for figure two features a number of successful British actors and actresses who all share common interests that is sharing a love for travelling within the UK. Baldwin, M. (1910). Notes that Solidarity is an affair of the mutual relations of a group of individuals to one another. The solidarity theory therefore links in with the love of the United Kingdom which the actors appear to have as they are all individuals which all share a mutual love for their country. All of the actors have the same interest, however there are still depictions of various activities that may be undertaken within the United Kingdom giving themselves a sense of individualism.

Figure 3: How Influential Are Celebrities

Source: Marketing Charts. (2014).

Alternatively a negative of using celebrities within a solidarity advertisement is that the chart above indicates that using a celebrity to endorse a product or service doesn’t enhance the chance of success. Therefore regarding this advert’s utilization of celebrity endorsement it may in fact not entice people into going on holiday within the United Kingdom, meaning the advert could be unsuccessful.

References

Baldwin, M. (1910). The Basis of Social Solidarity. American Journal of Sociology. 15 (6), 817.

Silverchair. (2012). Olympics P&G - Thank You Mom Commercial. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V-20Qe4M8Y. Last accessed 27th April 2015.

The Economist. (2009). The halo effect. Available: http://www.economist.com/node/14299211. Last accessed 27th April 2015.

Marketing Charts. (2014). How Influential Are Celebrities?. Available: http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/are-celebrities-that-influential-38018/. Last accessed 27th April 2015.

Nisbett, R, Wilson, T. (1977). The Halo Effect: Evidence for Unconscious Alteration of Judgments. Journal Of Personality and Social Psychology. 34 (4), 250.

Visit England. (2012). Holidays at home are great TV advert | Great 2012 Offers. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viCZ4XjTliY. Last accessed 27th April 2015.

Self and Social Efficacy

Self-efficacy is a theory that was introduced by a psychologist called Albert Bandura. Bandura, A. (1977). The belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations. This reference therefore indicates that self-efficacy is the belief of the individual within himself or herself to succeed on tasks or within situations.

There are four factors which affect self-efficacy according to Albert Bandura. The first factor is experiences, for example self-efficacy would be increased if the task was performed successfully previously, however if the past experience was negative this would weaken self efficacy. The second factor is social modeling, which simply means that if you were to witness another individual completing a task your social efficacy would increase, as you would feel that by viewing another person’s capabilities to complete a task successfully you also possess the required skills to complete the task.

The third factor according to Bandura’s model is social persuasion, this factor touches on that positive reinforcement from another individual can help overcome negative feelings helping with increasing efficacy. The fourth and final factor is psychological response; this focuses on the person’s emotions towards situations, for instance if a person becomes anxious before completing group work activities, this will decrease their self efficacy levels in completing group work tasks. 

Social efficacy differs from self efficacy as it focuses on creating social relationships with others in order to have a desired a positive outcome in difficult situations, and it is dependent on bringing satisfaction to other peoples lives.

Weedmark, D. Helping potential customers develop a sense of self-efficacy is an important motivator behind their decision whether or not to purchase a product or service. This reference touches on why it is crucial in order to run a successful marketing campaign that self and social efficacy is touched on.

Figure 1: Nike Run Advert

Source: Sweney, M. (2012).

For instance figure one touches on self-efficacy as it includes the theory of Bandura within this marketing campaign advertisement. Bandura’s first stage of self-efficacy would be to draw on past experiences, and as this advert will be aimed at keen runners or people who enjoy physical activity or wish to lose weight this would be the perfect target market. The campaign features an Olympic gold medal winner Mo Farah to encourage people even more to purchase this product with the use of celebrity endorsement. The second stage of Bandura’s model which was previously mentioned is social modeling that is depicted within this advertisement as it depicts Mo Farah having the required capabilities to complete this task of running to a high ability.

The third factor of social persuasion could be interpreted by the slogan written in the bottom left of the advertisement, this is a motivational device to enhance positivity and furthermore increase self-efficacy. Finally the fourth factor is involved within this as Nikes customer base may have a large interest in physical activity, specifically running, so may have positive feelings towards the advertisement through association in the three previous factors. Therefore self-efficacy should be higher in Nike’s target market inducing higher sales and revenue from this advert for their running products.

It could be interpreted that through the use of advertisement, which is mentioned in figure, one could be positively increasing a persons self and social efficacy it could also be argued that the use of marketing mentioned could be frowned upon. This could be questioned as to if its ethically right using peoples self-esteem and confidence of themselves as to what products they may buy in an attempt to increase this or be shone away from purchasing that product or service. Therefore marketing could be a primary step to manipulate the general public in to purchasing specific goods and services.

Figure 2: Calvin Klein Advertisement

Source : Zhang, M. (2015).

Figure 3: Victorias Secret Model Advertisement

Source: Culp-Ressler, T. (2014).

The above advertisements could be seen as negative because it depicts an unreachable goal in which the average person may not be able to reach, showing a weakness in Bandura’s theory. By over editing and dramatizing certain features of both male and female models these brands portray the “perfect body” ostracizing the general public to an extent, which may affect a minority of their target market.

An opposing view on this is that both brands may increase larger revenue due to more products being purchased due to the fact that these advertisements show a social stereotype of the idealistic, utopian-like man and woman. Viewing these ‘Victoria Secret Angels’ wearing the garments of lingerie through the theory of social efficacy a woman may depend on the idea of looking like the models if she was to purchase said items.  Furthermore, by utilizing society’s idea of the idyllic woman and man these brands can manipulate consumers into a false state of if they were to wear the products it would make them closer to the unachievable ‘perfect models.’

Groesz LM, Levine MP, Murnen SK (2001). Boys learn to view their bodies as a tool to master the environment, whereas girls learn that their bodies should be used to attract others. This reference supports my earlier statement, Victoria secret employs unrealistic expectations through models to attract other women to aspire to be like them, however it can hinder women from purchasing products from this company as it may damage confidence levels, therefore affecting social efficacy and the chance that the consumer may have a relationship with this brand.

References:

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.

Culp-Ressler, T. (2014). Victoria’s Secret Edits ‘Perfect Body’ Ad After Critics Complained It Was Damaging To Women. Available: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/11/06/3589806/victorias-secret-edits-ads/. Last accessed 8th April 2015.

Groesz LM, Levine MP, Murnen SK (2001). The Effect of Experimental Presentation of Thin Media Images on Body Satisfaction: A Meta-Analytic Review. Ohio: ohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord. p1-16.

Sweney, M. (2012). Nike launches ad celebrating Mo Farah Olympic gold medal wins. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/aug/13/nike-ad-mo-farah-olympics. Last accessed 8th April 2015.

Weedmark, D. The Importance of Self-Efficacy in Marketing. Available: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-selfefficacy-marketing-38729.html. Last accessed 8th April 2015.

Zhang, M. (2015). Shoot Reveals Photoshop Enhancements. Available: http://petapixel.com/2015/01/09/unretouched-photo-justin-biebers-calvin-klein-shoot-reveals-photoshop-enhancements/. Last accessed 8th April 2015.

Rhetoric Advertising

Rossolatos, George (2013). Rhetoric is defined as an artful deviation relative to audience expectation and it is assumed to create pleasure in processing. According to McQuarrie and Mick, ads containing rhetorical figures will produce a more favorable brand attitude toward the ad. This suggests that using rhetoric as a device through advertising is extremely successful, as this will incline people to associate themselves with their products, leading to greater revenue for Adidas.

Above is a print advertisement, which I have created for the brand Adidas. The unique selling point of the above brand is the aesthetics of the product as they focus on the styling and comfort of the attire they produce. There is also a slogan utilized by the brand across both television and print advertisements that is ‘impossible is nothing’, metathesis is employed by switching the words to produce a much more powerful statement suggesting in fact that nothing is impossible. I have chosen to include this within the print ad above as there was a strong belief in the media regarding that the previous 100m world record set by Usain Bolt would never be beaten and that it was an impossible feet. Through the use of irony as a rhetorical device depicted in Bolt’s almost mockery-like statement it conjoins with the slogan of Adidas to contrast claims that something may be impossible, also evoking feelings of self-improvement and challenge in the sporting world. This pattern can also be seen in the use of repetition of the word impossible to show how it is merely just a word, and can be defied by Bolt and by the Adidas consumers to achieve anything.

Substitution states something different to what is shown and relies on the recipient to correct this. Rossolatos, George (2013). Within my print advertisement I have used the substation approach through the use of irony, which I highlighted previously.  

Pathos, which is an aspect of rhetoric, is also used within this advertisement through the use of the visual aid of the body language from Bolt. His stance and facial expression depicts happiness and pleasure in his success and ability to overcome what ‘they said’. His signature pose can be noticed as a pose of success and self-gain, which in turn could link to the viewer as they may affiliate a link between being successful and Adidas products, which could increase the sale of Adidas products.

References:

Rossolatos, George (2013). Brand Equity Planning with Structuralist Rhetorical Semiotics. Germany : Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. p115.

Negative vs Positive Advertising in Charities

In this assignment charitable advertising will be used in order to identify and assess arguments for and against using negative advertisement as a device in order to generate a greater income to address the underlining issue.

Figure 1: Motivating Factors For Donations

(Source: Mitskavets, I. (2010).

According to figure one a growing resource for gaining income for charities is through the use of television advertising. Therefore it is essential that the advertisement either positive or negative fits in with their target market in order to generate a larger income.

Yau, R. (2012). Positive campaigns build goodwill, generate conversation and galvanise the layperson to take action. This reference states that their belief is that positive advertisement is the action which should be undertaken by charities as it does not only address the issue it allows for it to be conversed about amongst society. This reference which supports positive advertising can be linked to research conducted by the UK’s prostate cancer charity which discovered when positive appeal letters were sent rather than negative ones, the positive appeal letters made donations worth 45% more on average (Yau, R. 2012).

Figure 2: Breast Cancer Awareness Advertising Campaign

(Source: Scottish Government. (2012)

An example of positive advertising amongst charities is seen in the Scottish breast cancer awareness campaign of 2012, which is shown above. The campaign features a statement of equality showing that all women have the chance of being diagnosed with cancer. However in the advertisement light heartedness is employed alongside positive reinforcement, this appears multiple times in the way information is displayed via small boards held by the actress to show that it is in her control, much like cancer. Specific vocabulary choices such as ‘breast cancer is much more treatable these days’ and by the actor smiling at the end it gives an overall positive feel to what can be a life changing situation.

The Lancet. (1993). Some charities have adopted powerful and emotive imagery in support of their cause, and such tactics can be extremely successful in raising public profile. Negative television advertising is a common theme, which appears through marketing campaigns for some charities in order to shock and grab the attention of the audience, and by doing this emotions can be a contributing factor in then inclining you how bad the surrounding issue is and that something needs to be done about it.

However according to Hudson, S. (2013). When people feel extreme negative emotion they go into a state of withdrawal, and are therefore unlikely to take action and give money. This reference therefore is conflicting to my earlier reference due to the fact that this is stating that negative advertisement is not a wise marketing approach to gain donations for charities as it can put the audience off donating.

Figure 3: NSPCC Christmas Advert 2014

(Source: WPN Chameleon. (2014)

Above is an example of a negative advert, which was used for the National society for the prevention of cruelty to children campaign in 2014. In this video it shows a number of vulnerable children who suffer countlessly when it comes to simple things we may take for granted such as sleeping. The dark colour scheme throughout emphasizes the detrimental effect this abuse is taking on the child’s happiness and welfare as a whole, this is especially poignant when linking to the festive and bright time that Christmas is. The facial expressions of each child follow a similar pattern of despair and loneliness to evoke the viewer into an empathetic state and perhaps sway them to also donate to this cause. 

De Castella, T. (2012). Have to make sure that in the one or two times that people see the ad, it registers. Hence you need to create a shocking or standout image. This reference is therefore stating its importance of sticking in the customer’s memory and associating links with how devastating certain situations can be in order to maximize potential donations.

Figure 4: Barnardo’s Advert

(Source: Videos. (2008)

One further example of negative advertising is the Barnados 2008 advert shown above. It features a young individual who repeatedly finds herself in distress either through being in a jail cell or having some form of domestic abuse from her father at home. This advert solely emphasizes on the shock effect of how she is trapped in a repetitive cycle that is evidently harming her mentally and physically. The employment of repetition in the advertisement displays the extent to which the girl suffers every single day, and could offer reason for anger by the viewer.

The two negative adverts shown above could change their marketing campaigns to a positive approach, by depicting the great work completed by such charities to turn the children’s lives around. However the two charities have instead focused on showing distressing imagery in order to get their message across and to persuade viewers to give generously to their cause in fighting against these serious issues.

In conclusion I believe that negative advertising is a useful tool in specific charity appeals, however it appears to be very subjective and inappropriate for some cases such as breast cancer research, where positivity and optimism are main components to aid people through the journey of cancer. However charities may choose to expose raw images and facts that impact on the viewer and display the struggle behind their work, in order to relay in the viewers mind to generate social conversation and publicity. This may wholly produce greater donations from the general public, although my earlier reference stated that positivity in advertising ended up producing donations of 45% more on average, supporting my inclination towards positive advertising.

References:

De Castella, T. (2012). What is it that really offends people about adverts?. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19048807. Last accessed 2nd March 2015.

Hudson, S. (2013). Are emotive appeals effective in persuading people to give to charity?. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2013/sep/02/effective-emotive-appeals. Last accessed 2nd March 2015.

Mitskavets, I. (2010). Charitable Giving. Available: http://academic.mintel.com/display/551912/#figure4. Last accessed 2nd March 2015.

Scottish Government. (2012). Breast Cancer Awareness. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxQdfB-no50. Last accessed 2nd March 2015.

The Lancet. (1993). Advertising by medical charities. The Lancet (British edition). 342 (8881), 1187 - 1188.

Videos. (2008). Barnardo's advert. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFOcrZeMRUU. Last accessed 2nd March 2015.

WPN Chameleon. (2014). NSPCC Xmas 2014. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFHotOQPz0I. Last accessed 2nd March 2015.

Yau, R. (2012). Why charities should abandon shock advertising. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2012/aug/30/charities-should-abandon-shock-advertising. Last accessed 2nd March 2015.