The paper looks at the concept of marketing from the cultural aspect of it. It picks adn example of an advertisement online that tries to convince the potential consumers of the need to consume their product. The advertisement is analyzed on the lines of whether it takes into account the cultural aspect of the consumers or not.
Culture and Marketing Strategy
About the print ad from http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2013/johnnie-walker-from-the-future/
The print ad is about a certain brand of alcoholic drink that is endorsed by a professional athlete. The athlete takes a sip from a glass of whisky and begins walking. This in a way appears to suggest that consumers of this particular brand of whisky can cover long distances after taking this whiskey. Information pertaining to alcoholic content and how the brand is matured are not clearly visible on the ad. The only visible thing is the image of the person who has endorsed the brand making some strides.
Assumptions made by the authors of the ad
The authors of the ad try to make the ad to be more appealing to the motives and desires of the consumers. They give form to people's deep-lying desires. They assume that they will best arrest the consumer's attention by tugging consumer's psychological shirt sleeves and slowing them down enough about what is being sold. They assume that by invoking consumers' drives and longing, they will earn consumers' attention (Petracca & Sorapure, 1998). Advertisers have realized that consumers have become resistant to advertisement. They have therefore embarked on using subconscious appeals. The advertisers assume that human beings walk around with variety of unfulfilled urges and motives that keep swirling at the bottom half of their minds. Solution to these unfulfilled urges has to be found. Mental forces energize consumers (Petracca & Sorapure, 1998). However, they are too crude and irregular to be given excessive play in the real world. Mental forces have to be capped with competent, sensible behavior that permits individuals to get along well in the society. The upper layer of mental activity is not always receptive to advertising pitches. That is why the advertisers endeavor to circumvent this shell of consciousness and latch on the subconscious drives (Petracca & Sorapure, 1998). That is why advertisers on this print ad are by trial and error trying to discover the softest points of entry, the places where there messages have the greatest likelihood of getting by consumers' defenses (Statt, 1977). The ad communicates by using specially selected images which stimulate sub-rational emotional impulses and desires. The ad conforms to the emotional appeal demands by using fine artwork which makes sense because visual communication suits primal levels of brain (Altstiel & Grow, 2006). People are intent on being perceived achievers. This drive energizes them and pushes them to strive in their lives and careers. This need to achieve creates an urge in an individual to accomplish difficult tasks. They endeavor to overcome obstacles and attain high standards. This is what the ad on the whisky capitalizes on. The advertisers hook uses the image of the professional athlete because they know consumers will easily identify with winning and success. The ad does not disclose that this athlete tried several times to become world beater before finally becoming a top notch athlete. The advert portrays the athlete as a champion in the road races and track events. Remember the Cutty Sark advert that failed to disclose that Ted Turner failed at his latest attempt at Yachting's America Cup. Just like the ad that tried to imply that anybody who rents Hertz can be successful like OJ Simpson, the ad implies that one can be successful by drinking this brand of whiskey. The ad uses this sports hero's publicity as the most convenient means to snare consumer's need to achieve. The product advertises itself in superlatives in a bid to make contact with the consumers needs to succeed because the brains behind this ad know that for many consumers, sales and bargains belong in this category of appeals. If you consume a brand that is consumed by successful and established individuals you are also bound to succeed just like them.
Consumer group that the ad excludes
The ad does not appeal to professional sportsmen. It also excludes people who for religious or health reasons do not take alcoholic drinks and would hate to see such advertisements spread all over.
The ad's relationship with cultural values
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