Chapter 11: Advertising: Selling a Message
Summary and Learning Objectives
Advertisements are paid messages about an organization, a product, a service, or an idea that
appear in the mass media. Advertising provides numerous benefits to society, including making
media less expensive and contributing to a large and diverse economy. While advertising has
existed in the United States since colonial times, it was industrialization, urbanization, and the
growth of national transportation networks in the nineteenth century that allowed it to become a
major industry. Advertising transformed the media industry from one supported primarily by
subscribers to one supported by advertising revenues. Publishers (and later broadcasters) were no
longer sellers of content to audience members; they were now sellers of audiences to advertisers.
Advertising can be broken down into consumer advertising, advocacy advertising, and trade
(business-to-business) advertising; according to the audience, the client is attempting to reach
and the idea or product it is trying to sell. The advertising industry encompasses four main
groups: the client who has something to advertise, the advertising agency or department that
creates the advertising, the media that carry the ads, and the audiences targeted by the
advertisements.
Advertisers use a variety of strategies to reach their audiences. They may attempt to understand
the needs, wants, and motivations of audience members through psychographic research. They
also target products to specific demographic groups.
Critics argue that advertising raises the cost of merchandise, that many ads are tasteless, and that
ads can exploit young people and other vulnerable audiences. Advertisers join the critics in
complaining that there are too many advertisements in the media, creating the problem referred
to as clutter. Although there have been complaints of advertisers embedding subliminal messages
in ads, there is no evidence that such messages have been used or that they are effective.
Advertising is going through a period of significant change as new technology emerges, which
allows consumers to bypass viewing commercials on television. But technology is also providing
numerous new venues for advertising, including the Internet and mobile devices. Companies are
increasingly making use of integrated marketing communication strategies that bring together
multiple forms of marketing communication to promote their brands. Advertisers are also
looking at promoting their products through elaborately developed product placement and social
marketing.
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Describe two major reasons why advertising grew dramatically in importance during the 19th
century.
2. Define what “advertising” is using examples of six different types of advertisements.
3. Describe the four major groups in the advertising business and the key characteristics of each.
4. Explain how advertisers use demographics and psychographics to target their audience.
5. Name four common misconceptions about the advertising industry.
6. Discuss the controversies surrounding advertising directed at children.
7. Discuss how companies are using integrated marketing communication (IMC) to promote their
brands.
Review Questions
1. What are the dangers to advertisers when they place their messages next to online posts
from young celebrities?
2. What had to happen socially in the 19th century in order for advertising to become an
important part of our culture?
3. How can advertisers grab the attention of consumers when there are so many competing
advertisements they are being exposed to?
4. How did Apple’s “1984” commercial introducing the Macintosh transform Super Bowl
advertising?
5. How does integrated marketing communication differ from traditional advertising?
Media Literacy Exercises
Psychographics I
Clip a full-page ad from a magazine. Analyze who you think the target audience is and explain why.
You might want to discuss age, sex, income, education, and psychographic group. For more
information about the VALS system, you can consult its website at
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/
Psychographics II
Before working on this, make sure you read the material on VALS from your textbook. Visit the
VALS site, read about the VALS process, and take the VALS questionnaire. In a brief essay (400–500
words), answer the following questions:
• What is VALS?
• In your own words, describe how did their questionnaire categorize you? Do you agree with
its classification? Why or why not?
• Briefly discuss at least one broadcast or print ad (be specific) that you feel targets your
VALS category. Explain why you think it is targeting your category.
• VALS Homepage: What is VALS?
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/about.shtml
• What are the VALS categories?
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes.shtml
• OK, I’m ready to take the VALS survey.
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/presurvey.shtml
Notes: Students are often either fascinated or offended by psychographics. Many will see instant
recognition of themselves in their VALS category, while others will be furious about being reduced
to what they view as a simplistic description of themselves. I remind them that VALS does not
describe who they are so much as describe how advertisers view people like them.
Grading Rubric
Levels of Achievement
Criteria
Deficient
Less Than Assigned
As
Assi
gne
d
Superior
Length
Weight
25.00%
0%
Assignment is significantly
under length
70%
Assignment is under
assigned length
85
%
Assi
gnm
ent
is
app
roxi
mat
ely
500
wor
ds
100%
Assignment is fully
developed essay
that goes beyond
basic assignment
What Is
VALS?
Weight
25.00%
0%
Assignment omits multiple
required details
70%
Assignment gives only
minimal definition of
VALS, uses Wikipedia
85
%
Assi
gnm
ent
expl
ains
wha
t the
VAL
S
syst
em
is
100%
Assignment
contains all
required elements;
elaborates on
details
How Did
VALS
Categoriz
e You?
Weight
25.00%
0%
Assignment omits
significant details
70%
Assignment is vague
or incomplete in one
or more of the
required details
85
%
Des
crib
es
two
cate
gori
es
plac
es
you
in;
give
100%
Discussion of VALS
categorization goes
beyond basic
elements, explains
significance of it
s
your
reac
tion
to
how
you
are
cate
gori
zed
Movie
Analysis
Weight
25.00%
0%
Assignment omits
significant details; does
not discuss a specific ad
60%
Assignment has
simple or unclear
discussion of ad
85
%
Assi
gnm
ent
disc
usse
s an
ad
that
targ
ets
your
grou
p
fro
m
VAL
S
100%
Assignment has
added depth to
discussion of
targeted ad
Advertising Headlines
You are employed at an advertising agency and have been assigned to help with a campaign for a
will appeal to your target audience.
Notes: This is a fun assignment for students that will help them internalize the notion of audience
targeting. You would likely expect to see some kind of “maximum performance” theme for the
college audience, a “feel your best” or “deal with stress” theme for the 40– to 50-year-old group, and
an “easy way to make sure they get the nutrients they need” for the single parents. Students will
Suggested Readings
• Duhigg, C. (2014). The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. New York:
Random House.
• Twitchell, J. B. (1996). AdcultUSA: The triumph of advertising in American culture. New York:
Columbia University Press. Twitchell provides an excellent look at the American culture of
advertising. Although critical of the advertising industry at times, Twitchell avoids the
temptation to blame all that is wrong with the world on advertising.
• Thorson, E. (Ed.), Advertising Age: The principles of advertising at work, pp. 128–129
Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books. This anthology of articles from trade magazine
Advertising Age provides coverage of a wide range of major issues in the advertising business
through real-life examples.
• Ogilvy, D. (1963). Confessions of an advertising man. New York: Atheneum. Ogilvy’s Confessions
is the definitive book about working and succeeding in the advertising business.
• Lois, G. (1972). New York: Saturday Review Press. Lois tells the story of how he went from
being the son of a Greek immigrant florist to a successful ad agency owner. Along the way, he
also produced some of the most memorable Esquire covers ever.
• All of the Chapter 11 links posted to my RalphEHanson.com blog at
http://www.ralphehanson.com/category/chapter-11/
Lecture Builders
Video Hints: There are a number of television specials on the best commercials ever made. I use
one that the late John Ritter hosted. While the commercials throughout the program are interesting,
the last three—Coke’s “Mean Joe Green,” Alka Seltzer’s “Mama Mia, that’s a spicy meatball,” and
Apple’s “1984”—do a wonderful job of illustrating how good commercials can be memorable and
creative.
As a counter example, I include Nissan’s “Toy Story” as an example of an ad that was memorable,
creative, and ineffective.
YouTube can be a great place to go find copies of favorite commercials. Here’s a link to several I
like:
• http://www.ralphehanson.com/2012/03/29/link-ch–11-fun-commercials/
Here are links to my Super Bowl posts, most of which relate to advertising:
• http://www.ralphehanson.com/tag/super-bowl/
Slide Hints: As a way of illustrating the pervasiveness of ads, I tell students at the beginning of the
advertising lecture that their tuition is not sufficient to pay for their education, and hence we will be
having commercial sponsorship of the lecture. This serves to highlight how advertising breaks up
media programming; it also gives me an opportunity to show some wonderful commercials from
around the world. I try to pick commercials that will illustrate the points that I’ve been making
during lectures. I use ads that I have collected off the Web within my slides.
• You can find current award-winning commercials from around the world at
http://www.adforum.com/
Be forewarned, many of the international commercials are pretty risqué by American standards.
Mountain Dew and Psychographics
View the latest commercials and promotions on how to “Do the Dew” at:
http://www.mountaindew.com
Notes: I included Mountain Dew in the book for two reasons: The company has done a great job of
positioning and extending their brand to go after a specific, young audience, and secondly, the
target for Dew is your students. The website has a wealth of resources on it, including streaming
ads, screensavers, computer wallpaper, video games, and a Dew store. They’ve even used their
website to help develop new flavors.
Media Activities
Classroom Discussion: Cutting Through the Clutter—Diesel and Benetton
How does a small company with a limited advertising budget fight clutter? For the Italian
clothing brand Diesel, the answer was to become aggressive to the point of what some might call
“tastelessness.”
To stand out from the crowd, Diesel advertisements have broached the subjects of global
warming, hostage taking, religion, plastic surgery, hard drugs, tobacco, lesbianism, communism,
and cannibalism. Photos in Diesel’s magazine ads have featured a corporate board meeting
attended by inflatable dolls, generals wearing diapers, “beefcake” men floating in test tubes for
examination by aliens, and a “girl–roast” for a party of pigs. All the ads feature the Diesel logo in
white type on a red block. The company has stretched its limited advertising budget by primarily
using outrageously edgy print ads that stand out from the endless number of nearly identical
fashion ads.
Company founder Renzo Rosso justifies his advertising strategy this way: “When we started out
with our first worldwide advertising campaign in 1991, we hoped to create a dialogue with our
customers. We had been watching most of the world’s advertising talking in monologues and we
wanted to do it the other way around. We wanted people to think, to question, and to react.”
Barry Avrich, president of the company that has handled Diesel’s Canadian advertising, defends
Diesel’s controversial advertising. “If you can attach yourself in a nonsuperficial way to
something that is getting a lot of ink then your campaign ends up being that much more powerful
in terms of exposure and impressions . . . I think Diesel wants debate and that’s what they have.”
In the summer of 2010, Diesel won an Outdoor Grand Prix award at Cannes for its “Be Stupid”
billboard and poster campaign. You can see images from and an analysis of the campaign at
Creative Ad Awards:
• http://www.creativeadawards.com/diesel-be-stupid-advertising-campaign/
Few brands have done a better job of cutting through the clutter than Diesel. Of course, few
advertisers have managed to have ads quite as controversial as the Diesel ads, either.
Benetton, another Italian clothing brand, has been even more controversial than Diesel, perhaps
because it is somewhat better known. You can find a sampling of their ads here:
• http://www.creativeadawards.com/client/?client=Benetton
You can see some more recent examples of cutting through the clutter here:
• http://www.ralphehanson.com/2014/04/07/cutting-through-the-clutter-while-
maintaining-brand-image/
Questions: How do you draw attention to your brand and yet still tell a story that promotes your
brand? Can you attract bad attention with the wrong kinds of ads?
Classroom Debate on Secret One: The importance of brands
Brand name products have been around since the mid to late 1800s, but they have exploded in
importance during the last two decades. Even celebrities starting referring to themselves as
“brands.” What products do you buy because of the brand? Do you buy Coke or Pepsi? Do you wear
designer clothing? Mac or PC? Why do you think you or your friends buy name-brand shoes (think
Nike)? Why do you choose your favorite brands? What do your favorite brands mean to you? Where
do you get that meaning? Think about the varied IMC techniques that can be used to promote a
brand.
Notes: Branding and brand extension has long been important in the advertising business, but in
recent years they have grown in impact. It is a central part of the modernization process through
which we construct identities for ourselves. I discuss this in class by asking how many students
have a visible brand on their clothing. After teasing them about their conformity, I go on to mention
that every piece of clothing I am wearing that day comes from a certain catalog company, but of
course, I am not influenced by brand image at all.
Classroom Debate: Should advertisers influence content?
When companies buy time on television or radio, or space in a newspaper or magazines, they are
buying access to an audience that will see their advertisements. But advertisers often would like to
control more than just their ads; they want to make sure that none of the material surrounding
their ads will offend or drive off readers and viewers. Should advertisers expect to be able to
control the programming and editorial matter that surrounds their ads? How far should media go in
being “advertiser friendly”? What harm might come of pandering too strongly to advertisers?
Notes: This issue is discussed at length in Chapter 14: Media Ethics, but I still wanted to bring it up
in the advertising chapter. There is no question that advertisers have a right to choose which media
they want to advertise in, whether it be Maxim, Good Housekeeping, National Geographic, the long-
running animated show The Simpsons, the magazine show 60 Minutes, or a horror movie on the
SyFy channel. The question becomes stickier when the advertiser wants to start dictating the
content within the medium that their ad appears in. Media generally try to avoid placing ads by
competitors in close proximity, and they will sometimes warn advertisers when they will have
potentially controversial content.
Classroom Debate: What should be advertised?
While cigarette advertising has long been regulated by the federal government, many other
controversial products can be advertised freely. But the media themselves oftentimes put
restrictions on what ads they will accept. The Big Three television networks do not accept ads for
contraceptives, including condoms. And while beer and wine ads are all over television, hard liquor
ads have only recently started showing up with late-evening appearances on the networks (though
they are all over cable). Are there legal products that should not be allowed to be advertised? If so,
what are they? Is it more important to restrict television advertising than print ads? Why?