MEANING AND DEFINITIONS OF ADVERTISING APPEAL
The success of any advertisement, to a great extent, depends upon advertising appeal. Anything that induces a prospect to buy an advertised product is called advertising appeal. Without appeal, the advertisement fails to draw the attention of the prospect and thereby fails to achieve its objective. (MCom 2nd Year Advertising Sales Management Study Material Notes)
Hence the advertisement must have such an appeal to the readers that the prospective buyers should feel a keen desire to possess the advertised product. The word ‘appeal’ provides the clue-something that touches the reader directly without his having to exercise his mind to find out what the advertiser tries to communicate to him.
Some definitions of advertising appeal are given below:
1. According to the Committee on Advertising, “An advertising appeal is the inducement used by an advertiser to stimulate a buying motion.”
2. In the words of Sandage and Fryburger, “A form of stimulus used by the advertisers is generally referred to as the advertising appeal. They further added, “An advertising appeal is an incentive which is used by the advertiser to induce the buying instinct.”
Kinds/Classification of Advertising Appeals
Appeals may be classified in several ways. Appeals are broadly classified as rational, emotional, and moral appeals. Rational appeals are those directed at the thinking process of the audience. Emotional appeals are those appeals that are not preceded by careful analysis of the pros and cons of making a buying decision. Moral appeals are those appeals to the audience which appeal to their sense of right and wrong. Now it is up to the advertiser to select which type of appeal will attract the maximum number of prospects.
The modern classification of advertising appeals may be given as under:
1. Appeal to Perception. It includes all appeals to sense. They are directed to the reader’s sight, taste, hearing, sound, and touch. Among these sights is the most important appeal. Taste is also an important applied in the case of selling foodstuff, the sense of smell is associated with the odour of perfume. (MCom 2nd Year Advertising Sales Management Study Material Notes)
2. Appeal to Discrimination. Here an appeal is made to the prospective buyers to select one particular product in preference of another, price, price, quality, durability, economy, performance, resale value Ease of use appeal to the rational buying motives of the buyer by trying these versions appeals, It Is possible to determine which one is dominant in the case of a buyer in view. It is also called rational appeal It is directed to the thinking process of the prospect, such as mary Consumer poods are purchased for their quality, such as clothing food items, beverages, etc.
3. Emotional Appeals. There are generally known as human interest appeals which include any feeling of joy, grief, love, fear, or hatred Emotional appeals are based on human emotions. Erections are those mental agitations or excited states of feeling which prompt us to purchase a particular product. Emotional appeals are designed to stir up some negative or positive emotions which will motivate product interest or purchase interest in the prospect.
Thus, emotional appeals are of two types:
(i) Negative Emotional Appeal, and
(ii) Positive Emotional Appeal.
An advertiser may try to induce a particular behavior change by emphasizing either positive or negative appeals or a combination of both. (MCom 2nd Year Advertising Sales Management Study Material Notes)
For example, an advertising campaign to get the target audience to buy fire insurance may stress the positive aspect, low cost relative to other investments, the services the insurance company provides, early settlement of claims, and so on, or it may stress the negative aspect of not getting insurance the danger of losing one’s possession or the Savages of fire Positive appeals use the strategy of reducing a person’s anxiety about buying and using a product, while negative appeals use the strategy of increasing a person’s anxiety about not using a product or service. (MCom 2nd Year Advertising Sales Management Study Material Notes)
In general, a positive appeal stresses the positive gains to a person from complying with a persuasive message, the negative appeal stresses the losses which he is bound to suffer if he fails to comply. Fear appeal is a negative appeal and is the most important among emotional appeals, and also the most effective. On the other hand, positive advertising highlights product benefits and attributes capable of influencing consumer behavior. They are love, pride, prestige, humor, joy, etc.
Most baby food products have a mother’s love appeal. For example, a mother’s love for the baby has been appealed to in an advertisement for Johnson’s baby soap. It says, “Gentle as a kiss of your 1 baby’s tender skin.” It further goes on to say, Johnson’s baby o because Johnson and Johnson care more for your baby as you do.” However positive appeal is not effective When the adviser shows as much care for the child as his mother does. (MCom 2nd Year Advertising Sales Management Study Material Notes)
4. Direct and Indirect Appeals. Direct appeals are those which Clearly consumers with about a given need, followed by a message which explains the advertised brand as a product whid satisfies that need. In industrial advertising, some advertisements may have a direct appeal, satisfying the customer’s technical need.
Indirect appeals are those which do not emphasize a human need but allude to a need. Indirect appeals are either product-oriented consumer-oriented or maybe a combination of the two.
Product-oriented indirect appeals are-(i) feature-oriented appeals, such as Cherry shoe polish, Lux soap, Colgate toothpaste, etc. (ii) user-oriented appeals, and (iii) product comparison appeals. On the other hand, consumer-oriented appeals are-i) attitude-oriented appeals. (ii) significant group oriented appeals, (iii) lifestyle-oriented appeals, (iv) in getrienter appeals, (v) sub-conscious oriented appeals etc.
5. Moral Appeals. As already said, moral appeals are those appeals to the audience which appeal to their sense of right and wrong. These are often used in messages to arouse a favorable response to social causes, such as prohibition, adult literacy, anti-smuggling and hoarding equal rights for women, consumer protection, rural development assistance to weaker sections of the society, social responsibility donations for floods and for famine relief operations, employment generation, etc.