Contrary To Popular Belief Advertising

Human beings have a natural tendency to be victims of conformity. Conformity is matching ones behaviors and beliefs with the people around you. The reason why it is so common is that people do not want to be outcast for being different, they want to be accepted and advertisers know this. When a person makes a decision, it is done considering both the objective information, advantages and disadvantages, and what others might think. People are inclined to choose and do the things that they believe is done by the majority, or in other words follow the social norm. Although companies cannot make their products and services forcefully popular, they can make them appear popular and they do this with the help of advertisements. Bandwagon is what this …show more content…
It is a far more complicated process. Advertising is a combination of various techniques such as repetition, slogans, using celebrities, affective conditioning, humor, bandwagon and nonrational influence. All of these techniques make us favor and more likely to purchase the products or services being promoted. Although people are aware of the influence some of these techniques have, many of them go unnoticed. Affective conditioning and nonrational influence are two cunning ways advertisers get into a our unconscious minds and make us feel more inclined to purchase a product. The other methods that people are aware of tend to gain preference in more ways than they realize. Slogans, humor and particularly repetition are of these methods. These three techniques allow consumers to distinguish various brands or companies, make them more memorable and leave the audience with positive feelings. Out of all the techniques used, repetition is the most powerful. Repetition magnifies the impact of many of the other techniques such as affective conditioning and bandwagon. Repetitive exposure to advertisements also results in consumers believing the claims that are made in them. Advertisements are not out to get people immediately, but eventually. The effects of advertising are small and accumulative. They gradually develop and take root over a long period of time, which is why most of the results go unnoticed. From choosing a cable company to toilet paper or perhaps the next restaurant to eat at, can all be the result of advertising. Although advertisements are not what consumers solely base their actions on, it does have an impact on their decision making. Consequently, advertising gives companies a chance to successfully gain