新編大學(xué)英語(yǔ)第四冊(cè)u(píng)nit6 Text A: Advertising Claims

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UNIT 6 IN-CLASS READING; New College English (IV)

Advertising Claims

1 Many people are believers in their own immunity to advertising. These naive inhabitants of consumerland believe that advertising is childish, dumb, a bunch of lies, and influences only the masses of the less sophisticated. Their own purchases, they think, are made purely on the basis of value and desire, with advertising playing only a minor supporting role.

2 Advertisers know better. Although few people admit to being greatly influenced by ads, surveys and sales figures show that a well-designed advertising campaign has dramatic effects. A logical conclusion is that advertising works below the level of conscious awareness and it works even on those who claim immunity to its message. Ads are designed to have an effect while being laughed at, belittled, and all but ignored.

3 A person unaware of advertising's influence on him is precisely the one most vulnerable to the adman's attack. Advertisers delight in an audience that believes ads to be harmless nonsense, for such an audience is rendered defenseless by its belief that there is no attack taking place. The purpose of studying advertising is to raise the level of awareness about the persuasive techniques used in ads. One of the simplest ways is through an analysis of the language of the advertising claim.

4 The "claim" is the verbal or print part of an ad that makes some assertion of superiority for the product being advertised. A few of these claims are downright lies, some are honest statements about a truly superior product, but most fall into the category of neither bold lies nor helpful consumer information. They balance on the narrow line between truth and falsehood by a careful choice of words.

5 The reason so many ad claims fall into the category of false information is that they are applied to parity products, those in which all or most of the brands available are nearly identical. Since no one superior product exists, advertising is used to create the illusion of superiority. The largest advertising budgets are devoted to parity products such as gasoline, cigarettes, beer and soft drinks, soaps, and various headache and cold remedies.

6 The first rule of parity claims involves the Alice-in-Wonderland use of the words "better" and "best". In parity claims, "better" means "best" but "best" only means "equal to". If all the brands are identical, they must all be equally good. So "best" means that the product is as good as the other superior products in its category. When Bing Crosby declared Minute Maid Orange Juice " the best there is", he meant it was as good as the other orange juices you can buy. Bing could not have said that Minute Maid is "better than any other orange juice". "Better" is a claim to superiority. The only time "better" can be used is when a product does indeed have superiority over other products in its category or when the better" is used to compare the product with something other than competing brands. An orange juice could therefore claim to be better than a vitamin pill", or even that it was "the better breakfast drink".

7 The second rule of advertising-claim analysis is simply that if any product is truly superior, the ad will say so very clearly and will offer some kind of convincing evidence of the superiority. If an ad avoids mentioning a product's advantage over the competition, you can strongly suspect it is not superior maybe equal to but not better. You will never hear a gasoline company say, "We will give you four miles per gallon more in your car than any other brand. " They would love to make such a claim, but it would not be true. Gasoline is a parity product, and, in spite of some very clever and deceptive ads of a few years ago, no one has yet claimed one brand of gasoline better than and therefore superior to any other brand.

8 To create the necessary illusion of superiority, advertisers usually resort to one or more of the following six basic techniques. Each is common and easy to identify.

9 The Weasel Claim

A weasel word is a modifier that almost contradicts the claim that is made. The expression "weasel word" is aptly named after the egg-eating habits of weasels. A weasel will suck out the inside of an egg, leaving it to appear intact to the casual observer. Upon closer examination, the egg is discovered to be hollow. Words or claims that appear substantial at first glance but disintegrate into hollow meaninglessness on analysis are weasels.

Samples of Weasel Claims

"Listerine fights bad breath." "Fights", not "stops". "Only half the price of many color sets"

"Many", not "all". The claim does not say that the television set is the cheapest, it says that the set is cheaper than many other sets.

10 The "Water Is Wet" Claim

"Water is wet" claims say something about the product that is true for any brand in that product category. The claim is usually a statement of fact, but not a real advantage over the competition.

Samples of "Water Is Wet" Claim

"Rheingold: the natural beer" Made from grains and water as are other beers. "SKIN smells differently on everyone." As do many perfumes.

11 The "So What" Claim

This is the kind of claim to which the careful reader will react by saying, "So what?" A claim is made that is true but gives no real advantage to the product. This is similar to the "water is wet" claim except that it claims an advantage that is not shared by most of the other brands in the product category.

Samples of "So What" Claims

"Geritol has more than twice the iron of ordinary supplements. But is it twice as beneficial to the body?" "Campbell's gives you tasty pieces of chicken and not one but two chicken stocks." Does the presence of two stocks improve the taste?

12 The Scientific or Statistical Claim

This kind of ad uses some sort of scientific proof or experiment, very specific numbers, or a mystery ingredient that sounds impressive.

Samples of Scientific or Statistical Claims

"Wonder Bread helps build strong bodies in twelve different ways. Even the weasel "helps" did not prevent the FTC from demanding that this ad be withdrawn. But note that the use of the number "twelve" makes the claim far more believable than if it were taken out. "Easy-Off has 33 percent more cleaning power than another popular brand." "Another popular brand" often translates as some other kind of oven cleaner sold somewhere. Also, the claim does not say Easy-Off works 33 percent better.

13 The "Compliment the Consumer" Claim

This kind of claim flatters the consumer.

Samples of "Compliment the Consumer" Claim

"If you do what is right for you, no matter what others do, then RC cola is right for you." "You pride yourself on your good home cooking..." "The lady has taste."

14 The Rhetorical Question

This technique demands a response from the audience. A questi6n is asked and the viewer or listener is supposed to answer in such a way as to affirm the product's goodness.

Samples of Rhetorical Questions

"Plymouth isn't that the kind of car America wants?" "What do you want most from coffee? That's what you get most from Hills."

15 Whether you realize it or not, you are persuaded by advertisers to buy certain products. Even if you peer into the refrigerator during televised ads, or close your eyes when you drive past billboards, commercials are working on you.