Methods of Persuasion

Three methods of persuasion are: creating a need, appealing to social needs, and using loaded words or images. Marketing executives and advertising firms know this and use these methods in what has become a daily barrage via television, newspaper and magazines, internet, and radio. Often the target demographic does not even realize they are being manipulated into purchasing items. If we were to analyze and evaluate each advertisement, we would know that purchasing paper plates will not magically transform us into Donna Reed; if we really thought about it, we would probably realize we do not even want to be Donna Reed. However, due to the onslaught of loaded phrases and images, it is reinforced that we should want to be Donna Reed – or at least Betty Crocker – and that there is something wrong with us if we don't.
Creating a Need
About a hundred years ago, it was unusual for a family to have a telephone, or at least an individual telephone line. Our parents can remember when neighborhoods had party lines, and they would have to wait until others on the block had finished their conversations before picking up to dial out. Now, if we were to tell friends that we don't have a telephone, we would be viewed as unusual. We are expected to have a home landline, a Skype account, and a cell phone for every member in the family – even as young as age ten – so that we can keep up with our children when we want to let them shop on their own. If we don't arm our preteens with cell phones with GPS locators so we can track their every move, we must be either negligent or overbearing parents. The most recent commercial offering this service shows a mother (because advertisers would have us believe only women can parent) and her preteen daughter (because advertisers reinforce the idea that only females need protection from the world). The more subtle message here is that we, as women, should love to shop, and should breed more females who, in turn, will love to shop. Similar to how no one knew we all needed private home landlines until the practice became popular, we can quickly expect to enter the era when we can determine the geographic position of anyone on our contact lists. By offering a service that does, in fact, have practical applications, wireless companies have created the need for the service, and our instant-gratification generation is only too eager to jump on the bandwagon.
Loaded images and phrases
An irksome commercial of late is the one issued by Target for the new Jean Paul Gaultier fashion line for teens. This ad, on the surface, is cute and funky with an upbeat soundtrack. However, it reinforces, as most specialty fashion lines do, that females should be tall and thin; if a teen is above a size ten, she won't have much luck in finding trendy clothes that fit. This commercial, upon further analysis, is rather vile. First, the clothing is marketed for the teenage crowd, for girls aged thirteen to eighteen. Yet, the tailoring is a little too fitted and the hemlines are a bit too short for any mother's comfort. The commercial asks, “Which Muse are you?” (because females' only purpose is to inspire males to do great things?) and offers five distinct choices:
Punk: Provocative, Feisty, Impulsive
Hollywood Glam: Glamorous, Sophisticated, Breathtaking
Ingénue: Innocent, Coy, Charming
Hip Hop: Confident, Artistic, Lyrical
Rock n' Roll: Rebellious, Electric, Thrill-Seeking
Our daughters are encouraged to pick a personality compartment upon which to base their wardrobes. Any choice will do (unless she is Black, in which case the commercial suggests she should pick Hip Hop) because all five themes are accompanied by three-inch inseams, spaghetti straps, and high heels. To top off the creepiness, the final shot is one of the teenage models jumping into the arms of the sixty-year-old man behind the camera, Jean Paul Gaultier, himself.
Social Needs
Finally, what may be the most effective method of persuasion of our time: social needs. We want to belong; we want to be liked; we want to be popular. One problem is: at some point, we traded out some of our norms and values for goods and services. (Who cares whether you're a deplorable individual, as long as you wear the right clothes and drive the right car?) Another problem is: our nation is so diverse, we cannot agree on what the best goods and services are. No matter – the advertising executives are ready and willing to tell us, every day, at fifteen-minute intervals. Wal-Mart's tag line is, “Save Money. Live Better”... but they've undercut independent retailers, import the majority of goods from overseas, and are eligible for property tax incentives in the towns they occupy. Perhaps the tag line should be, “Save Money. Sell Out.” Their commercials emphasize fitting in and how much we can save by spending with them (and that we should reinvest our savings by purchasing more from them).
This topic is problematic, as the only television I watch is prerecorded and I haven't had to sit through a commercial break in over a year. To me, the extra three dollars a month for the DVR service is worthwhile, because my children have stopped asking for useless plastic junk that breaks the first time they use it. My household is not subjected to the blatant sexism and racism of mainstream advertising. Though these discriminations remain in movies, television programming, and even literature, every bit of reduction helps. It is difficult to be persuaded by advertising you never see. (Peer pressure, of course, is another matter!)