Persuasive Techniques in Advertising

By Mbuna Basil

The following are some more specific strategies that advertisers use. Often, they overlap with the rhetorical strategies above.

 Avante Garde

 The suggestion that using this product puts the user ahead of the times. A toy manufacturer encourages kids to be the first on their block to have a new toy.

Weasel Words

 “Weasel words” are used to suggest a positive meaning without actually really making any guarantee. A scientist says that a diet product might help you to lose weight the way it helped him to lose weight. A dish soap leaves dishes virtually spotless.

Magic Ingredients

 The suggestion that some almost miraculous discovery makes the product exceptionally effective. A pharmaceutical manufacturer describes a special coating that makes their pain reliever less irritating to the stomach than a competitor’s.

 Patriotism

 The suggestion that purchasing this product shows your love of your country. A company brags about its product being made in America.

Transfer

 Positive words, images, and ideas are used to suggest that the product being sold is also positive. A textile manufacturer wanting people to wear their product to stay cool during the summer shows people wearing fashions made from their cloth at a sunny seaside setting where there is a cool breeze.

 Plain Folks

The suggestion that the product is a practical product of good value for ordinary people. A cereal manufacturer shows an ordinary family sitting down to breakfast and enjoying their product.

Snob Appeal

The suggestion that the use of the product makes the customer part of an elite group with a luxurious and glamorous lifestyle. A coffee manufacturer shows people dressed in formal gowns and tuxedos drinking their brand at an art gallery.

 Bribery

Bribery offers you something “extra.” Buy a burger; get free fries.

 Bandwagon

 The suggestion that you should join the crowd or be on the winning side by using a product you don’t want to be the only person without it!