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Advertising:TheSellingofaProduct1Aconsumerwalksintoastore.Hestandsinfrontofhundredsofboxesoflaundrydetergent.Hechoosesonebrand,paysforit,andleaves.Whydoeshepickthatspecifickindofsoap?Isittrulybetterthantheothers?Probablynot.Thesedays,manyproductsarenearlyidenticaltoeachotherinqualityandprice.Ifproductsarealmostthesame,whatmakesconsumersbuyonebrandinsteadofanother?Althoughwemightnotliketoadmitit,commercialsontelevisionandadvertisementsinmagazinesprobablyinfluenceusmuchmorethanwethinktheydo.2Advertisinginformsconsumersaboutnewproductsavailableonthemarket.Itgivesusinformationabouteverythingfromshampoototoothpastetocomputersandcars.Butthereisoneseriousproblemwiththis.Theinformationisactuallyveryoftenmisinformation.Ittellsustheproducts'benefitsbuthidestheirdisadvantages.Advertisingnotonlyleadsustobuythingsthatwedon'tneedandcan'tafford,butitalsoconfusesoursenseofreality.Zoomtoothpastepreventscavitiesandgivesyouwhiteteeth!theadvertisementtellsus.Butitdoesn'ttellusthecompletetruth:thatahealthydietandagoodtoothbrushwillhavethesameeffect.3Advertisersusemanymethodstogetustobuytheirproducts.Oneoftheirmostsuccessfulmethodsistomakeusfeeldissatisfiedwithourselvesandourimperfectlives.Advertisementsshowuswhowearenotandwhatwedonothave.Ourteetharen'twhiteenough.Ourhairisn'tshinyenough.Ourclothesaren'tcleanenough.Advertisementsmakeusafraidthatpeoplewon'tlikeusifwedon'tusetheadvertisedproducts.Whydon'tIhaveanydates?agood-lookinggirlsadlyasksinacommercial.Here,repliesherroommate,tryZoomtoothpaste!Ofcourseshetriesit,andimmediatelythewholefootballteamfallsinlovewithher.That'sastupidcommercial,wemightsay.ButwestillbuyZoomtoothpasteoutoffearofbeingunpopularandhavingnofriends.4Iffearisthenegativemotiveforbuyingaproduct,thenwantingagoodself-imageisthepositivereasonforchoosingit.Eachofushasamentalpictureofthekindofpersonwewouldliketobe.Forexample,amodernyoungwomanmightliketothinkthatshelookslikeabeautifulmoviestar.Amiddle-agedmanmightwanttoseehimselfasastrong,attractiveathlete.Advertisersknowthis.Theywritespecificadstomakecertaingroupsofpeoplechoosetheirproduct.Twopeoplemaychoosedifferentbrandsoftoothpastewiththeidenticalprice,amount,andquality;eachpersonbelievesthatheisexpressinghispersonalitybychoosingthatbrand.5Advertisersgetpsychologiststostudythewayconsumersthinkandtheirreasonsforchoosingonebrandinsteadofanother.Theseexpertstelladvertisersaboutthemotivesoffearandself-image.Theyalsoinformthemaboutrecentstudieswithcolorsandwords.Psychologistshavefoundthatcertaincolorsonthepackageofanattractiveproductwillcausepeopletoreachoutandtakethatpackageinsteadofanidenticalproductwithdifferentcolors.Also,certainwordsattractourattention.Forexample,thewordsnew,improved,natural,andgiantsizeareverypopularandseemtopulloureyesandhandstowardthepackage.6Manypeoplebelievethatadvertisingdoesnotaffectthem.Theyknowthatthereisfreedomtochoose,andtheyliketothinktheymakewisechoices.Unfortunately,theyprobablydon'trealizethepowerfuleffectofadvertising.Theymaynotclearlyunderstandthatadvertisersspendbillionsofdollarseachyearinaggressivecompetitionforourmoney,andtheyareextremelysuccessful.Doyoubelievethatadsdon'tinfluenceyourchoiceofproducts?Justlookatthebrandsinyourkitchenandbathroom.