Free time observations (Advertising)
Let's talk about how the cigarette company, Marlboro, revolutionised advertising forever.
Before we go there, let me ask you a question.
Have you ever wondered why ads of deo have a guy attracting girls to him like a magnet, when everyone knows it isn't true?
Or why ads of soft drinks have people doing some insane stunts, filled with action and thrill? When it has got practically nothing to do with the product?
Or why this ad of jewelery shows mother-daughter love instead of pitching you the quality of their jewelery?
All of these ads have one thing is common: they aren't here to sell you the product.
They sell you something else.
A feeling. A lifestyle.
These ads are called “lifestyle advertisements”.
Let's take the example of that soft drink's ad. That ad draws a picture in your head about something thrilling (which mind you, has got nothing to do with the product).
After you feel that thrill, they subtly associate their product with that feeling.
So the next time you see that product in a store, your brain instantly recalls that thrill and sends you positive signal about that product.
These ads wire your brain in such a manner that you associate these products with something positive.
So what does Marlboro have to do with this?
Before 1950s, the ads of cigarettes used to talk statistics.
These ads told you that their cigarette wouldn't cause trouble to your throat. Their ads basically had a doctor telling you the statistics of a survey *yawns*.
Then enters Marlboro with their “Marlboro man”.
A hunky, masculine cowboy riding a horse in the rain and then lighting a Marlboro cigarette.
That's it. No stats. No graphs.
Result?
Within a year, Marlboro went from having just 1% market share to being in the top 4 cigarette brands in the US market.
By 1972, it was the most popular cigarette brand ever and as we all know, it still holds true.
Marlboro sure knew its audience and hit them right in the emotions. People began to associate Marlboro with raw strength and robustness.
Fast forward to 2018, lifestyle advertising has become the most famous kind of advertising.
And the sales tell us, it sure is effective.
So the next time you want to sell something to someone, recall the invaluable lesson you learned from the Marlboro man: Don't sell your product, sell a feeling.
The three articles I used for researching this article are :
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