Week # 8 Response

Response to Jamie Peterson’s Question #1:

When I go to the store and look at all the items, it is impossible not too think of all the advertisements I have seen for those items. Whether it is commercials, ads in the paper, or billboards, the communication of that product that is spread to me is imprinted in my head. But now, do I buy the product? For myself, usually no. While you may be thinking then that I would say that advertisements do not affect us, that is not the case. I believe that advertisements affect us more beyond our comprehension, but what affects us more is our lifestyle.

Take this scenario for example: say that I am looking for cereal and I want something in the family of Fruit Loops. I would walk over to that section of the aisle and look at my options. By having this sentence in my answer, advertisers have already done their part. The moment I mentioned Fruit Loops, your mind most likely imagined a red box with a blue toucan on it in some kind of wacky scene. However, what I would buy is not the brand name Fruit Loops, but most likely the cheapest brand that I think looks the closest to Fruit Loops.

Because of my lifestyle, I cannot afford to buy the most expensive kind of cereal, but what the advertisers can count on is that when I am older and have the funds, I will buy their breakfast food in the red box. Advertisers do not simply want you to buy the items, they want you to think of the item. If they have done their job right they have not just persuaded you to buy their item (which is always a plus), but actually have made you think about their item.

So going back the original question, I would say I do not think that anyone can really say that they are not affected by advertisements. While they think they are not because their lifestyle does not allow them to purchase and do the things that they think advertisers want them to do, they actually are quite engrossed in the persuasion process.