The use of advertisement has been an important medium of communication between sellers

and consumers. These present visual arguments that are designed to influence one’s ability

to reason and make decisions.

Advertising has an astounding influence on our lives. These advertisements also inform and

shape many important decisions that are made, what university to attend, the type of car to drive,

what diet plan to follow.

Advertising companies understand our fears and our desires and they have at their disposal the

expertise to exploit them. Several tactics are used by advertisers to influence our ability to

objectively make a decision; three such tactics are humor, fear of rejection and sex appeal.

Advertisers uses the ploy of humor, as humor can be very effective in appealing to our attention,

while at the same time shutting down our critical defenses. In using humor , the advertisers hope

to achieve various communication objectives to grab the attention of its viewers, guide consumer

understanding of the product claims, influence attitude and enhance recall ability of advertised

products. Humor is used in advertising to create in the audience an enjoyable and memorable

association with the product. A humorous context may increase the liking for a product and

create a positive mood, which inturn may increase the persuasive effect of the message, which

ultimately create consumer action. The success of humor as an advertising tactic is based on

three factors. Humor causes consumer to (1) watch, (2) laugh and most importantly (3)

remember. (Clow & Baack, 2002)

Humor inadvertising is like a gun in the hands of a child. You have to know how to use it.

Otherwise, it can blow up on you (Miller, 1992)

Sex appeal is the ability to excite, stimulate or attract interest. Sex appeal is a tactic used by

advertisers as it plays upon the biological needs of viewers of their advertisements. Physically

attractive individuals are used in an arousing manner to promote advertisements. Sex appeal can

increase the effectiveness of an advertisement because it attracts the customer's attention. It's

human nature to be curious about sex and desire sex. Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who

create a pyramid called “Maslow Hierachy of needs’, this pyramid depicts the things that people

need in life to survive and be happy. At the base, which is the foundation of the pyramid are

water, food, air and sex. Advertisers uses this basic human need for sex in their advertisements to

grab the audience’s attention and creating a desire for the product.

Fear as defined by Oxford dictionary is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger,

pain, or harm. Advertiser uses fear as a ploy in anxiety advertisement; by playing on the

audiences fears, insecurities and anxieties, the advertiser then offer a solution.

Most of us strive for what psychologists call cognitive balance. Simply put, we are most

comfortable when all of our beliefs, actions, and relationships are harmoniously balanced.

Advertisers attempt to upset this balance by making us worry that we are not as attractive or

well-off as we may believe (source m 19990). Anxiety advertisement plays on the audiences fear

of rejection, and then offer a solution that will promises to allay the audiences’ fears and restore

confidence.
Outline carefully the guidelines you would offer to one who must evaluate/encounter this

kind of visual argument.

Advertisements permeates our environment using a barrage of advertising ploys to appeal to our

physical and psychological needs. Audiences must be more insightful and critical of these

advertisements, analyzing the intended message and the need for the product before making the

decision to buy.

When viewing advertisements, the audience should employ skepticism. One should be self

aware and high critical of the content and context of commercials. Sound and objective

evaluations must be directed towards product offerings such as quality, environmental hazard,

advantage of buying or using the product, price fairness, warranty, and manufacturer motives.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/fear

Clow, K. E., & Baack, D. (2002). Integrated Advertising, Promotion, & Marketing
Communications, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
Weinberger, M.G. & Spotts, H. (1995). The use and effect of humor in different advertising
media, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 35, Issue 3