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Advertising Persuasion

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Submitted By rochellstandish
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Rochell Standish
Commercial Analysis (FD) rstandish@ugf.edu Word Count: 1042 words

ADVERTISING PERSUASION I viewed an American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) commercial which features Sara McLachlan and her song “In the Arms of an Angel”. The commercial urged viewers to donate $18.00 per month to help save the lives of animals and to provide medical care, food, and love to abused, neglected animals. If the viewer were to sign up in the next thirty minutes he or she would receive a photo of an animal, an ASPCA bracelet, and an ASPCA tee-shirt. The commercial opens with music and video of various animals and descriptions of their previous living conditions before their life at ASPCA. The target demographic for the commercial I viewed is middle-class, animal loving females. Sara McLachlan is a famous singer whose mainstream audience is females. She is also an outspoken animal activist, which would make her more relatable to average everyday people who also fight for the rights of animals. The middle-class are targeted because the ASPCA is asking the viewer to agree to a long term financial commitment by donating $18.00 per month, which isn’t a substantial obligation but could create a financial burden to a struggling low income family. The first tactic the commercial employs is emotional audio-visual props to convince viewers to make a contribution to help suffering animals. While video footage transitions from a dog so gripped with fear, it is trembling uncontrollably to a one-eyed cat then to a one-eyed dog, and on to a dog wrapped in bandages all the while the chorus from Sara McLachlan’s song “In the Arms of an Angel” plays as background music: In the arms of an Angel fly away from here/From the dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear/You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie/You’re in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here. The viewers are overwhelmed with a graphic slideshow of animals that have suffered untold horrors, pulling at the viewer’s emotions. Humans, by nature, are very emotionally moved; this holds even more true for females since they are more prone to nurturing, caring, and helping. The commercial uses clips from a popular television series that appears on the Animal Planet channel, Animal Precinct. Officer Annemarie Lucas, former star of Animal Precinct, is shown carrying animals from what would seem to be dangerous living situations. Anyone who watches this show knows that she is the officer who popularized the Cops-esque show for Animal Planet. She is a trusted face and represents justice for the animals because it is her duty to protect animals and gather enough evidence for animal abusers to be prosecuted. The value of adding clips of a law enforcement agent rescuing abused animals brings the viewers the feeling of personal contribution to the punishment of animal abuse perpetrators. The viewers are offered a glimpse of what their money will be paying for – the rescuing of these animals by animal law enforcement agents and then being taken care of by ASPCA workers which gives tangible meaning to their contribution. The commercial also persuades its audience by using a very direct approach while speaking to them. The ASPCA, by employing Sara McLachlan as a spokesperson and identifying her as an ASPCA supporter, makes an unspoken suggestion that if you did donate you would be in the same company as her. When McLachlan’s dialogue begins, she is sitting on a couch with a yellow Labrador Retriever, presumably to visually display that she is, indeed, an animal lover. She looks very relaxed and at home and speaks as if the viewers are in the room with her, making them feel as if they are having a face to face conversation with her. She tells the audience that the ASPCA needs their help and, without it, the animals will no longer have the care and love they need. After telling the viewers what the ASPCA would need for a monthly donation, McLachlan, offers a “thanks” to the viewer for actions that he or she have not yet taken therefore creating the feeling of having to earn the thanks by fulfilling her request so that the viewer may say “you are welcome”, creating a sense of closure. Imploring people to help support the ASPCA “because right now there is an animal that needs you” is very effective in making the viewer feel responsible for helping the animals. Contributing “just $18.00 a month, only $0.60 a day” makes the viewer feel that it is a reasonable amount to request for all the benefits that the animals would receive: food, shelter, and love. The words “just” and “only” are key words that McLachlan emphasizes when asking for the contribution which stresses the feasibility of helping these desperate animals. Plus, the ASPCA is offering a few gifts in exchange for the viewer’s generous donation – a bracelet, an ASPCA tee-shirt, and a picture of an animal that has been helped by contributions made by viewers within a certain allotted time. An added bonus because who doesn’t like receiving gifts? The time period in which a contribution must be made to receive the gifts increases the sense of urgency to the viewer – donate sooner than later. This type of persuasion may lead to impulse decisions which, of course, benefit the ASPCA if viewers are making decisions hastily. Commercials such as the ASPCA’s would have a hard time not appealing to audiences of every age, geographical location, financial class, and gender. Most people do not want to see animals abused or neglected but may not have the resources to contribute monetarily. The viewers who cannot make a financial donation may be so moved that they would consider volunteering at a local shelter or rescue – which is just as important as financial support. For the viewers who are able to make a financial contribution, there is a sense of responsibility or moral obligation to do so and as quickly as possible. This commercial persuades its audience through emotions and social suggestions. Emotions because it is sad and makes the audience sad and then it suggests that the audience, like Sara McLachlan has done, should support the ASPCA by making a monthly contribution.

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