One of my favorite advertisements is a recent television commercial for Snickers. Aretha Franklin is in a car with three other young guys, and she starts out by saying, “Can we turn the A.C. up, I’m dying in here!” One of the guys in the back with her offers her a Snickers, and when she asks why, he says, “because every time you get hungry you turn into a diva.” After Aretha eats the Snickers she turns back into Jeff, one of their friends, and is all better. This advertisement is persuasive because it uses humor to sell its product. The commercial isn’t making any outlandish claims that Snickers will transform your entire life for the better, but instead it plays on the simple truth that people are cranky when they are hungry. The advertisement is persuasive because its claim is believable; I’m sure that Snickers does subside hunger. I doubt it’s good for you or nutritious, but I’m sure if you eat one you won’t be as hungry!
picture from estergoldberg.typepad.com
The physiological needs appeal applies to this advertisement. Characteristics of this kind of appeal are related to human needs. Physiological literally means characteristic of the normal functioning of a living organism, so this type of appeal could relate to a number of needs from hunger to sleep. This type of appeal is usually persuasive because physiological needs are ones that everyone shares as human beings. When an advertisement addresses hunger, thirst, or sleep, more people are likely to pay attention because it applies to us all; we will be more interested in products that will supposedly defy these things.
This Snickers advertisement best coincides with the physiological needs appeal because hunger is a physiological need. The commercial uses humor to convey this appeal, also including celebrities to more strongly make its point. The humor stems from a simple, longstanding truism that people get grumpy when they are hungry. The clever use of a real diva (Aretha Franklin) more acutely conveys this idea, and her transformation back into Jeff, another young guy, proves Snickers’ point that the candy bar will subdue your hunger and thus improve your mood.
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