Vitaminwater’s Facebook Flavorcreator advertisement promotes the product by using three specialized propaganda techniques: name-calling, testimonials, and glittering generalities. These three techniques are some of the most persuasive knowns and, in combination, can result in many sales. The first technique gets the attention of the audience and promotes an emotional reaction. Then, testimonials create an atmosphere of trust. Then the final technique closes the sale with wonderfully glittering statements that use a lot of superlatives but say absolutely nothing. There are a number of other techniques interspersed throughout, but these main three dominate the campaign.
The Vitaminwater advertisement applies name-calling techniques that address the audience and elicit a somewhat confrontational response. This is reversed psychology since the company wants the customer to feel just the opposite of what the names, they are called mean. The technique dates back to print-only advertising, but it is much more powerful in audio or video since it makes the customer feel as if they are being addressed personally. In this particular ad, the first names include the audience in the same group with the spokesperson, Steve Nash, identified specifically as a celebrity. Next, we are told that our creativity is being suppressed, we are stuck in the past, and that we have not made this product ourselves, because of the mess, the complication, and possible legal ramifications. None of these are true, but it does not matter, because the audience thinks they could be. Then we are shown pictures of the “old days” where a young woman is dribbling water as she tried to take handfuls of pills. This sequence makes the viewer think negatively about taking vitamins and drinking water.
Further, Vitaminwater uses the testimonial technique. Rapper 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) is brought on for a testimonial about how he went from being a nobody to being who he is, a rich and well-known star since he got his own flavor of Vitaminwater. He does not ever really say how all of this happened, but he uses a lot of street slang to say he is really famous now. Half the audience will not understand more than two words, but it does not matter, as he is entertaining and reminds the older people of Mr. T.
Moreover, the commercial chooses the Glittering Generalities technique to recommend the product. The last section tells the audience how to become like Nash and 50 Cent, by making their own flavor of Vitaminwater. During the testimonial, we have already seen pictures of money, a transformation of a man, allegedly 50 Cent, from a pot-bellied nobody in bad clothes to a handsome guy with a fine physique in designer clothes. Next, the audience is given 4 steps to follow to accomplish this wondrous thing, and Nash emphasizes the steps as if he were announcing an exciting hockey game. We are shown pictures of success, money, and flashing colors. Then the steps show a picture of a Facebook Vitaminwater lab as if we would be changing the formula, colored bottles representing flavors, and bottle shapes as if we can actually design them. We are told that we pick our flavor, design our bottle and get paid.
This is the first time getting paid has been mentioned, and it is not explained. The viewer simply has to go to the site to find out. It implies that we get paid merely for following the three steps. However, it will require a lot more and the pay is likely minimal. Nash is standing in a rain of cash as the announcer reads the legal limitations and warnings so fast that they cannot be understood at all. We ignore them as we think about the money.
In conclusion, The Vitaminwater advertisement takes advantage of three propaganda techniques, which persuade the audience to believe and to purchase the product. At the very least the ad engenders curiosity about the money and gets people to go to the website, thereby raising the Google search engine rating. That, alone, is worth something, since it drives more traffic to the site the higher the ratings get. It is a very well-done combination for the young audience at which it is aimed.
Advertisement
How many people buy products just because of a persuasive advertisement on TV? How does the advertisement encourage the audience to buy their products even though people don’t know whether display items actually work or not? According to the research, almost 90% of advertisements whether on TV or printed apply two or more propaganda techniques. Propaganda is a very persuasive effort to direct or change people’s ideas, in order to make a certain view or side that propaganda provides. There are seven beneficial techniques, name-calling, Glittering Generalities, transfer, testimonial, plain folks, card stacking, and bandwagon, which are used in every advertisement. Many people prefer to get Vitaminwater instead of taking vitamin capsules because they have seen a very successful advertisement. Vitaminwater’s Facebook flavor creator advertisement informs the product by using three specialized propaganda techniques.
The Vitaminwater advertisement uses the name-calling technique. Instead of showing how good the products are, the technique shows the awful result if you don’t choose the product.
Furthermore, the Vitaminwater advertisement uses the testimonial technique. In order to persuade the audience to believe and to choose the items, companies invite experts in related fields or irrelevant famous stars in the advertisements.
Moreover, the commercial chooses the Glittering Generalities technique to recommend the product. By using this technique, advertisements use attractive words and phrases to show how good it is, in order to attract the audience’s attention.