Emotional Appeal Used in Visual Advertising

In almost any commercial you watch today, you will notice that they rarely tell you something about the product being sold. Neil Postman stated, “The television commercial is not all about the character of the product to be consumed. It’s about the character of the consumers of products” (128). I find this very true. Commercials combine the use of sight, sound, color, motion, and often humor to put forth an effective message. Within a short period of time, these advertisements can capture one’s attention and convince one to buy their product. It doesn’t matter if the product has value, as long as the advertisers are able to make a consumer believe it does. Playing off of emotions is one of the most effective ways to lure people in because you can’t refute emotions. Commercials can effectively manipulate and create false perception using emotional appeal to further benefit the advertiser.

Television commercials are a persuasive form of communication. One sees tons of images of famous people, breath-taking scenery, fun vacations, and of happy families spending quality time together. But what is this telling a consumer about the product? It tells those who may buy them about their own fears, insecurities, anxieties, and dreams. They do this by constantly reminding them that their lives could be better if they buy this or that. These images are used for