Companies use implicit meaning in their advertisements to deliver a message to consumers without directly stating it. This can influence peoples purchase decisions and can manipulate customers to buy products they don’t really need. A lot of adverts use psychology, which affects people on an emotional level and often targets people’s insecurities and feelings of inadequacy.
Adverts manipulate customers into associating a product with something positive which they believe they will attain after buying it, such as; social status and physical attractiveness. In the Heinz advert, the company is implying that their tomato sauce is nutritious and organic and that the tomatoes used are fresh. This appeals to customers who like to eat healthily and avoid processed foods. People will buy the product, believing they are making a good choice but often advertisements that use implicit meaning are misleading, as they fail to mention that the product is also full of sugar. The implied meaning in the beef burger advert is aiming to convince consumers that the product is so mouth wateringly good, that even strict vegetarians will lay down their morals to try a taste.
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It is sensationalizing the burger to lure in customers. In the vintage cigarette advert, the message being put forth is that smoking will result in weight loss and a slime figure. The advert is specifically targeting women and plays on a woman’s self-esteem and body image.
The advert is particularly harmful as not only does it promote smoking, ignoring the health dangers, it also encourages women to replace meals with cigarettes, causing a complex about one’s weight or even the development of an eating disorder. This advertisement was from the 1920’s but there are still many ethical issues in advertising today.
