Bait And Switch

Bait and switch?

The bias of advertising has existed as long as advertising has. Advertising is the art of applying bias to sell. It is the designed to make something attractive, to make something desired, or needed through the act of creating simple psychological games. The creation of fallacies to stimulate a sense of need is the very foundation of advertising. The pseudo logical appeal to emotion presented in such ads stimulates us to buy things like soft drinks, of which none admit to their product as being merely carbonated sugar water, in doing so they create an image, an image we are told is an ideal. (Cline 1) To this extent the biases used to sell to men and women have proven themselves to be as different as the genders. After an analysis of recent advertisements in both Cosmo and Maxim, two respected men's and women's magazines, it can be seen that while similar base techniques are used they are uniquely targeted. Thus proving the age old adage of advertising, know you're audience. You will see that those targeted at men tend to gravitate towards power, individualism, and ownership. Those targeted at women on the other hand tend towards belonging, empowerment, and a sense of freedom. However both are filled with a sense of control and sexuality.

The first of the ads that I would like to review is from Cosmopolitan by Bacardi entitled "Bacardi by night". In the ad we see a business woman, elegant, dark lipstick, in good shape, standing in a sexual yet relaxed posture. The peg line "Buttoned up by day, Bacardi by night" (Cosmo 121) straddles the woman's midriff, her shirt of a professional cut is unbuttoned almost completely hinting at the sexuality underneath breaking free and cutting loose and yet having an aire of living a greater life than the consumer. Not only does this show a strong appeal to emotion in sexual desire, vanity, as well as empowerment or control, by showing a woman who we could easily see dominating her field and running equal with the men of her office if not in charge some how changed by the evening and not threatened by her own sexuality. The ad wants our viewer to see that she has found a balance in her life that she has control of the war between serious business woman and sexual woman, between logic and fun. And using their product you can find such fulfillment it alludes. The fact that the picture cuts off just below her eyes allows some form of anonymity, to allow the viewers imagination to wander and stimulates self-actualization into the situation. Also the hint of male allure by the ambiguous mans arm seen at the edge of the picture seems to suggest that she has power and she can claim any man with her sexuality and her focus. Again layers of appeals to control and the ability to balance desires.

To contrast a Hennessey Cognac ad flashed across maxim shows two men sitting in expensive business suits, wearing expensive watches, and smoking cigars are at a nice table sipping cognac while a woman in red dress looking sexy and seductive draws the attentions of the man on the left as well as we are also led to believe that he has drawn hers. With the small solid and bold letters across the bottom under the man's feet state, "Hennessy. Live Accordingly". (Maxim 27) With this simple slogan it dictates that the man is living accordingly, but to what standard? The ad creates the Ideal of being rich; having the luxury of loafing about with your friends in a beautiful (piano?) bar, owning expensive suits and being fit and powerful is what it means to live accordingly. The fallacy that strikes me the most would be this, according to what? It appeals to vanity, to snobbery, to fear of exclusion, false cause