Critical Analysis of an Advertisement - Paper Example

Advertisements have existed for quite a while and surround us on a daily basis. Advertisements purpose to sell products and services whereby they try to persuade the consumers to try new products of rather switch from one brand to another (Aaker & Joachimsthaler 45). From a more analytical perspective, the advertisement has five main functions. The first function is that it introduces a new product or service to the market. When the right channels are used in presenting a new product or service, the attention of customers is quickly drawn such that they purchase the items and hence resulting in marketing success (Aaker & Joachimsthaler 45). Advertisements also result in an increase in sales. It achieves this by creating interest among the customers such that there is an increase in demand that later leads to more sales. The advertisement also focuses on creating awareness about a product or service to the targeted consumer market. The awareness includes the features, the cost and the use of a product such that customers are driven to engaging in purchasing decisions. Advertising also focuses on building the image of a brand. It achieves this through repetitive ads that popularize a brand such that the perception that customers have towards a brand is manipulated. Most customers trust brands that are advertised and hence frequently purchase from them. The trust in brands in return results in an increase in demand that leads to more sales. Last but not least, it results in the projection of supply and demand (Aaker & Joachimsthaler 45). The focus of the analysis is an advertisement by the hydroxyl cut company. The Hydroxycut Company is among the top leading companies in the U.S. that deals with the distribution of supplements used for weight loss. The company is a part of the Canadian-based organization, Iovate Health Sciences International. From the year 2006, the organization has put into use the MuscleTech brand to advertise Hydroxycut despite Hydroxycut being an original product from MuscleTech Research and Development. It is worth noting Muscle Tech lost its trading right after being declared bankrupt in 2006 (Health Compare 1). The critical analyses of the hydroxylcut advertisement focus on answering the question, how does hydroxylcut convince their consumers to purchase their product?

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How images convince consumers to buy product

Images apply the aesthetic aspect when it comes to any form of advertising. It is worth noting that the technique used for advertising should bring about the targeted response from the customers. Advertisers analyze several aspects before shoving features into an advertisement. They focus on consumers preferences such that they try to come up with a strategy that will appeal to them. Some of the things that advertisers consider to involve in ads include; humor, hype, call to action, association, games, sense and appeal, testimonials and much more. For hydroxylcut, the subject of focus is the use of images in their ad. Being a product that focuses the human body, it utilizes images of people to show the impact of the products and the duration of the expected change. For an advertisement to be successful, it has to appeal to the target audience such that it strikes a chord with the target market (Raju et.al 22).

Most of the images are guided by texts to allow the consumer make a connection with the advert. It is worth noting that the emotional state of the consumer market should be taken into consideration such that the image perceived by the client's associates with their needs. The question to consider is the value that the contents of the picture align with the objectives of the images (Raju et.al 22). The advantage that the Hydroxylcut Company has is the use of the before and after images and texts that show the effect of the product. A good example is the before and after image by Brittany Dobrin from Tennessee who used the product in addition to exercise and experienced tremendous results. The fact that the image displays the location and the actual name of the model makes the product associate with the clients and hence having a higher demand (The Hydroxylcut ad).

The use of words and slogans in advertisement

A slogan refers to catchy text used in an advertisement to assist clients to recall a product or brand. Slogans are created by companies to be used in marketing such that they have a lasting impression to the consumers. The view is that, when a customer is engaged in a purchasing dilemma, he or she selects a product whose slogan is present in mind. One basic feature of a slogan is that it should be memorable such that people have an idea of the product of a company. Slogans exhibit an advertising appeal whereby they attract the interests of customers in addition to illustrating how the products may meet the needs of the customers (Raju et.al 25). The hydroxylcut advertisement contains several catchy phrases that easily appeal to the consumers. The consumers, in this case, are individuals who struggle with their body appearance and want to improve them in certain ways.

The phrase I lost 42lbs. With hydroxylcut. It really works. is quite catchy as it associates with the aspect of losing too much weight within a short time (The hydroxylcut ad). The phrase immediately appeals to the consumers struggling to lose weight. The appeal used by Hydroxylcut is the corporate advertising appeal. The appeal entails using messages and logos of a product in a forceful manner. The advertisement includes the whole product and several images of models illustrating the impact of the product. As stated earlier, the advantage that the Hydroxycut Company has is the use of the before and after images and texts that show the effect of the product. A good example is the before and after image by Brittany Dobrin from Tennessee who used the product in addition to exercise and experienced tremendous results. The fact that the image displays the location and the actual name of the model makes the product associate with the clients and hence having a higher demand (The hydroxylcut ad).

The target audience and how are they targeting them

The target audience refers to the consumer market that a company knows will purchase a product if it is adequately availed to them (Shah et al. 107). As highlighted earlier, the hydroxyl company deals with the distribution of supplements used for weight loss. Therefore, its target audience consists of individuals who want to lose weight or want to maintain their ideal body shapes. It also targets individuals who want to tone up in terms of muscles. The fact that it uses real people, before and after images and videos gives it the potential of reaching its target consumers. The consumers are targeted through the use of before and after images, the videos, images of people who appear to be satisfied with the product, clinical research, and a doctors testimonial. The target strategies focus on the desired outcome of a product by the consumer in addition to increasing clients confidence when purchasing the product. A good example is the before and after the image of Brittany Dobrin and the associated video to demonstrate the trueness of the product. With such a presentation, the demand from the target audience becomes high as confidence regarding the product is built. The same explanation applies to the testimonials whereby consumers gain confidence in a product when there is medical accreditation (The Hydroxylcut ad).

The doctor testimonials

From a general perspective, testimonials are commonly used in advertisements to persuade the customers on the usefulness of the products. They entail using end users to testify to the effectiveness of a product or service in addition to giving an explanation on how other people may gain after using them. The techniques used in testimonials include expert opinion, celebrity endorsement, man on the street and satisfied users. Briefly, celebrity endorsement entails using celebrities or public figures to promote a product. The view is that people who identify with a celebrity will easily purchase the associated product. The man on street technique entails using an individual that consumers can easily relate with in terms of day to day to experiences. Instead of using a celebrity, an ordinary individual is used (Shah et al. 108). The testimonials used by the hydroxylcut company are mainly the expert and the satisfied user's testimonials. The satisfied user testimonials, in this case, are the before and after images of identified models and the associated videos. They focus on how a product changed the life of a user for the better. Nonetheless, Focus is put on the expert opinion in regards to the doctors testimonial. The use of experts in advertisement focuses on the technical benefits of a product or service. Using a doctor to illustrate the benefits of a supplement in addition to praising its effectiveness promotes the affinity of the product in the consumer market. The view is that using a professional in the associated field increases the credibility of a service or good in addition to alleviating any fear or speculation that might be present among the consumers when presented with an unfamiliar product or service (Shah et al. 108).

According to the advertisement by Hydroxylcut, the effectiveness of the product in regards to its key ingredients has been proven clinically. According to the quoted text, The clinically tested key ingredient combination is proven effective in two separate studies to provide powerful weight loss versus diet alone. Average weight loss with key ingredients was 20.94 lbs. Versus 1.70 lbs. With placebo in one 12-week study, and 16.50 lbs. vs. 1.73 lbs. in one 8-week study. All groups followed a calorie-reduced study, (The Hydroxylcut ad). The testimonial further states that the product is under the recommendation of Dr. Jeff Nelson M.D. According to Delson, Ive reviewed the studies of the clinically proven key ingredients. Subjects lost significantly more weight than the dieting alone. I highly recommend pro clinical hydroxyl, (The Hydroxylcut ad). With such an assurance from an accredited expert, it becomes easy to convince the consumers that the product is safe, effective and hence deliver the expected outcomes.

As stated earlier, the critical analyses of the hydroxylcut advertisement focus on answering the question; how does hydroxylcut convince their consumers to purchase their product? Advertisements also purpose to maintain customer loyalty. Advertising is perceived to be the most effective strategy of promoting products and services in addition to communicating with the clients. It is also essential when it comes to a company obtaining a competitive advantage. The hydroxylcut advertisement can be perceived to be effective through its employment of before and after images, the videos, images of people who appear to be satisfied with the product, clinical research, and a doctors testimonial.

Work cited

Aaker, David A., and Erich Joachimsthaler. Brand leadership. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012.

Healthy Compare,. "Hydroxycut". HealthyCompare. N.p., 2017. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Raju, Sekar, H. Rao Unnava, and Nicole Votolato Montgomery. "The moderating effect of brand commitment on the evaluation of competitive brands." Journal of Advertising 38.2 (2009): 21-36.

Shah, Syed Saad Hussain, et al. "The impact of brands on consumer purchase intentions." Asian Journal of Business Management 4.2 (2012): 105-110.