I will now illustrate my point that you simply cannot escape the minefield of advertising by taking examples of companies using each one of our five main senses just to get their product somehow into our psyche.
Sight
If i was to ask the majority of people what the profile of a typical Gin drinker would be I'm sure it would come back as an older member of society. At least that's what the stereotype is. If you look closely at the advertising campaign to the left by Bombay Sapphire Gin you can see that they haven't taken a blind bit of notice of this and have created a visually majestic and thoroughly modern advertisement for their product. The visual effect it has on you is quite startling, if the typical 70 something saw this they would be forgiven if they thought it was a bubblegum flavoured soft drink advert. There is very limited text and everything is one colour. Blue is the least gender specific colour so to choose this colour and to advertise your product with it is a smart move. It is clear that Bombay Sapphire wants to appeal to a younger audience and make there product relate to the new generation. There are subtle hints that they were aiming towards the female market because of the typically more feminine lighter blue colour and if you look closely the stem of the glass is actually in the shape of a female dress. The whole idea from Bombay Sapphire's point of view is for them to get their target market to identify this modern colour and sleek design with their brand and their Gin. It will certainly stand out on the local Tesco shelf as Gin bottles are usually clear and unimaginative. Yes older drinkers may shudder at the mere thought of a blue Gin bottle but the simple fact is old people tend to die and therefore the drink Gin has to move on and find a new audience, this is a great example of this and i know personally if i saw this bright and eye catching product on the shelf amongst the same old dreary products i would certainly buy it.
Touch
Now stimulating someones vision may be easy when using TV or large posters however when Mr Marketer has to evoke other senses things get difficult. An example that i will use is the Bachelor's Cuppa Soup campaign from 2004. This is great at evoking the sense of touch as there is a huge fluffy bear like creature which hugs the lady (supposedly us consumers) when she drinks the soup. Now this campaign is very effective as it is set in a snow covered winter resort which we know can be very unforgiving and freezing cold, then the lead demurely sips away at the soup and what do you know a huge fluffy huggy monster arrives giving a warming and comforting embrace. This is definitely aimed at women because of the female lead character and because giving hugs is definitly a more female orientated activity as men are of course far too butch and assertive to want a hug, which by the way is a lie but advertising companies don't ever want to offend anyone in case it causes them to abort buying their product. You may be thinking that this is very far fetched and well to be honest it is but that is why in my opinion it is so brilliant because lets face it who doesn't want a hug every now and then? Especially in those cold winter months where money tends to be tight and a big fluffy huggy monster really would come in handy once in a while to take your troubles away and to take us out of reality. When you see the hug you imagine how that would feel. Bachelors are trying to get us consumers to buy into the 'hug in a mug' idea and when you look at the supermarket shelves instead of buying regular boring soup like Heinz you will buy a 'hug in a mug' that will make all your troubles fly away.
Taste
When you think Fosters you think young larger lout, now this may be a stereotypical view however judging by the advert to the left that may actually be the demographic that Fosters are aiming at. The brand seems to focus their advertising on the outsiders view of Australia and it's people which is a typically laid back and blaze approach to all things life. If you've ever seen a Fosters advert you will definitely know that it is an Australian brand as they never seem to fail to mention it. This type of attitude is a popular one amongst the younger generation, it has been proven that anxiety tends to effect people more when they get older and i guess that's where the saying young and care free comes from because generally when people are young they don't care about many things and tend to possess a take it as it comes attitude. The particular example that i have chosen shows a twenty/thirty something immersed in a what seems like a summer bbq with people all around suddenly taking a sip of his Fosters, he then looks up and see's a stunning blonde beauty staring back at him. Now lets face it that is every straight red blooded guys dream, Chilled beer in one hand and hot girl on another. This would engage their target market brilliantly as they would be instantly interested in this. Fosters then add an unexpected twist of humour which again young men would typically find funny as the male lead uses the girl's hieght as a shade as he takes yet another sip of his beer. Whilst watching this you would be imagining the taste of that beer as he takes the sips. I personally think that the added humour at the end is a brilliant way of making the advert stick in peoples minds as your average joe would have a ball telling his mates down at his local boozer how 'the guy in the advert uses the woman for shade'. I'm sure they would all be falling about laughing right before they all ask for a pint of Fosters.
Now when it comes to sound there is really only one advert that i can mention simply because i cannot turn the TV on without seeing it at the moment, it is of course the Go Compare advert. I know i mentioned it above but i'm going to have to talk about it again in more detail. It is without doubt the most annoying TV advert the world has ever seen and in my opinion should be banned for crimes against the ears, the effect however that it has had on people is brilliant from Go Compare's point of view as it gets people talking. Weather they love it or hate it really isnt the point as long as they are talking about it and have an opinion on it means that they are aware of the advert and therefore are also aware of the product or in this case service that it is advertising. The reaction to this campaign has been so strong that it was voted the most annoying advert of 2009 by The Telegraph. Now you may think well surely this should be stopped and another campaign started but this campaign has single handidly turned the fortunes of Go compare around as they reported 4 Million pound losses in 2008 and after introducing the Opera singing twit they reported a 12 Million pound profit at the end of 2009. The song which is sung is irritatingly catchy and most people will find it stuck in their heads time and time again after seeing the hideous performance on the advert. Now every time you think of a comparison website you will think of Go Compare, it's sad but true so brace yourselves for a lot more of the Pavarotti wannabe in the future. Now where are those earplugs?
Smell
The Airwick advert (follow the link above) really uses the consumers sense of smell and is without doubt aimed at women. The majority of household items are bought by women and there is a common theory among women - which i don't agree with by the way that women are better than men at well everything and this advert shows a man struggling to plug a regular electric air freshner in and then his wife comes up with a very practical solution which happens to be the new airwick cordless air freshner. This not only will make it's target market laugh but also highlights the products USP and illistrates a problem with it's competitors products and the fact that they now offer a product which solves the problem. It is a simple advert that will leave the consumer imagining how the product smells like as there is clearly an odour coming from the product which seemingly fills the room with vibrant ccolour and leaves the room smelling fresh. It is a great advert as it shows a common family with a common problem and an easy way to fix it. It really is that simple but it gives the consumer an example that the mass market can relate to and solves it with this new product. This in turn will create a desire for the product and when the weekly shop is being done the real head of the family will purchase the product as the brand has seemingly solved a problem that they would have with this new product.
So there you have it. Everywhere we turn there is a new challenge we face and a new product vying for our attention and investment, it really is a battlefield out there. OH NO you may be thinking but before you lock yourself away for eternity don't panic! The vast majority of these messages find there way into your head without you even knowing. Well they should do if the advert is clever enough!
Awesome! Simples :)
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