"Selling Happiness: Two Pitches from Mad Men"
The following links will take you to YouTube clips of the popular AMC series, Mad Men. The first clip is from the very first episode of the series, and shows Don Draper making a pitch for Lucky Strike Cigarettes: "Mad Men: It's Toasted." The second shows a pitch for the Kodak Carousel: "Mad Men: Carousel." As you watch the clips, consider how the use of a single word, or the choice of one word over another, can increase the persuasive appeal of an advertisement.
this made me mad. It shows us, once more, that advertisement is full of lies. they hide the truth of the product without not carrying about the consumer.
ReplyDeleteZul M.
Yes i am about to argue :). There is a regulation code that exists about false advertisement, and if a company is found lying they are fined BIG TIME.. Not to mention how much they would lose from people suing them. Anyways they don't lie, many times they don't tell the real facts, but they are truthful, they just stay away from the "sore subjects" which are those that would cause the consumer to not purchase the product.
DeleteI agree. It is frustrating when they lie to you. But I think this just goes to show us how simple word choice can influence us. Just because of the connotations that go along with the words "Toasted" and "Carousel" we think of these products totally differntly. Is it blasphemy, or lying, to use strong word choice for advertisment?
DeleteKaylee M.
More so than the lies being a problem for me, it's the integrity. Many of these advertisers know that these ads are wrong, and because it's their job to advertise to profit the product, they do it anyway.
DeleteJaxson S.
Exactly! It also shows that anyone would say anything just for people to buy or even buy into trusting the product and the people. So stupid.
Delete-Taylor O.
Is sad to know and see what people do to get money.
Delete-Zul Martinez
Advertisement is necessary. Even though it's used here to promote a bad product, it can also be used for products that are beneficial to humanity.
Delete-Charles S.
I thought he did such a good job of selling cigarettes and making it sound like it was good for consumers. He was very persuasive. Then the wheel idea was gripping it was crazy good you could tell that everyone in that room was in trance in what he had to say it was so cool. This character is so good at advertisement and being able to sell anything.
ReplyDelete-Joci B
I agree. It's crazy how the words we use along with music, and or, pictures can create such a feeling about such a simple product. It shows how advertisment can, in a way, minipulate people.
DeleteKaylee M.
The video "Mad Men: It's Toasted." prety much proves that any product can be sold as long as the advertisement makes it stand out more than its competitors. Even if it is the same product.
ReplyDeleteAnna H.
I kinda like the contrast of the two. The "It's Toasted" clip is more of a selling something through a pure lie, just trying to get money and giving nothing to the consumer, but an unhealthy product, but the second clip shows an emotional attachment to the product. He really sells it with such a strong emotion that one guy had to leave the room before he broke up. Strange that it was just a Kodak Carousel, but I guess it could have had such an impact in a day with more limited technology.
ReplyDelete-Bryson C.
ReplyDeleteI love Madmen, especially Don Draper. I thought this was an interesting way to look into ads. The fact that the writers were able to go back in time with lifestyles as well as the thoughts and associations that were put into ads roughly forty years ago is amazing. Both the carousel and the "toasted" idea also show how today, companies are doing the same thing, todays products being drugs that side effects are worse than the reason for taking the drug. Also the fact that the remakes of movies also link to the idea of nostalgia, the younger thinking its new and exciting, while the parents and older generations feel nostalgic with the memories that they had when the original came out. Thus proving nostalgia is a key component to advertising and always will be. As for the cigarette ad, the point that they say that it is toasted which has always been part of the process, proves it to be a lie, and yet those who do not know the process see it as a safety blanket to fall back on.
-Karleigh A.
I think it's interesting to know how marketers get their products sold. And if a product will make people happy then of course they'll buy it.
ReplyDeleteDon Draper did a great job at persuading the audience that his brand of cigarettes was the best. He pounded it into our heads by using the word "toasted". This made it hard for us to forget as we watched through the clip. Anything that is bad for us, and is made into a "healthy" theme, is going to pull in people with similar habits. There is no denying that if people can find a healthier way of going about something, they will. Advertisement is really sneaky and tricky that way.
ReplyDeleteWhen this topic is discussed, does it make it success if a company is able to lie to its customers, or is it something that should be discouraged?
ReplyDelete-Karleigh A.
I wouldn't say its lying, but more of a looking on the brightside. They are using the positive side of the product. Is it a good thing? Not always, but that is what companies have to do. They need to make people see the good side of things so they will want their product.
DeleteDid anyone find out why that guy runs out of the room in the Carousel clip?
ReplyDelete-Charles S.
Advertisement is really good at persuading people and the use of just one word can be a determining factor in how well a product is "advertised." It seems that if something is emphasized, more people will be able to relate to that specific item, or advertisement.
ReplyDeleteBailey M
advertising is so deceiving and they find ways to get people to like things not good for the human body. Especially the guy (Don) who was persuading people that his brand of cigaretts is the best
ReplyDelete~Staci Galvez
Effective advertising is absolute brilliance, it's inception. We could be going about our days and not even realize we want something until we see that commercial or that add, and then all of the sudden it's something we can't stop thinking about. Whether it's a video game, a new pair of shoes, a car. Good advertising is a virus.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. There has been times that I have seen an advertisment and then really wanted that thing, food expecially. When I see a good food commercial I want that food right then.
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