Persuasive Advertising is the art of convincing your customers why your company’s products or services are the best. In a sea of other companies offering the same products and services as you, why should customers choose you?
The ultimate goal here is to influence the consumers to switch brands or buy your product. The ads are designed in a way that it would make the viewers want to make a transaction.
Persuasive advertising is usually done by showing viewers why your product or service is good instead of just telling them. It also makes the viewer feel like it’s very important to switch to your brand.
Overall, it helps generate demand for the products or services featured. It makes what you’re offering to your customers seem so desirable, it would be foolish not to have it.
But how do we apply it?
Let’s look at some great examples of persuasive advertising. It’ll help us get a better understanding of the topic because we get to see it in action. We then discuss why these ads are so good so you’ll be able to apply them to your own ads.
Let’s get started!
1. Burger King’s – A Whopper of a Secret
One of the ways to persuade viewers to buy a product or service is to prove that whatever you’re offering is better than your competitor’s. People would want the most out of their money so they’re more likely to become loyal if you offer things that are of top quality.
Burger King was able to do this well.
They launched an ad campaign in the UK back in late 2019 where they had multiple ads posted around with a “Go on. Say it.” text. Most of the ads were simple photos of a Whopper burger with a white background and plain text.
Later on, they revealed that they had a “Whopper of a Secret.” Apparently, in each of the photos of a Whopper that they took, there’s a “Big” Mac on the other side. They wanted to prove that their burger is bigger than that of their competitors.
This silly but witty ad campaign is a great example of persuasive advertising. It shows customers why their product is better instead of just telling them.
2. Heinz’s – Ed Sheeran
Another way to persuade people to buy your products is to show them that their favorite people are using the product as well.
This commercial by Heinz features Ed Sheeran. It was based on an actual DM from Ed Sheeran himself. It was an attempt of the company to popularize Ketchup in the UK.
He goes into a super fancy restaurant and narrates his experience as it happens. As the fancy food comes along, he takes out his trusty Heinz ketchup and adds it to the food. With Ed Sheerin being his usual charming self, the commercial is light and comical.
This is a good example of persuasive advertising because the company uses an influential person to vouch for its product. Ed is actually a real Heinz fan. He’s able to show people that no matter how posh the food is, ketchup is there to complete it.
People are more than willing to try out products if they see the people they look up to try them. This is especially true for fans of artists and celebrities.
3. Pepsi Cola’s – More Than OK
Another way to persuade customers is through the power of suggestion and association.
Suggesting is a sneaky way to convince your viewers that your product is good. Suggestions, if done right, can be one of the most powerful ways to influence your viewers. Think of the placebo effect. If you get people to believe hard enough, even their body follows the suggestion.
Association, on the other hand, is more of making connections. Associating your products and services with things that people enjoy is a great way to get them to make a purchase.
Think of it this way. When you think of good things, your brain sends signals to your body that you feel good. If you attach that same feeling to your product or service, with enough tries, people will start feeling good when they see it.
Pepsi did a good job in applying these concepts in their “Pepsi: More than OK” ad campaign.
In this commercial, they addressed how they’re not just an “okay” alternative to Coke, one of their top competitors. They then follow up by associating Pepsi with puppies, shooting stars, and the laughter of a small child. They make the suggestion as to how Pepsi is just amazing, if not more amazing, than Coke.
If that’s not enough, they even bring in influential people to back up their brand.
This is why it’s such a good persuasive advertising campaign. It addresses their competitor, brings in influential people, uses suggestions, and associations.
4. HP’s – The Wolf
Persuasive advertising can also play on a viewer’s sense of urgency. This creates a perceived need that the viewers need to get the product or service now or else they might miss out.
HP makes use of this in their stunning video advertisement entitled “ The Wolf.” This is a very cinematic commercial that focuses on the importance of having secured devices at work.
It’s amazing how the commercial build up the urgency by starting with a measly printer. It’s something that we don’t really give a thought about but apparently, it’s one of the ways that hackers can infiltrate a company’s system. It’s a series of chain reactions that lead up to the destruction of the company.
HP reinforces the sense of urgency by showing viewers the dangers of using devices that cannot fight off malware and viruses. They show the viewers how much is at stake if you don’t purchase their products right now.
5. Volvo XC60 – Moments
Emotions are also a great way to appeal to viewers and persuade them that your product or service is worth getting. If you’re able to connect with them on an emotional level, they’re more likely to listen and appreciate what you have to offer.
Volvo does a great job of doing this in their “Moments” ad campaign. It features a mother and a child who is talking about the future. The child narrates the life she sees for herself, the future she wants to pursue. Then everything could have changed in an instant as the child was walking to school.
The company was able to show the importance of its product while connecting to people on a personal level. What makes this persuasive advertising campaign very effective is that it showed how their product can literally change lives.
They’re able to show how much value they can bring to the customer and to the people around them.
Benefits of Persuasive Advertising
Focuses on User-Oriented Approach
Persuasive advertising is a method of convincing customers that one product or service is superior to the others. Whether for commercial usage or a social cause, it remains a part of advertising. It is the most popular method of advertising and many organizations allocate funds for persuasive advertising from their marketing budget.
It helps businesses expand their customer base by targeting the right demographics and increases the market share and boosts sales by showcasing product features in an engaging manner.
Initiate Credibility
Persuasive advertising determines the company’s trustworthiness in the market by giving an offer to the customer and showing a desirable product. Persuasive advertising is advantageous for companies that have faith in its products.
The main two takeaways of persuasive advertising is increasing the market share and establishing credibility in the market.
Create a Brand Loyalty
Persuasive advertising builds brand loyalty and awareness in the minds of consumers which increases revenue in turn. If the customer has faith in a particular brand, then they will purchase its other products as well.
For example, if you think about an advertisement, then you may remember the product in it. That is the success of a persuasive advertisement because it influences your decisions as a consumer.
Key Takeaway
Persuasive advertising is a powerful tool to have in your marketing arsenal. Being able to connect to your viewers is the key to influencing them to make a purchase.
As we have discussed in the examples above, you can use the following approaches to persuasive advertising:
- Comparing your product to your competitors
- Using a prominent figure to influence your viewers
- Suggestion and association
- Creating a sense of urgency
- Appealing to your viewer’s emotions
Being able to master these approaches will help elevate your advertisements.
FAQs
What is persuasive advertising?
It is the art of convincing your customers why your products and services are the best choices. In turn, it also enables the organization to generate more customers and revenue.
In what way does Heinz convince people to purchase its products?
Heinz tried to involve a celebrity in one of its advertisements with Ed Sheeran. People are more willing to try out products if they see the people they look up to try or advertise them.
How did Pepsi-Cola implement persuasive advertising?
Pepsi-Cola addressed its topmost competitor, Coca-Cola, and tried to convince people that they are better than its competitors by bringing in famous celebrities your products and services with things that people enjoy and to get them to make a purchase from their ad campaigns.
What are some of the advantages of persuasive advertising?
Persuasive advertising adopts a user-centric approach, initiates credibility, and creates brand awareness among the customers.
Conclusion
Persuasive advertising is a marketing technique that many organizations adopt that highlights the benefits or features of their products to attract customers. It is a proven method of the advertisement so it is not going to disappear. This form of advertising influences the consumer’s decision so you must exercise caution to not create unwanted negative sentiments among your customer base.
