Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Advertising Rhetoric and Maslow



After reading through Maslow's Hierarchy of needs I thought of Hydroxycut. I've seen these commercials all over television and magazines for years and they always seem to advertise the same things. This ad would fall under the Esteem level of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. This ad shows the man before Hydroxycut alone. He doesn’t look very comfortable or confident in himself. They give him a little smirk, which indicates that he isn’t as happy as he should be. On the right is his after Hydroxycut picture. After using Hydroxycut the man takes on a completely different self-esteem. The man is tan, ripped, and has a smile on his face. The man exudes a much higher level of confidence than the man on the left. The man also appears to have a girlfriend which shows that using Hydroxycut will gain you attention and respect from women, which the man clearly didn’t have before he used Hydroxycut.

Personally, this ad wouldn't make me want to try Hydroxicut. I would be skeptical to it working, and I dont think that the two pictures are of the same men. However I feel that a lot of men would be affected by this ad in particular. Hydroycut had a good strategy here. Not only would the men be happier and more self-confident, but they may gain a girlfriend and a six pack, which are a few things that a man might be searching for in today's society. The people of Hydroxycut not only showed the medication's potential positive effects, but they use a direct quote from the man about how unbelievably fast the pill worked. If the men feel that they'll be able to look like the man on the left and have a life like his in a short amount of time, they'll definitely be interested in giving Hydroxycut a try.
- Breanna Hargrove
(307 Words)

2 comments:

  1. Another type of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that this particular advertisement would fall into would be love/belonging. This advertisement could also fit into the safety panel because it is dealing with health, but I think it definitely fits into love/belonging more because the dramatic amount of sexual content. Showing this man with his shirt off, being ripped and tan is of course going to grab people’s attention. It also has a gorgeous woman showing a huge amount of affection towards him so by doing this, it is telling people by using this specific product, it will lead you to get attractive women. If this commercial was using a different woman that was not so appealing, then it would cause the viewers to probably not be so attracted to this product. It is also showing that the couple is a lot happier now that they have used Hydroxycut. This ad basically states that the better that you look, the better you will feel.
    Brooke Kinney (165)

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  2. I think that both of your picked great levels that this article would fit under, but after a bit of analyzing I cdecided a third level would fit. The other level that I thought this add could fit uner would be safety. In the level of safety iit says health and body. I think this fits underneath this level because the person is getting his body into shape, also assuring he is healthy. The happier a person is, the healthier they are said to be. This add promotes that if you look better you will feel better. So by looking toned, tan and getting the girl of your dreams, this will make you happier. One of the biggest problems in today's society is obessity, therefor I thought this was fitting. I chose to write about this add no only because it is a major problem in America today, but because you always see adds that promotev "get fit fast", whether they work or not, people want to believe in miracles. By showing you can look and feel good is the best way to promote this product.

    Karah
    Word count 186

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