Selling Products versus Images :: Marketing Advertising Commercials Ads

Products or Images? What are they really selling? If an alien were shown an advertisement and asked to describe what product that particular company were selling, in most cases the alien would not know. The reason that the product itself would be unclear is that it is not actually being shown because the product is not what is most appealing to the consumer. The ideal or image that is most likely projected is the attention grabber. The fantasy that is being put forth by the company is what the consumer is really investing in. People like to buy things that represent what they admire or respect. Products and brands have symbolic meanings and project certain images (Mehta, page 82) in the case of the ENYCE brand of clothing the ad portrays an image of living in an inner city and leading an urban lifestyle. It shows young attractive individuals who appear to be cool, relaxed and enjoying themselves. The men look tough and strong, while the women look stylish and comfortable. The reason that the clothes that are being sold are not simply shown on their own, is because people buy the image they wish to express to others. Individuals prefer products that match their self-concept since these purchases provide a means of self-expression. (Mehta, page 82) If a person wishes to project an image of being cool, tough, confident and relaxed in the city than they could relate to this ENYCE ad and wish to buy the products, regardless to what the product looks like. The person is not, however, investing into the quality of the clothes or the affordability, but the association of being cool or happy. This reason is why companies have turned to using a fantasy or image to sell their products. Value-expressive attributes or image of the product rather than functional attributes and informational claims are often used in advertising. (Mehta, page 81) Products often promote things that are valued by everyone such as happiness, romance, sex and other things that most people desire. Images often vary as product images do, but many of them play on what that target population wants as a whole. Everyone wants to be happy and self confident in everything they do, and this can be seen in ads of every kind.