Advertising: Persuasive techniques blog task

Advertising: Persuasive techniques blog task

1) What does John Berger suggest about advertising in ‘Ways of Seeing’?

‘All publicity works on anxiety’ suggested John Berger in his seminal book Ways of Seeing (1972).

2) What is it psychologists refer to as referencing? Which persuasive techniques could you link this idea to?

Psychologists in the field call this referencing. We refer, either knowingly or subconsciously, to lifestyles represented to us that we find attractive. Social media influencers because you see what they post on social media and want the same because we find it attractive but we don't really know what's happening behind that screen, in real life.

3) How was Marmite discovered?

A German scientist Justus von Liebig discovered that brewer’s yeast could be concentrated, bottled and eaten in the late 19th Century.

4) Who owns the Marmite brand now?

Unilever

5) How has Marmite marketing used intertextuality? Which of the persuasive techniques we’ve learned can this be linked to?

Marmite’s 2003 ad featuring Zippy from the children’s television programme Rainbow is a good example.

6) What is the difference between popular culture and high culture? How does Marmite play on this?

Royal Warrants of Appointment are acknowledgements to those companies that provide goods or services to the British royal family; since 1840, this approval has been used to promote products.

7) Why does Marmite position the audience as ‘enlightened, superior, knowing insiders’?

Postmodern audiences arguably understand that they are being manipulated by marketing. They are aware that they're getting exploited. 

8) What examples does the writer provide of why Marmite advertising is a good example of postmodernism?

The #Marmiteneglect campaign is rooted in the ‘reality’ that jars of Marmite often remain unused in the backs of cupboards. This ‘real-life concern’ is then positioned within a narrative of social neglect.