Fast Food Advertisements:
What are they really trying to sell you?
Advertisers - and the companies that hire them - have a habit of trying to sell you something other than their product. Most of the time, commercials and magazine ads are trying to sell you an idea or a lifestyle. Sometimes, when see a new advertisement or commercial for the first time, its hard to tell what company it is for or even what they are trying to sell.
Just the other day, I saw what I thought was a car commercial. The car was darting through streets, maneuvering perfectly, going over hills, and winding through forests. It passed through scenes of summer, autumn, winter, and spring. Suddenly, the car pulls into a parking lot and the window rolls down. Sitting in the drivers seat is what appears to be a race-car driver, fully decked out in his driving gear and wearing an awesome set of shades.
In fact, the sunglasses were so nice that for a second I actually thought the commercial might have been for a company like Oakley, Von Zipper , Arnett, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Fendi, Gucci, Guess, or Ray-bans. I really had no idea. By this point, the commercial was nearly over; it had been going on for nearly 30 seconds and still I wasn't quite sure WHAT I was being sold.
Suddenly, the handsome driver sitting in the glistening car removes his sunglasses, turns his head to the left and says, "Can I get a double quarter-pounder with cheese and a coke..." The camera zooms out and - of course - the driver had pulled into a drive-thru window at McDonald's. My mind was BLOWN!
This commercial didn't seem to be selling me a happy meal. It was selling me cars, daredevil driving, tires that were great for all seasons, stock care racing, and maybe sunglasses, or - based on the handsome face of the driver - maybe even a razor blade or new shaving cream. I had no idea. The commercial was selling me the lifestyle of the handsome, bad boy, who drives like a boss. The idea seemed to be - "Be cool like this guy and eat McDonalds."
This type of advertising is common in all commercials and industries, not just fast food. Advertisers convince us to buy their product by selling us on something else. Something that we WANT to be.
Watch the videos below and see how long it takes to figure out what they are for: