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Sample Response to Real GRE Issue Questions
Issue # 6: "The purpose of
many advertisements is to make consumers want to buy a product so that
they will 'be like' the person in the ad. This practice is effective
because it not only sells products but also helps people feel better about
themselves."
Many advertisements do indeed use attractive models or celebrities to
entice consumers into buying the products that are being promoted. Who
would not like to look like the beautiful models that are depicted
enjoying the product? Who would not like to be like a Michael Jordan or
Tiger Woods? To a certain extent, buying products to emulate the persons
shown in the advertisements can make a person feel better about him or
herself. But this type of advertisement can be a double-edged sword - when
the product does not make the person "be like" the person in the
advertisement, there can be disappointment and disillusionment with the
product.
Marketing departments have long known that using attractive models and
celebrity endorsers can help to persuade consumers to buy a product. Some
customers may actually believe that buying and using the product will make
them "be like" the people featured in the ad. For other consumers, there
is probably at least some subconscious reaction that causes them to
believe that they will in fact assume some of the characteristics of the
person depicted in the advertisement. Consumers with a lower sense of
self-esteem are more likely to buy a product based on the motivation that
they will become like someone else.
Proof of this marketing axiom can be found by simply looking at
advertisements from around the world. People featured in advertisements
are almost always good-looking, healthy and physically fit. Marketers are
savvy enough, and enough market research has proven that, consumers are
motivated to buy by advertisements featuring attractive models. Even
advertisements that are aimed at the older people of a population will
feature attractive older people. Although there has been some criticism
about the effect of showing only "beautiful people" on the general
population, particularly on young women, advertisers know that beauty
sells. But whether this practice makes people feel better about themselves
depends on the individual and is certainly open to debate.
Some individuals with a low sense of self-esteem, especially younger
people, may purchase products in an attempt to make themselves be like the
person featured in the advertisement. Young women in particular may buy
cosmetics or clothing advertised by beautiful models in an attempt to look
the same as them. Young men may buy athletic shoes or apparel in an
attempt to perform athletically in the same way that the person featured
in the advertisement plays. These people may then become further
discouraged when they use or wear the product and find out that they are
the same person that they were before. Buying the product hasn't changed
anything.
There are others that may derive a certain sense of satisfaction over the
fact that they wear the same underwear as some beautiful models or that
they drink the same soft drink as Britney Spears. These people in general
already have a good sense of who they are and don't expect a particular
product to perform miracles for them. For these people, the purchase of
the product is not so much as an image enhancer; it is more of a form of
self-expression. Perhaps drinking a Pepsi-Cola makes them feel younger or
wearing Nike shoes makes them feel more athletic, no matter how old or
inactive they may be in reality. In this manner, it is possible that
advertising can make people feel better about themselves.
Marketing and advertising absolutely must appeal to people in one way or
another to be successful. Research has shown that using celebrities and
attractive people can motivate consumers to purchase a product. In
whatever manner, advertisers hope that they actually can make people feel
better about themselves, because that can help foster repeat purchases of
a product. Ultimately, whether an advertisement makes a person feel better
about him or herself depends on the individual and how they perceive
themselves as compared to the particular advertisement in question.
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