Analysis of Motivational Appeals in Selected Advertisements

This report provides an analysis of three different advertisements sourced from YouTube, focusing on the application of motivational appeals in marketing. The first advertisement, for Lane Bryant's Cacique brand, is examined for its use of appeals to personal satisfaction, growth, and relationship motives, challenging beauty stereotypes and promoting diversity. The second advertisement, for Snickers, is analyzed for its use of humor and appeal to physical well-being, highlighting the basic human need for physical fitness. The third advertisement, for Jim Beam, is assessed for its use of celebrity endorsement and appeals to recreation and pleasure, targeting a luxury consumer base. The study concludes by emphasizing the changing nature of motivational appeals as consumer needs evolve, excluding basic needs. The report identifies and discusses the specific motives employed in each advertisement to understand how they connect with the target audience and influence consumer behavior.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
First advertisement...........................................................................................................................2
Second advertisement......................................................................................................................2
Third advertisement.........................................................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
Reference list...................................................................................................................................5
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Introduction
Motive is one of the aspects of public communication media for adapting to the psychographics
of the audiences or the listeners. This helps the makers of the public communication in choosing
appropriate topic for a particular audience. For understanding the aspect of motives, this study
focuses on analysis of the particular appeals used in three advertisements collected from the
social media site You Tube.
First advertisement
The first chosen advertisement belongs to the US based women clothing shop namely Lane
Bryant and has been focused on the plus sized women’s undergarment brand called Cacique.
This one is a current advertisement that particularly chose the so called imperfect female models
who are the total opposite of the perfect models chosen for another women undergarment brand
namely Victoria secrets. The uniqueness of this advertisement lies in the fact that it counters the
typical womanly beauty stereotypes (Anneliese STREBEL, 2019). Moreover, this advertisement
comes with the tagline ‘I am no angel’ that mocks the concept of ‘angels’ of Victoria secrets.
This particular advertisement strikes various contemporary issues in order to reach to the
common masses. Motivational appeals are very much connected with the needs of the audience
(Osborn, Osborn and Osborn, 2011). For example, here the need of personal satisfaction and
growth of the audiences have been focused. This has been conveyed in a way that each and every
woman belonging to diverse body types can feel satisfied and positive. Moreover, this
advertisement celebrates diversity that is a brilliant idea of reaching as much audience as
possible by widening the range of the target audience. In addition, the relationship motive has
also been used here that has the ability to make the audiences belief that they are acceptable to
others irrespective of what race, color, body type they belong to.
Second advertisement
The second chosen advertisement has been made for the America based chocolate bar brand
Snickers. This particular advertisement features the famous Hollywood veteran actor Betty white
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along with a group of young male models. The plot of the advertisement shows how a bite of the
above mentioned chocolate bar can energize a person within seconds. For that reason, element of
humor has been used without dealing with any complicated social issue or anything of that sort.
In order to elaborate, this can be added that here a group of football players have been seen to be
playing when a particular players has been seen to be turned into Betty white because he was
hungry (MistahSparkles70, 2019). The purpose behind showing such an unrealistic plot is to tell
that a person becomes as slow and tired as old people are when they feel hungry. In this regard,
this can be said that advertisements human beings have various needs including basic and higher
level of needs. Motivational appeals try to satisfy these needs after choosing particular needs that
go well with the purpose of their advertisements. This advertisement deals with the most basic
level of human need that is the need of physical well being. For that reason, motive of physical
fitness has been applied in order to convey the message that physical fitness comes first before
anything else in the lives of the human beings.
Third advertisement
The third advertisement is a commercial for the international bourbon whiskey brand Jim Beam.
This advertisement features the famous Hollywood star Mila Kunis. There is no other person
seen other than her in the whole advertisement (Jim Beam, 2019). The unique feature of this
particular advertisement lies in the fact that it uses a celebrity face in order to reach the audience.
This is an excellent strategy to be used as many people take certain products seriously if popular
faces claim that they use those products too. This is more relevant for luxurious products like this
one that has no basic value other than the value of pleasure. In the advertisement, it has been
shown that Mila Kunis stamps her own name on one of the whiskey jars which means that she
owns it. This gives a sense of aristocracy to the brand itself that claims to be one of the best
bourbon providers in the world. In this regard, this can be said that the makers of the commercial
greatly understood the customers of their products. For example, it is clear that people will buy
this product not for satisfying any of their basic needs but to add to the luxury quotient in their
lives. That is why the motive of recreation and please has been used for this commercial. This
motive helps the makers of the commercial to convey the message that recreation is also needed
especially for the young people who are so much burdened under the pressure of their work.
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Conclusion
This study has focused on one particular way of satisfying needs of the audiences that is the
motivational appeals. For that reason, three advertisements have been described and then
analyzed in order to identify which motives have been used in these advertisements. It has been
found that the range of motives can change as time passes as the needs of human beings keep
shifts from one to another excluding their basic needs.
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Reference list
Anneliese STREBEL, 2019, Victoria Secrets I'm no angel is back commercial, Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc1P5dqb9zM [Accessed on: 25/1/2019]
Jim Beam, 2019, Mila Kunis leaves her mark on history, Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_Vk5iloGrw [Accessed on: 25/1/2019]
MistahSparkles70, 2019, Betty White Snickers Super Bowl Commercial 2010, Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18ya0-OZ58s [Accessed on: 25/1/2019]
Osborn, M., Osborn, S. and Osborn, R., 2011. Public speaking: Finding your voice. Pearson
Higher Ed.pp.69-111
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