Advertising: Persuasive techniques blog task

Advertising: Persuasive techniques blog task

Create a new blog post called 'Advertising: Persuasive techniques'. Read ‘Marketing Marmite in the Postmodern age’ in MM54  (p62). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here.

Answer the following questions on your blog:

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

John Berger suggests that 'All publicity works on anxiety' in his seminal book 'Ways of Seeing' (1972). This means that advertisements offer consumers improved versions of themselves. They are made to think that they will become a better person if they buy that product.

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

Referring, either knowingly or subconsciously, to lifestyles represented to us (through the media or in real life) that we find attractive is known as referencing. Consumers create a vision of themselves living a certain idealised lifestyle, and then behave in ways that help them to realise this vision. This is very similar to John Berger's thoughts on advertising.

Examples of persuasive techniques that link to this idea include bandwagon and emotional appeal.

3) How was Marmite discovered?

Marmite was invented when, in the late 19th century, German scientist Justus von Liebig discovered that brewer’s yeast could be concentrated, bottled and eaten. The Marmite Food Extract Company was formed in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire in 1902

4) Who owns the Marmite brand now?

Unilever now owns the Marmite brand. Unilever is a British-Dutch transnational consumer goods company. Is products include food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. Unilever's other brands include- Magnum, Dove, Sure, Persil, Ben & Jerry's and many more.

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

Marmite has many adverts that feature characters from cartoons. One example is Marmite’s 2003 ad featuring Zippy from the children’s television programme Rainbow. Another example is a 2007 £3m campaign featuring the 1970s cartoon character Paddington Bear (watch below). This type of marketing technique links to association/celebrity endorsement.

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

-->Popular culture can be defined as a subculture that is shared by everyone or the mass of the society. High culture can be defined as a subculture that is shared by the upper class of the society only. Each culture has its own set of consumption patterns, lifestyle, literature, beliefs and attitudes, and leisure activities. However, Marmite are very clever to create a campaign (left) where they state that both cultures can 'either love' or 'hate' Marmite.

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

Marmite don't try to hide the fact that a lot of people hate their product. Instead, they use this as the main theme in all their adverts and campaigns ('You either love it or hate it'). The audience understand the joke behind Marmite's adverts and they therefore become part of the advertising process through word of mouth. For example, there is a challenge on YouTube where You-tubers try Marmite for the first time and share their reaction. In the end they decide whether they hate it or love it. 

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

-->Marmite is a very good example of postmodernism. It diversifies the brand in to alternative spaces and places- for example Marmite has licensed a range of cycling shirts that promote the product with puns about ‘hating jams’ and ‘being good in bread’.

-->Marmite has come out with many different packaging over the years, making the product collectable. Examples include the limited edition 'Marmite Gold' and 'Marmite Summer of Love and Hate'.

-->Marmite has also abstracted across other art platforms. Unilever invested £15,000 in a sculpture of a Marmite jar, nicknamed Monumite, which can be found next to the main library in Burton-on-Trent. It is very special in that people can pose inside the jar, providing subtle advertising of the product through social media.