Week 3 Topic2

One of the effective advertisements I have watched recently is the one by Ikea. Ike introduced its ‘Place’ app which uses augmented reality to show how IKEA furniture looks like in different homes of people. The advertisement is effective because it creates a branded experience using trending technology which can be useful to consumers. Since they would see how different furniture would look like, they would have an idea on what they should and should not buy based on their preferences. What stood out from the advertisement is that the user would actually experience and see how a furniture would appear in his home. Also, it would be a fun experience to virtually place different furniture just like playing the popular game The Sims. The persuasive techniques used in this ad are emotional branding and integrated marketing. Since users of the app are most likely the ones who are planning to move to a new house, renovate their current home, or would just redesign their units, there is an emotional appeal in the ad. Also, it provides a seamless experience to consumers as the latter get to interact with the brand’s products.

On the other hand, an example of a recent advertisement that has failed to do its purpose is the one by Dove. In one of its advertisements, although Dove did not really intend it to be a racist ad, it apparently appeared that way. In the advertisement, it shows how a black woman who removed her shirt turned into a white woman. Instead of the main purpose of the company which was diversity of real beauty, it became a racist campaign instead for many people. The persuasive technique used was stereotyping which did not work out well because the audience focused on how the black woman changed into a white woman. The company should have used women of different race but same color instead.