Jib Fowles 15 Basic Appeals Essay

Advertising Analysis Misleading information is shared every day by companies, political figures, and people who desire to gain power. These people spreading the information wish to make money off of people's ignorance because they make misleading advertisements. People like Jib Fowles write to create awareness of advertisements that trick people into buying unnecessary products, such as in his article “Advertising’s 15 Basic Appeals.” Fowles uses research from psychologist Henry A. Murray to express how advertisements are made to appeal to people's interests and desires. Throughout Fowles’ essay, he points out the various needs that advertisements try to trigger within individuals such as attention, guidance, nurture, and several others. Advertisements

Fowles’s essay lists 15 ideas that advertisers use in order to lure customers into buying their products. One appeal that is used in the Nissan commercial is the “need to escape.” Fowles describes this as “...Freedom is the pitch here, the freedom that every individual yearns for whenever life becomes too oppressive” (web). Throughout the commercial, it is shown that actor Eugene Levy’s life gets much more thrilling when driving the Nissan. The advertisers are attempting to get people to desire that thrilling aspect that they likely have never experienced before. By this, they are showing that the car can bring normal people that thrill they seek. Another appeal Fowles explains and is shown in the commercial is the “need for prominence.” This appeal is drawn toward people wanting to be idolized and recognized, mainly in a financial way. The need for prominence is shown through the commercial with the various well-known actors and actresses admiring the car Eugene is driving. If people who have extreme amounts of money are admiring the car, then people who see the car on the street will also admire it. Through this mindset, people are likely to buy the car in order to be idolized. In today's world, it is very common for people to be insecure, so appealing to being idolized and having a life people only see in movies helps advertisers make more money. Nissan’s success in its advertisement can be explained through Fowles’