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ADT

The ad that I chose is for the ADT home security system. I found it while I was looking through the mail, which is where a lot of ads and different forms of rhetoric can be seen. The advertisement’s goal is to persuade me to buy their security system. It says that it is a state-of-the-art system, and as can be seen on the top of it, it’s free! Or so you think. The ad says that you can get a $850 value free…..with a $99 installment charge along “with the purchase of monthly alarm monitoring services.”

The advertisers put the paying part in small letters so its easier to miss than the giant word “FREE” across the top. But with that word alone it can be tempting to buy what they are selling. It also has a list of all of the different parts and advantages there are to this system. This adds to the feeling that I should get it.

The way that the ad is set up, it makes you want to skip over the fine print and go straight to the buying. When you look at the add your eyes go straight to the large “FREE” at the top, and then over to the bright red “$850 value!” This is plenty to get the reader to be interested in the ad. Then the third most attractive thing on the page is the phone number that needs to be called in order to buy the product. But the number is at the bottom of the page, so if someone only looks at the flashy parts of the ad, they will assume that it is a completely free security system, and miss the fact that there is still a lot to pay for to fully access the system.

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Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2016 at 7:20 PM

    Well done discerning exactly what it is that the ad is trying to trip you up with and what they want from you. When you can do that it's easy to figure out if you should really buy their product.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 5, 2016 at 5:33 PM

    Great job describing how people show what they want their audience to see and how the big letters bring the audience's attention to them.

    ReplyDelete

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