Analysis Of Shampoo Advertising example essay topic

Everywhere you go advertising is all around us. Whether it is in town with billboards and banners, or at home via the media with T.V. or radio. Advertising is important to study as it tells us about how the mind reacts to pictures, colours and words and how the right mix of these tools can subconsciously force us into buying products which we would usually not consider buying. One example of this would be to buy a particular food because of advertising suggesting that you could lose weight, showing very attractive slim people but in small print on the product it says only as part as a calorie controlled diet. In this piece I shall discuss an advert for a shampoo manufactured by Clairol called Herbal Essences. The main picture in the advertisement is of the bottle at an angle with the shampoo exploding out of the top into flowers.

I believe that this is trying to suggest when the bottle is opened, you are hit with a sudden powerful aroma of fresh flowers. The bottle is bursting with a natural fragrance. The background of the advertisement has been kept quite plain and off-white in colour. I think that this has been chosen because it shows off the dark coloured bottle and flowers and makes it the main focal point (easily recognisable at the shop). Secondly it is a natural colour, fitting with the organic theme and not a false colour that perhaps purple might suggest, these rich colours indicate luxury. The advertiser, Clairol, will have wanted to keep this natural image throughout the advertisement due to the current trends of the day, as it is at the moment fashionable to eat organic foods, drink organic drinks and now it is becoming fashionable to wash your hair with organic shampoos.

The name of the product is Herbal Essence which suggests that the shampoo contains lots of different natural essences. The lettering is in a simple, small font and in the colour green on part of the advertising, again to look natural and healthy. Herbal Essences is positioned on the advert at the far right hand side and in the centre, this is because when published in the magazine, the brand name will be on the outside of the page, increasing the visibility, however the actual size of the words are the second smallest on the advert, this may have been done to make the reader continue to read all the way through the advert before they are told what the name of the product is. One of the slogans used in the advertisement is a totally organic experience. I believe this was chosen due to its sensational meaning and its sexual connotations.

The word organic is used to remind us that natural herbs and botanicals are used. Organic is written in dark green with a totally and experience in a shade lighter emphasising the importance to the reader it is organically made. Around the shampoo exploding around the bottle are the words yes! yes! yes! These are introduced to try and describe what the user might say whilst washing their hair.

They are also the largest in font size on the picture and again are green. They start in a light shade and the gradually increase in size and boldness. This might suggest the increase in pleasure as you shampoo. Another slogan used within the advert is start an affair with your hair which rhymes.

This also uses alliteration with an affair and by putting this with the rest of the slogan with your hair it nicely flows as you read or say it. These words are suggestive and might invite the consumer to introduce some excitement into their lives by using the shampoo. The shape of the bottle for the shampoo is simple with curved corners. The plastic is transparent so that the actual shampoo can be seen and it also enables you to see the very attractive flowers and herbs on the back of the bottle to give the effect of herbs and flowers being inside the bottle. The bottle looks original and exclusive with a rich deep golden colour. The advertisement has tried to create a natural image with the use of appropriate colours and words whilst also suggesting excitement and fun.

This is achieved by using several different slogans to appeal to a variety of different people. Someone may be interested in the product because of its natural properties, herbs, mountain spring water etc, or alternatively someone might purchase the shampoo for a thrilling experience.