Persuasive Advertising: What It Is & How to Do It [+Examples]

Published: September 28, 2021
What are some advertisements that live rent-free in your mind? As a millennial, ads that will always have a place in my heart include Britney Spears' iconic run as a Pepsi spokesperson, the enduring"got milk?" campaign (which is ironic considering myself and many others now prefer non-dairy alternatives), and the classic iPod silhouettes.

These ads were not only compelling, but they were also incredibly influential. As marketers, we know that if we want to persuade an audience , we need to evoke an emotional response from them. But how do you actually do that?

Before we discuss how to refine your persuasive advertising strategy, let's review what it is.

What is persuasive advertising?
Persuasive advertising leverages the desires and interests of consumers to convince them to purchase a product or service. This form of advertising often focuses on the benefits the product or service can offer the end-user.
Below, we’ll examine key persuasive advertising techniques you can use in your advertisements, examples you can reference if you ever need some inspiration and informative advertisement examples that are surprisingly just as compelling as the persuasive advertising examples.
Persuasive Advertising Techniques
- The Carrot and The Stick
- The Scarcity Principle
- One Message Per Advertisement
- Write in the Second Person
- Give Your Audience a Sense of Control
- Use a Call-to-Value Instead of a Call-to-Action
1. The Carrot and The Stick
Humans are hardwired to move towards pleasure, like a horse towards a carrot, and away from pain, like a donkey avoids a stick. When people read or watch your advertisements, "carrots", or promises of gain, can fill your prospects with hope and compel them to pursue that potential feeling of pleasure. "Sticks", possibilities of loss, evoke fear in your prospects, which will compel them to flee from that potential feeling of pain.
Both tactics can pull your prospects into a narrative and evoke emotions that inspire your desired action. Carrots, like a product’s benefit, entice people to take the desired action. Sticks, on the other hand, like anti-smoking campaigns, evoke fear in people to stop doing a certain action and start doing the alternative. To better understand how to craft advertisements that feature a carrot or stick, check out these insurance copywriting examples below.
Carrot: "15 minutes could save you 15% on car insurance." — Geico
Stick: "Get All-State. You can save money and be better protected from Mayhem like me." — All-State
As you can see, Geico's ad uses a small-time investment that could potentially produce big gains as a lure to get you to buy their product. Conversely, All-State’s ad uses the character"Mayhem" to evoke fear into people to stop using their"inferior" insurance and start using All-State’s.
2. The Scarcity Principle
People value objects and experiences that are rare — having something that most people want but can’t have, boosts our sense of self-worth and power . If you use words and phrases that imply scarcity and evoke a sense of urgency, like"Exclusive offer" or"Limited availability", you can skyrocket your product’s perceived scarcity and consumer demand.
3. One Message Per Advertisement
To immediately hook people and persuade them to read or watch the rest of your advertisement, try sticking to only one message. Spotlighting your product or offer’s main benefit or feature will make it easy for your customers to understand its value and increase the likelihood of their conversion because you’re only conveying one message to your audience: your product’s main feature will benefit your customer’s life somehow, someway.
4. Write in the Second Person
Since your prospects primarily care about how you can help them, and pronouns like "you" and "your" can engage them on a personal level and help them insert themselves in the narrative you’re creating, writing advertisements in the second person can instantly grip their attention and help them imagine a future with your product or service bettering their lives.
5. Give Your Audience a Sense of Control
According to a research study conducted by three psychology professors at Rutgers University, the need for control is a biological and psychological necessity. People have to feel like they have control over their lives.
If you want to give your audience a sense of control, you need to give them the ability to choose. In other words, after reading or watching your advertisement, they must feel like they can choose between the option you suggest or another path. If they feel like you’re trying to force them to buy your product, they’ll get annoyed and disengage from your message.
To give your audience the ability to choose, and in turn, a sense of control, use phrases like "Feel free" or "No pressure" in your advertisements, like this example from Hotwire.com below.
6. Use a Call-to-Value Instead of a Call-to-Action
Call-to-actions are crucial for getting prospects to take the next step, but a "Download Now" or "Call Now" CTA isn’t always going to convince the more skeptical prospects to take your desired action. You need to make sure your ad’s last line of copy or quip is the best of them all.
So instead of writing an uninspiring, final line of copy like "Download Now", write one that clearly communicates your offer’s value and gives a glimpse into your prospects’ potential life if they take your desired action, like this call-to-value prompting readers to download a blogging eBook: "Click today and be a blogger tomorrow."
Persuasive Advertising Examples
Ready to see persuasive advertising in action? Check out these examples.
Showing — not telling — your audience about your product’s benefits is one of the best ways to capture attention and get an emotional response. Obviously, Nikol’s paper towels can’t actually turn grapes into raisins, but this ad highlights the product's absorbent powers in such a clear and clever way, they didn’t need to write a single line of copy.

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"More Than OK" poked fun at how Pepsi usually takes a back seat to Coke, especially at restaurants. And by featuring a star-studded cast that included Steve Carell, Lil Jon, and Cardi-B (who hilariously and fervently backed up Pepsi’s OKness) their boldness to call people out for undermining Pepsi’s quality got a lot of laughs and persuaded a massive audience to reconsider their own perception of the soft drink.
7. Match.com
The year 2020 was challenging for countless reasons. Online dating company Match.com channeled the collective feeling towards the year with an ad depicting Satan meeting his perfect match – 2020.
Informative Advertising
Informative advertising is a form of persuasive advertising that focuses more on the facts. The main goal of informative advertising is to educate the audience on why they need your product instead of appealing to their desires.
It highlights how your product’s features and benefits solve your customers’ problems and can even compare your product to your competitors' products. Although this type of advertising relies on facts and figures to trigger the desired action, the ad’s message is usually framed in a compelling way.
To better understand the difference between informative and persuasive advertising, check out these examples.
Informative Advertising Examples
- Miller Lite
- Siskiyou Eye Center
- Burger King
1. Miller Lite
After Bud Light took some jabs at Miller Lite for using corn syrup in their beer during their Super Bowl 53 ads , Miller Lite decided to throw a few punches back. A day later on Twitter, they revealed that their beer actually has fewer calories and carbs than Bud Light, which helped them persuade people that drinking Bud Light and Miller Lite actually have similar health benefits.

2. Siskiyou Eye Center
There’s an old folk tale that carrots can improve your eyesight, but science has actually debunked this myth . That’s why this Siskiyou Eye Center ad is such a creative informative advertisement.
While it pokes fun at this common fable, it’s still relying on the facts of carrots not being able to improve your vision and the Eye Center’s ability to provide quality treatment for your eyes to persuade people to do business with them.
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Popular meditation app Calm experienced an increase in downloads by sponsoring CNN's coverage of the 2020 US Presidential Campaign. Through clever product placement in front of an audience that was experiencing stress, the app was positioned as helpful a resource ready to educate on mindfulness during a turbulent time.

In addition to creating popular body and skincare products, Dove has set out to educate its audience on the importance of body confidence, and the harmful impact fabricated social media imagery can have on the self-esteem of young people.
In the reverse selfie campaign, Dove depicts how social media users may be inclined to change their appearance for public approval. Other materials provided by Dove also share facts and statistics related to social media usage and body image.
Last year, Google released a Black History Month ad called "The Most Searched" that was equally informative and inspiring. Showing clips of famous Black figures, each clip read "most searched" to indicate each person shown and event shown was a history-maker.
Persuasive advertising vs. informative advertising: which one is better?
Persuasive advertising and informative advertising definitely focus on different aspects of persuasion, but they still aim to achieve the same goal: convincing your audience to take the desired action. So whether you pursue one advertising strategy or another, remember that if you can trigger an emotional response, regardless of the stimuli, your ad will be a success.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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40 Strong Persuasive Writing Examples (Essays, Speeches, Ads, and More)
Learn from the experts.

The more we read, the better writers we become. Teaching students to write strong persuasive essays should always start with reading some top-notch models. This round-up of persuasive writing examples includes famous speeches, influential ad campaigns, contemporary reviews of famous books, and more. Use them to inspire your students to write their own essays. (Need persuasive essay topics? Check out our list of interesting persuasive essay ideas here! )
- Persuasive Essays
- Persuasive Speeches
- Advertising Campaigns
Persuasive Essay Writing Examples

From the earliest days of print, authors have used persuasive essays to try to sway others to their own point of view. Check out these top persuasive essay writing examples.
Professions for Women by Virginia Woolf
Sample lines: “Outwardly, what is simpler than to write books? Outwardly, what obstacles are there for a woman rather than for a man? Inwardly, I think, the case is very different; she has still many ghosts to fight, many prejudices to overcome. Indeed it will be a long time still, I think, before a woman can sit down to write a book without finding a phantom to be slain, a rock to be dashed against. And if this is so in literature, the freest of all professions for women, how is it in the new professions which you are now for the first time entering?”
The Crisis by Thomas Paine
Sample lines: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
Politics and the English Language by George Orwell
Sample lines: “As I have tried to show, modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug.”
Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sample lines: “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was ‘well timed’ in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word ‘Wait!’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’ We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.'”
Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
Sample lines: “Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men.”
Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Roger Ebert
Sample lines: “‘Kindness’ covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime.”
The Way to Wealth by Benjamin Franklin
Sample lines: “Methinks I hear some of you say, must a man afford himself no leisure? I will tell thee, my friend, what Poor Richard says, employ thy time well if thou meanest to gain leisure; and, since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour. Leisure is time for doing something useful; this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; so that, as Poor Richard says, a life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things.”
The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Sample lines: “Of course all life is a process of breaking down, but the blows that do the dramatic side of the work—the big sudden blows that come, or seem to come, from outside—the ones you remember and blame things on and, in moments of weakness, tell your friends about, don’t show their effect all at once.”
Open Letter to the Kansas School Board by Bobby Henderson
Sample lines: “I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. … Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. … We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him. It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories.”
Open Letter to the United Nations by Niels Bohr
Sample lines: “Humanity will, therefore, be confronted with dangers of unprecedented character unless, in due time, measures can be taken to forestall a disastrous competition in such formidable armaments and to establish an international control of the manufacture and use of the powerful materials.”
Persuasive Speech Writing Examples
Many persuasive speeches are political in nature, often addressing subjects like human rights. Here are some of history’s most well-known persuasive writing examples in the form of speeches.
I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sample lines: “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
Woodrow Wilson’s War Message to Congress, 1917
Sample lines: “There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts—for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free.”
Chief Seattle’s 1854 Oration
Sample lines: “I here and now make this condition that we will not be denied the privilege without molestation of visiting at any time the tombs of our ancestors, friends, and children. Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished. Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb and dead as they swelter in the sun along the silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring events connected with the lives of my people, and the very dust upon which you now stand responds more lovingly to their footsteps than yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch.”
Women’s Rights Are Human Rights, Hillary Rodham Clinton
Sample lines: “What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations do as well. … If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all.”
I Am Prepared to Die, Nelson Mandela
Sample lines: “Above all, My Lord, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy. But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on color, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one color group by another. … This then is what the ANC is fighting. Our struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by our own suffering and our own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live.”
The Struggle for Human Rights by Eleanor Roosevelt
Sample lines: “It is my belief, and I am sure it is also yours, that the struggle for democracy and freedom is a critical struggle, for their preservation is essential to the great objective of the United Nations to maintain international peace and security. Among free men the end cannot justify the means. We know the patterns of totalitarianism—the single political party, the control of schools, press, radio, the arts, the sciences, and the church to support autocratic authority; these are the age-old patterns against which men have struggled for 3,000 years. These are the signs of reaction, retreat, and retrogression. The United Nations must hold fast to the heritage of freedom won by the struggle of its people; it must help us to pass it on to generations to come.”
Freedom From Fear by Aung San Suu Kyi
Sample lines: “Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying. So free men are the oppressed who go on trying and who in the process make themselves fit to bear the responsibilities and to uphold the disciplines which will maintain a free society. Among the basic freedoms to which men aspire that their lives might be full and uncramped, freedom from fear stands out as both a means and an end. A people who would build a nation in which strong, democratic institutions are firmly established as a guarantee against state-induced power must first learn to liberate their own minds from apathy and fear.”
Harvey Milk’s “The Hope” Speech
Sample lines: “Some people are satisfied. And some people are not. You see there is a major difference—and it remains a vital difference—between a friend and a gay person, a friend in office and a gay person in office. Gay people have been slandered nationwide. We’ve been tarred and we’ve been brushed with the picture of pornography. In Dade County, we were accused of child molestation. It is not enough anymore just to have friends represent us, no matter how good that friend may be.”
The Union and the Strike, Cesar Chavez
Sample lines: “We are showing our unity in our strike. Our strike is stopping the work in the fields; our strike is stopping ships that would carry grapes; our strike is stopping the trucks that would carry the grapes. Our strike will stop every way the grower makes money until we have a union contract that guarantees us a fair share of the money he makes from our work! We are a union and we are strong and we are striking to force the growers to respect our strength!”
Nobel Lecture by Malala Yousafzai
Sample lines: “The world can no longer accept that basic education is enough. Why do leaders accept that for children in developing countries, only basic literacy is sufficient, when their own children do homework in algebra, mathematics, science, and physics? Leaders must seize this opportunity to guarantee a free, quality, primary and secondary education for every child. Some will say this is impractical, or too expensive, or too hard. Or maybe even impossible. But it is time the world thinks bigger.”
Persuasive Writing Examples in Advertising Campaigns
Ads are prime persuasive writing examples. You can flip open any magazine or watch TV for an hour or two to see sample after sample of persuasive language. Here are some of the most popular ad campaigns of all time, with links to articles explaining why they were so successful.
Nike: Just Do It

The iconic swoosh with the simple tagline has persuaded millions to buy their kicks from Nike and Nike alone. Teamed with pro sports-star endorsements, this campaign is one for the ages. Blinkist offers an opinion on what made it work.
Dove: Real Beauty
Beauty brand Dove changed the game by choosing “real” women to tell their stories instead of models. They used relatable images and language to make connections, and inspired other brands to try the same concept. Learn why Global Brands considers this one a true success story.
Wendy’s: Where’s the Beef?
Today’s kids are too young to remember the cranky old woman demanding to know where the beef was on her fast-food hamburger. But in the 1980s, it was a catchphrase that sold millions of Wendy’s burgers. Learn from Better Marketing how this ad campaign even found its way into the 1984 presidential debate.
De Beers: A Diamond Is Forever

A diamond engagement ring has become a standard these days, but the tradition isn’t as old as you might think. In fact, it was De Beers jewelry company’s 1948 campaign that created the modern engagement ring trend. The Drum has the whole story of this sparkling campaign.
Volkswagen: Think Small
Americans have always loved big cars. So in the 1960s, when Volkswagen wanted to introduce their small cars to a bigger market, they had a problem. The clever “Think Small” campaign gave buyers clever reasons to consider these models, like “If you run out of gas, it’s easy to push.” Learn how advertisers interested American buyers in little cars at Visual Rhetoric.
American Express: Don’t Leave Home Without It
AmEx was once better known for traveler’s checks than credit cards, and the original slogan was “Don’t leave home without them.” A simple word change convinced travelers that American Express was the credit card they needed when they headed out on adventures. Discover more about this persuasive campaign from Medium.
Skittles: Taste the Rainbow

These candy ads are weird and intriguing and probably not for everyone. But they definitely get you thinking, and that often leads to buying. Learn more about why these wacky ads are successful from The Drum.
Maybelline: Maybe She’s Born With It
Smart wordplay made this ad campaign slogan an instant hit. The ads teased, “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.” (So many literary devices all in one phrase!) Fashionista has more on this beauty campaign.
Coca-Cola: Share a Coke
Seeing their own name on a bottle made teens more likely to want to buy a Coke. What can that teach us about persuasive writing in general? It’s an interesting question to consider. Learn more about the “Share a Coke” campaign from Digital Vidya.
Always: #LikeaGirl

Talk about the power of words! This Always campaign turned the derogatory phrase “like a girl” on its head, and the world embraced it. Storytelling is an important part of persuasive writing, and these ads really do it well. Medium has more on this stereotype-bashing campaign.
Editorial Persuasive Writing Examples

Newspaper editors or publishers use editorials to share their personal opinions. Noted politicians, experts, or pundits may also offer their opinions on behalf of the editors or publishers. Here are a couple of older well-known editorials, along with a selection from current newspapers.
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1897)
Sample lines: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias.”
What’s the Matter With Kansas? (1896)
Sample lines: “Oh, this IS a state to be proud of! We are a people who can hold up our heads! What we need is not more money, but less capital, fewer white shirts and brains, fewer men with business judgment, and more of those fellows who boast that they are ‘just ordinary clodhoppers, but they know more in a minute about finance than John Sherman,’ we need more men … who hate prosperity, and who think, because a man believes in national honor, he is a tool of Wall Street.”
America Can Have Democracy or Political Violence. Not Both. (The New York Times)
Sample lines: “The nation is not powerless to stop a slide toward deadly chaos. If institutions and individuals do more to make it unacceptable in American public life, organized violence in the service of political objectives can still be pushed to the fringes. When a faction of one of the country’s two main political parties embraces extremism, that makes thwarting it both more difficult and more necessary. A well-functioning democracy demands it.”
The Booster Isn’t Perfect, But Still Can Help Against COVID (The Washington Post)
Sample lines: “The booster shots are still free, readily available and work better than the previous boosters even as the virus evolves. Much still needs to be done to build better vaccines that protect longer and against more variants, including those that might emerge in the future. But it is worth grabbing the booster that exists today, the jab being a small price for any measure that can help keep COVID at bay.”
If We Want Wildlife To Thrive in L.A., We Have To Share Our Neighborhoods With Them (Los Angeles Times)
Sample lines: “If there are no corridors for wildlife movement and if excessive excavation of dirt to build bigger, taller houses erodes the slope of a hillside, then we are slowly destroying wildlife habitat. For those people fretting about what this will do to their property values—isn’t open space, trees, and wildlife an amenity in these communities?”
Persuasive Review Writing Examples

Book or movie reviews are more great persuasive writing examples. Look for those written by professionals for the strongest arguments and writing styles. Here are reviews of some popular books and movies by well-known critics to use as samples.
The Great Gatsby (The Chicago Tribune, 1925)
Sample lines: “What ails it, fundamentally, is the plain fact that it is simply a story—that Fitzgerald seems to be far more interested in maintaining its suspense than in getting under the skins of its people. It is not that they are false: It is that they are taken too much for granted. Only Gatsby himself genuinely lives and breathes. The rest are mere marionettes—often astonishingly lifelike, but nevertheless not quite alive.”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (The Washington Post, 1999)
Sample lines: “Obviously, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone should make any modern 11-year-old a very happy reader. The novel moves quickly, packs in everything from a boa constrictor that winks to a melancholy Zen-spouting centaur to an owl postal system, and ends with a scary surprise. Yet it is, essentially, a light-hearted thriller, interrupted by occasional seriousness (the implications of Harry’s miserable childhood, a moral about the power of love).”
Twilight (The Telegraph, 2009)
Sample lines: “No secret, of course, at whom this book is aimed, and no doubt, either, that it has hit its mark. The four Twilight novels are not so much enjoyed, as devoured, by legions of young female fans worldwide. That’s not to say boys can’t enjoy these books; it’s just that the pages of heart-searching dialogue between Edward and Bella may prove too long on chat and too short on action for the average male reader.”
To Kill a Mockingbird (Time, 1960)
Sample lines: “Author Lee, 34, an Alabaman, has written her first novel with all of the tactile brilliance and none of the preciosity generally supposed to be standard swamp-warfare issue for Southern writers. The novel is an account of an awakening to good and evil, and a faint catechistic flavor may have been inevitable. But it is faint indeed; novelist Lee’s prose has an edge that cuts through cant, and she teaches the reader an astonishing number of useful truths about little girls and about Southern life.”
The Diary of Anne Frank (The New York Times, 1952)
Sample lines: “And this quality brings it home to any family in the world today. Just as the Franks lived in momentary fear of the Gestapo’s knock on their hidden door, so every family today lives in fear of the knock of war. Anne’s diary is a great affirmative answer to the life-question of today, for she shows how ordinary people, within this ordeal, consistently hold to the greater human values.”
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How Persuasive Advertising Works + 5 Brilliant Examples
We all have our wants and needs, from necessities like toothpaste to glistening sports cars that pacify our egos. Sometimes we seek these things out on our own, and sometimes they are dangled before us with ads. One type of advert in particular has the potential to outshine the rest: persuasive advertising.
In this article, we explore the ins and outs of persuasive advertising, including some key techniques and famous examples from the world’s biggest brands.
What is persuasive advertising?
Persuasive advertising tries to convince consumers to purchase a product by appealing to the things they want or need. It attempts to evoke a strong emotional response about the product, which can hijack our rational decision making abilities and make us much more likely to buy. Once a strong emotional connection is made through persuasive language and imagery, the person may start to concoct their own rationalisations for purchasing the product which they believe to be logically sound, but actually come from their emotions.
A persuasive advert should be highly convincing, describing how the product can meet (even exceed) the person’s desires and needs in a way that no other product can. This is only possible if the business has an accurate understanding of their customers’ needs , which can be learned through customer research like surveys, interviews, and data analysis, and then turned into rigorous buyer personas . Once these are in place, the advert can focus on any of the following elements:
- Quality— our car uses the strongest and safest materials on the planet.
- Value— get five meals a week valued at $100 retail for just $49.99.
- Benefits— save hours each week by automating your marketing emails
- Features— set your AC’s heating timer for 6 am, and wake up toasty.
The formats of persuasive adverts vary depending on the medium. They can be images, videos, sound clips, or mixtures of all three, showing up as digital adverts, billboards, radio sponsors, YouTube clips, full-spread magazine ads, and many more. As long as the advert tries to appeal to consumers’ emotions, it can be considered persuasive.
Persuasive advertising contrasts with informative advertising, which uses facts, statistics, and other real-world information to highlight the positive aspects of their products. Whereas persuasive advertising appeals to people’s emotions, informative advertising appeals to their logical side. The latter tends to work well for complex products with lots of features, or a product that needs lots of explaining. The two styles can also be mixed to create something even more potent—a Ferrari F430 can accelerate from 0 to 60mph in 3.6 seconds, which is a pure fact, but one that might make a potential buyer shudder with excitement.
Some consider persuasive advertising to be unethical, 1 especially when used to promote products that are bad for us, such as sugar-packed children’s cereals, or fat-filled fast food burgers that clog up our arteries. But as with most ethical questions, the truth is somewhere in the middle, so you have to decide for yourself whether persuasive advertising is a good fit for you. It definitely works.
Persuasive techniques in advertising

Humans have likely been persuading each other for about 50,000 years, ever since we learned to speak. 2 The persuasion techniques you find in advertising are as varied as you would expect to find in conversion, ranging from simple “carrot and stick” methods to more complex psychological rules like the scarcity principle. These are some of the more common persuasive techniques you can expect to find in advertising. They can be used in any form of media with the intention to persuade—website content, documentaries, political videos, etc.
“You” pronoun
Using the word “you” in advertising makes the consumer feel like they are being spoken to personally, which helps to focus their attention and can make them feel special. They are also a much more direct and efficient way of communicating, which speeds up comprehension and helps to get the message across faster. This is crucial in modern-day advertising where people’s attention spans are so short they may as well be nonexistent.
Carrot and the stick
The carrot and the stick technique combines two fundamental human behaviours to persuade: our desire for rewards (the carrot), and our aversion to punishment (the stick). The advert’s subtext will say that we are going to get something amazing that we really want, while also avoiding something that we hate. Who wouldn’t be persuaded by that?
An example for the carrot and stick method might be a car advert that communicates the vehicle’s high status (desire), and its industry-leading safety features that outshines competitors in all areas, and will protect you when a careless drunk careens into you (aversion).
Scarcity principle
We assign more value to things that are rare, and usually have a stronger desire for them as a result. It’s one of the reasons why original art pieces sell for millions of dollars. This is called the scarcity principle, and it can be used effectively in advertising to persuade. It’s mostly commonly executed by offering a limited number of products only—100 special edition Rolexes, the first 500 people to sign up for an offer, etc.—which is strongly highlighted in the advert so that people respond to it. It’s also used generously on e-commerce and service websites, such as Booking.com’s “only X rooms left” feature, which surely does an excellent job at securing sales.
Testimonials
As bona fide social animals, we take our cues from others around us. If a bunch of people have taken the time to post wonderful things about a product, we believe that the product might do wonderful things for us too. And for good reason: people are usually honest about such things.
Advertisers sometimes use testimonials in their work to satisfy these social tendencies, using “folks off the street” or celebrities to promote their products. The endorsements light up the social components of our brain and help to convince us that the product is worth purchasing.
One message
Have you ever read a sentence that jams in multiple thoughts and ideas, bloated to the point of being incomprehensible? Your eyes glaze over and your mobile phone suddenly becomes even more appealing, and you cast the complicated sentence aside, never to be examined again.
These sentences are like poison to advertising. A successful advertiser tries to make their messages as simple as possible, so that consumers can read and digest them easier than a bowl of porridge. Nobody should watch an advert and come away confused. The simpler the information, the more persuasive the advert.
I saw an advert that read: “Television for sale, $1, volume stuck on full.”
I thought to myself: I can’t turn that down.
Laughing might possibly be one of the best things about being alive. It’s a primal response that releases a barrage of feel-good chemicals, which creates positive associations with the thing we’re laughing at. Humour has been used successfully in advertising for years, from Budweiser’s daft wassup campaign to Compare The Market’s insurance-loving Russian meerkat . These adverts stick in our heads because they’re funny, which can make them extremely persuasive.
Use a call-to-value
Call to actions (CTAs) are the button or directive message that the advertiser wants the consumer to do, usually “buy now” or something similar. But if you’ve taken the time to make the rest of the advert persuasive, why not do the same for the call to action? Spice it up by including the value that the consumer will get from the product, for example:
- Talent contest: Sign up today, be a superstar tomorrow.
- Lawnmower: Buy now and mow your lawn faster than ever
- Pet insurance: Confirm payment and start protecting [pet’s name] (this one might be a little mawkish, but you get the idea)
The bandwagon or anti-bandwagon
“If your friend jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?” A statement made by countless mothers the world over, because we love leaping onto bandwagons. Plenty of people followed the Atkins diet until they linked it to colon cancer and kidney disease, 3 and billions of people use social media despite it being associated with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. 4 Trends can be used to great effect in persuasive advertising.
Persuasive advertising examples
Old spice—the man your man could smell like.
This genius work from Old Spice has become a modern classic. The main character’s dialogue is directed at women, but in actual fact is appealing to men’s desire to be strong, masculine, and attractive to women. The man in the advert has a muscular physique, killer confidence, a hand full of diamonds, a glorious horse…what more could a heterosexual man want? It appeals to some of mans most common desires in a funny, memorable way, and won the 2010 Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial. 5
Coca-Cola—Share A Coke With A Friend

Image from Medium
In this campaign from 2011, Coca Cola plays on the importance of friendship by offering custom-labelled products, and then encouraging us to share the drinks with our friends. Companionship can literally make life worth living, and they highlight this fact in an incredibly simple way, suggesting that we get in touch with a current friend, call up an old friend, or even develop a friendship with someone new. It was hugely successful and continues to this day.
Nike—Just Do It
Image from Twitter
This is less of an ad campaign and more of a cultural bomb. Everyone knows Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan. It speaks directly to our desire to get off our butts and start improving our health through exercise. In this particular campaign, they blend the message with the rise of female empowerment, using it to appeal to women who want to tear off the patriarchy’s shackles and take full ownership of their lives. An extremely persuasive advert from masters of the field.
AirBnB—Live There

Many of us love holidaying in exotic locations—the remarkable antiquity of ancient Rome, the midnight flurry of a bustling Marrakech market, the hopeless romance of Paris. These places can fill us with wonder, and in this advert, AirBnB tells us that we can actually live there (if only for a night). To the enthusiastic traveller, what could be more appealing that that?
Jif®—The Return
Who would have thought that eating peanut butter could turn you into a rap superstar? Nobody. But Jif created this stellar advert that appeals to this ambition in people, and the ambition for success along with it. It works incredibly well, and is hilarious to boot.
- The morality of persuasion | Business Ethics , Philosophia
- Philip Liberman, The Evolution of Human Speech : Its Anatomical and Neural Bases | Current Anthropology: Vol 48, No 1 , The University of Chicago
- John Casey, How Safe Is the Atkins Diet? , WebMD
- Lawrence Robinson and Melinda Smith, M.A., Social Media and Mental Health , HelpGuide
- The Man Your Man Could Smell Like , Wikipedia

What Is Persuasive Advertising - Definition and Examples
Arthur nelson.
We all know advertising is a crucial aspect of modern business and that it plays a vital role in the promotion and sales of products and services. Thus, in the past decade, a number of advertising methods have emerged - from programmatic advertising to ambush marketing on billboards, the list is too long.
Advertising surely serves as a medium for businesses to communicate with their target audience and persuade them to take a specific action, such as purchasing a product. One type of advertising that utilizes this persuasive approach is known as persuasive advertising.
What Is Persuasive Advertising
Persuasive techniques used in advertising, examples of persuasive advertising, wrapping up.
Persuasive advertising is a form of marketing that seeks to convince or sway people to take a specific action, such as making a purchase, by presenting arguments and information in a way that appeals to the target audience's emotions, values, beliefs, or needs.
This type of advertising often relies on techniques such as emotional appeals, testimonials, and humor to create a connection with the audience and drive them towards the desired action.
An umpteen number of techniques are used in persuasive advertising. Let’s delve deeper into some of them,
1. Emotional Appeal
Creating an emotional connection with the audience is a key element of persuasive advertising. This can be done through various techniques such as:
Storytelling: Using narrative and emotional storytelling to create a connection with the audience and evoke a desired emotional response.
Emotional appeals: Using images, music, and other sensory elements to evoke emotions such as happiness, fear, sadness, excitement, etc.
Personalization: Addressing the target audience directly and highlighting how the product or service can improve their life.
Social proof: With the help of testimonials, endorsements, or statistics, you can show that others have found success with the product or service.
Humor: Using humor to create a lighthearted and memorable connection with the audience.
2. Fear Appeal
Fear appeal is a persuasive advertising technique that uses fear to motivate people to take action. This can be done by highlighting potential dangers or consequences of not using the product or service being advertised.
For example, an advertisement for a home security system may use fear appeal by showing images of burglaries and emphasizing the need to protect one's family and property. Fear appeal is often controversial and can be seen as manipulative. It can also backfire if the fear elicited is too intense or perceived as unrealistic.
Therefore, it is important for advertisers to use fear appeal responsibly and ethically, ensuring that the fear being evoked is proportional to the issue being addressed and that the advertised solution is seen as a credible and effective solution.
3. Testimonials
Testimonials are statements or endorsements from satisfied customers or experts that are used in persuasive advertising to build credibility and trust for a product or service. They are a form of social proof, which is the idea that people are more likely to take action if they see others doing the same.
Testimonials can be in the form of following formats:
- Written quotes
- Video interviews
- Case studies
It can be anything that highlights the experiences and results of others.
When used effectively, testimonials can be powerful in persuading potential customers by demonstrating the real-life benefits of the product or service being advertised.
Advertisers should be careful to ensure that testimonials are genuine and representative of the typical experience of the target audience. Misleading or fake testimonials can damage a brand's reputation and credibility, so it's important to be transparent about the sources and selection process for the testimonials used in advertising.
4. Social Proof
“When you say it, it’s marketing, when they say it, it’s social proof” - Andy Crestodina, Co-founder & Chief Marketing Officer - Orbit Studios
Social proof can be a game-changer in marketing. In fact, according to research, it was found out, about 55% of online customers consider reviews to be very helpful.
People often look to the behavior of others as a guide for their own behavior, especially when they are uncertain or facing a new situation. By showcasing the popularity or endorsement of a product by others, marketers can leverage social proof to increase the perceived value and appeal of a product.
Examples of social proof in marketing include:
- Customer reviews and ratings
- User-generated content (e.g. social media posts)
- Celebrity endorsements
- Social media followers and likes
- User testimonials
- Case studies and success stories
- Expert endorsements
- Product usage statistics
However, it is important to note that the effectiveness of social proof can vary based on various factors such as the source of the proof, the target audience, and the type of product being marketed
5. Scarcity
Next in the list is scarcity, which plays on the human psychology of desire and urgency. By creating a sense of scarcity around a product or service, marketers can increase the perceived value and urgency to purchase, as people are more likely to act when they believe that an opportunity is limited or running out.
Examples of scarcity in marketing include:
- Limited time offers and sales
- Limited edition or exclusive products
- Limited availability of a popular product
- A countdown timer to create urgency
- A limited number of units available
- "Last chance" offers
The list goes on.
Similarly to social proof, it’s important to note that the effectiveness of scarcity can vary based on various factors. It includes the target audience, type of product being marketed, and the credibility of the scarcity claim.
6. Expert Opinion
People often place high trust in the knowledge and credibility of experts in a particular field. By endorsing a product or service, experts can help increase its perceived value and credibility, and provide valuable insights and information that can help potential customers make informed purchasing decisions.
There are various ways you can go about it. Following are a few of them:
- Celebrity endorsements from experts in a related field
- Testimonials from industry experts
- Endorsements from academic experts
- Quotes and interviews with experts in print and online advertisements
- Product reviews and recommendations from industry publications and websites
With that being said, let’s move to the examples of persuasive advertising and see how marketers out there are already making an impact with the same.
Following we have discussed how aforementioned persuasive techniques are used by the marketers.
Food and Beverage
By creating an emotional connection to healthy eating, such as highlighting the joy of cooking and sharing healthy meals with loved ones, marketers can make healthy eating seem more appealing and enjoyable. And this helps them meet their marketing goals.
Beauty and Personal Care
Emotional appeals can also be effective in beauty and personal care marketing. Here, marketers highlight the impact on self-confidence and personal goals.
This creates a powerful connection between the product and the individual's desires, leading to increased likelihood of purchasing. Marketers use emotional appeals, such as emphasizing improved self-confidence and personal benefits, to tap into people's emotions and drive purchasing decisions.
Technology and Electronics
Generally, testimonials work very well in this category. By featuring real customers who have had positive experiences with the product, companies can create a sense of trust and reliability in potential buyers.
Testimonials can also highlight key features and benefits of the product, helping to build interest and excitement. Including quotes, photos or videos of satisfied customers can make a big impact in convincing someone to make a purchase.
Real Estate
Here, the factor of scarcity usually comes into the picture. By emphasizing that there are only a few units available, real estate companies can create a sense of urgency and encourage potential buyers to act quickly. Highlighting the rarity and exclusivity of the properties can also increase their perceived value.
This marketing strategy works well for properties that are highly desirable and in high demand, as buyers may be more likely to make a purchase if they believe the opportunity to own such a property may not come along again.
Personal Finance
Lastly, personal finance is one of the sectors, where expert opinions come into the picture.
Using expert opinion can be a valuable tool in promoting financial products and services. By featuring endorsements from respected financial experts, companies can build credibility and trust with potential customers. Highlighting the expertise and experience of these individuals can help to demonstrate the quality and reliability of the products being offered.
Additionally, by offering advice and insights from experts, companies can position themselves as a trusted source of information and guidance in the financial world.
In the end, we’d like to mention persuasive marketing is not all about driving sales. It’s also about building a relationship with the customer by providing valuable information and demonstrating the benefits of a product or service.
Whether it's through television commercials, online ads, or print advertisements, effective persuasive advertising can be the key to success for any business looking to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
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The art of persuasive advertising + techniques & examples.

- What is persuasive advertising?
- 14 persuasive advertising techniques & examples
- How can workamajig help you deliver smashingly successful persuasive ads?
Browse more blogs
Take a look at this ↓

If you were a person with limited wardrobe space, what would this ad say to you?
To me, it says, ‘Stop squishing your stuff - get an IKEA cabinet and solve all your problems!’. The exaggerated imagery is both very relatable and humorous, making it a fantastic ad.
In this blog, we’re going to look at a range of persuasive techniques in advertising and discover what makes them work.
Ready for an interesting ride?
What is Persuasive Advertising?
Persuasive advertising definition: the art of leveraging consumers’ emotions to make them want to buy/do something, using a mixture of graphics and targeted words.
Persuasive strategies in advertising can take many forms - from billboards to TV commercials, to print ads. They can also use various tactics to achieve their desired action, as we’ll discuss below.
14 Persuasive Advertising Techniques & Examples
We’ll go through 14 tactics while citing some examples.
1. The Carrot
An important principle in advertising is that humans desire pleasure and will go to lengths to get it. The carrot technique invokes a desire for the advertised pleasure, just like a horse is tempted by a carrot.
Dunkin' Commercial
This is a classic example of ‘carrot advertising’ - what could produce a greater desire for pleasure than a Dunkin’ commercial showing off its newest treat?
2. The Stick
Quite the opposite of the carrot technique, the stick principle relies on emotional aversion to make people want to avoid a specific type of pain or problem like a donkey instinctively moves away from a stick.
CeraVe Commercial
No one likes acne and CeraVe capitalized on the ugly acne look to show people how much they need a good anti-acne cream, like CeraVe
3. Bandwagon appeal
Human beings naturally want to be ‘part of the crowd’. If everyone else is doing something, we don’t want to miss out!
The bandwagon appeal draws on this human trait to get people to buy things, for fear of missing out.

McDonald’s ‘billions and billions served’ sign is a typical example of the bandwagon appeal - if billions and billions of people have eaten their burgers, they must be good, no?
4. Anti-bandwagon appeal
This technique works in the opposite way to #3, drawing on people’s desire to be unique and express their individuality.
5. The scarcity principle
The scarcity principle creates a sense of urgency, causing people to feel that if they don’t take action now and buy/do a certain thing, there’ll be no more chances - better act quickly!
Verizon Wireless Commercial
This hilarious ad shows the magical effect of scarcity - until the guy with the megaphone said ‘only till July the 4th’, no one budged and when he did say it, they went running!
6. Product comparison
People want the best value for their money, so if a product can show that it has better features than a similar product of a different brand, they’ll be able to draw customers away from other brands and towards their own.
iPhone Commercial
This ingenious product comparison ad shows the benefits of having an iPhone over your old phone, giving you the feeling that your old phone is clunky and you’d be silly not to switch to an iPhone.
Humor is a powerful advertising tool. Everyone likes a laugh and the beauty of humor advertising is that people like to spread jokes. If people point out or share humorous ads with friends, you get a lot of reach with little effort.
Evian Commercial
Evian uses humor to portray their ‘live young message’ by showing how adults literally turn into babies by drinking Evian, featuring dancing babies for a good laugh.
8. Second person
What talks to you more:
‘Dig into our croissantes’, or ‘Dig into your croissant’?
The difference is plain - we are a self-centered breed and the word ‘you’ automatically causes people to insert themselves into an ad and envision themselves with the advertised product. The feeling that an ad is talking directly to them, makes people far more likely to buy.
Starbucks Commercial
With the words ‘It Starts with YOU’, this persuasive advertising example is designed to make the watcher feel that Starbucks will cater to their preferences and that they are important.
9. Repetition
Repetition drives a message home, so the more consumers are exposed to a certain message, the more likely they are to take action. Repetition can be within an ad itself, or over a series of ads all giving across the same message.
10. Sense of control
As much as advertising is used to persuade people to buy things, no one likes to feel pushed into a corner, and everyone likes to feel in control. Ads that give people a sense of control, by e.g. giving a variety of options to choose from, or making it clear that the choice to buy is up to the customer, are likely to attract people.

This Ford advert, featuring a city skyline on a car key, with the words ‘The city is in your hands’, gives consumers a sense of control.
11. Snob appeal
Let’s face it - there are snobs in this world, and snobs like to feel elite. Ads that leverage the snob appeal aim to create a feeling of exclusivity that attracts people who enjoy the feeling of superiority that luxury items provide.
12. Plain folk
The plain folk technique attempts to promote a product as practical and of good value. This technique attracts the general population who are always looking for bargains on things that will make their life better and easier.
Nissin Cup Noodles Commercial
With the words ‘delicious, nutritious, and affordable’, and featuring ordinary school children, this is a classic example of an ad that is geared toward plain folk.
13. Avant-garde
This technique attracts customers with the cry ‘Be the first!’ Whether it’s the first to try something new or adapt to change, people like to feel that they are on the cutting edge.
New Car Commercial
Literally using the words 'avant-garde’, this commercial focuses heavily on this principle - if you get this car, you will be ahead of time!
14. Bribery
Ads that offer free or reduced products if you buy something, use the bribery technique. It convinces consumers that they’ll be getting a good deal, even if they actually won’t be saving any money.
I hope these persuasive advertising examples have helped you get a better grip on what works, and how.
How can Workamajig help you deliver smashingly successful persuasive ads?
Adverts require careful planning. In fact, every ad is a project unto itself. And successful projects are run by project management software.
And that’s where Workamajig comes in.
If you are looking to run projects:
- Quickly
- Efficiently
- Under budget
You’ve just got to meet Workamajig, my friend.
Let me introduce you to some Workamajig capabilities:
- Know the full story with a real-time daily feed of all updates across projects
- Budget or timeline at risk? See all items needing attention in one place with project warnings
- Create, customize & export reports plus built-in Gantt & burn charts for your visual learners
Make manual project setup (and finicky spreadsheets) a thing of the past & create fully-scheduled projects with just a few clicks
- Workamajig’s powerful project templates help you kick off your creative projects with ready-to-go schedules & resourcing needs.
- The flexibility you need. Copy from a template & edit to match your new project's needs
- Easily view and manage the exact resources, hours and budgets for new projects
- Visualize project tasks, dependencies and complete timelines with built-in Gantt charts

- Create & manage detailed, realistic budgets using a powerful creative project management tool, with real-time updates.
- Know exactly where your project stands with budget breakdowns by item, type, task or person
- See the big picture with view, filter & drill-down options across multiple project budgets
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Persuasion Techniques That All Successful Advertisers Use & How to Spot Them

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The average person may see anywhere between 4,000 and 10,000 ads in a single day. From binge-watching your favorite shows to checking the pile of coupons in your mailbox, advertisers have inundated our lives.
Most of the ads we see are served digitally on our phones or laptops, allowing advertisers to collect information on our location, browsing history, social media, and online shopping habits. With this data, advertisers can target content toward your interests, making them more relevant than ever before. The combination of information and age-old persuasion techniques used by advertisers means they’re well-positioned to get you to buy.
Our exposure to highly personalized and persuasive ads means it takes more willpower to stick to a budget . Learn the most common persuasive techniques advertisers use so you can avoid spending money on things you otherwise wouldn’t have. Jump to the infographic below for a quick guide on how to spot them.
The Psychology Behind Persuasion

Persuasion is used in many different situations, from negotiating sales deals to making weekend plans with your friends. It’s all about knowing the other party’s motivations (or fears) and appealing to them to influence their decision.
Aristotle coined three modes of persuasion used to appeal to audiences and establish credibility:
- Example: Using likable celebrities or trusted professionals to endorse a product.
- Example: Using statistics or figures to reason with people.
- Example: Using emotional experiences to relate and convince people.
Ethos, logos, and pathos are commonly used in advertisements to persuade audiences. Advertisers even study consumer behavior to learn more about our psychographic and demographic attributes. After all, how you make decisions and perceive their product or service plays a big role in whether or not you purchase from them.
Types of Persuasion Techniques in Advertising

The sheer amount of brands and ads today means advertisers now have to be more competitive and more persuasive for your business. Additionally, the rise of social media influencers has made it more challenging to distinguish authenticity from paid partnerships. As a consumer, you should be aware of the tactics being used to get you to buy so that you can make smarter decisions.
Some of the most common tactics are outlined in Dr. Robert Cialdini’s book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion . The “six principles of influence” are:
- Reciprocity
- Consistency
- Social Proof
Learning to read between the lines of an ad can help you identify the persuasion techniques and maintain your purchase power. Once you learn the most common persuasion techniques used by advertisers, you’ll be able to spot them everywhere.
1. Reciprocity
The Golden Rule you learned as a child plays into how we expect adults to behave too. Reciprocity is the idea that you if you offer something of value, you may get something in return. People feel obligated or simply delighted by your small gift and are more likely to give back. Advertisers may offer a discount coupon for your first purchase if you sign up for their newsletter. While both sides benefit, you also just opted in to receive their marketing emails in the future.
Example messaging:
- “Get exclusive access by entering your information below”
- “Receive a free gift with your purchase”
- “Sign up for our newsletter and receive 10% off your next purchase”
2. Consistency
Also sometimes called the commitment technique, this idea is based off the fact that people like to be consistent. For example, we want to shop at stores that are in line with our self-image and values. When we make these choices publicly, like checking into a restaurant on social media, we’re less likely to back away from them later. Advertisers also know that it takes effort to switch from something we’ve already chosen, so getting you to lock in to their service is key.
- “Leave us a review and get a free gift on your next visit”
- “Yes, send me special deals!” or “No, I don’t like finding special deals”
- “We haven’t heard from you in a while, come back and see us!”
3. Social Proof
Humans can be easily persuaded by following the actions of others. Social proof, or social influence, is when we look to the most popular choices for a sense of safety or validity in our own decision making. Customer reviews, testimonials, and rating systems are all examples of how social proof can persuade us to make purchases by following the pack.
- “Enjoyed by more than 5,000 happy customers”
- “Most popular”
- “Bestseller”
4. Authority
We’re taught from a very young age to respect authority. Authority figures come off as credible, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. When deciding on a big purchase, we’re most likely to buy from someone who is seen as an expert in their field. However, shoppers should determine how authentic these authority figures are by doing some outside research to avoid being scammed.
- “Developed by leading experts”
- “Doctors recommend this product more than any other”
- “Our experienced team brings more than 25 years of service”
We’d much rather buy something from a friendly salesperson than a rude one. That’s because likable people are easier to talk to, relate to, and simply more enjoyable. If you’ve ever been showered with compliments after walking into a store, you’ve probably been the target of this persuasion technique. Flattery is nice, but it can also pull you into buying things you don’t need.
- “Join other successful professionals at our conference”
- “Our friendly staff is here to make you feel right at home”
- “Your expert feedback is requested”
6. Scarcity
You can’t always get what you want, but advertisers know that you’ll go to great lengths to try anyway. Scarcity is the idea that limited quantities, expiring time limits, and exclusive offers increase the value of a product. Consumers may be afraid to lose out on a deal or miss special edition releases so they don’t put off buying.
- “10 other shoppers have this in their cart”
- “Today only: 30% off all orders”
- “RSVP to save your spot — limited seats available”

Sticking to your budget can be difficult when sneaky persuasive techniques are pulling at your wallet. Look out for these common attempts and stand your ground by making smart decisions. For some extra support, download a budgeting app to help keep you on track.
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Can Persuasive Advertising Assist in Your Ad Designs
It is a simple concept. people don’t read ads, they read what interests them. so if you are going to create compelling and persuasive advertising, you are going to have to study some of the best persuasive advertising examples..

You know, the ones that consumers want to read.
And, oh, by the way, it must be more interesting than the millions of other advertisements out there. now that is a daunting task, isn’t it, there is an interesting story about how pablo picasso, the famous spanish artist, developed the ability to produce remarkable work in just minutes., as the story goes, picasso was walking through the market one day when a woman spotted him. she stopped the artist, pulled out a piece of paper, and said, “mr. picasso, i am a fan of your work. please, could you do a little drawing for me”, picasso smiled and quickly drew a small, but beautiful piece of art on the paper. then, he handed the paper back to her saying, “that will be one million dollars.”, “but mr. picasso,” the woman said. “it only took you thirty seconds to draw this little masterpiece.”, “my good woman,” picasso said, “it took me thirty years to draw that masterpiece in thirty seconds.” , picasso isn’t the only brilliant creative who worked for decades to master his craft. his journey is typical of many creative geniuses. even people of considerable talent rarely produce incredible work before decades of practice., check out our thoughts on creative marketing., related: insurance advertising war … 8 examples to learn from, does it have the power to encourage the right sort of conversations we’ll discuss this point in a bit. to get you started here a short video on persuasive ad design., it has been said that advertising is the price to be paid for being unremarkable. that may be true, but i have noticed, despite the growth in online marketing, that even remarkable businesses also advertise the old fashion way. it is a key component of your marketing campaign, for awareness or consumer education of your value., according to nielsen, there are 27,000,000 pieces of content are shared each day. and statistic brain says that our average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds. that is one second less than a goldfish, we check our phones 150 times per day. we check our email up to 30 times an hour. and the amount of information in the world continues to double every 18 months., all this available information and data is creating a battle for customer attention between brands, publishers, and every one of us. but more importantly, it’s forcing businesses to think and act like publishers and creative designers., ever written an advertisement, or thought about it i’ve done marketing for my clients in small businesses for the past 4+ years. i’ve learned a few things about making advertising look professional even on a tight budget., many small businesses don’t have a lot of time or resources to have ads professionally made. so what’s a small business to do, if everyone is creating content, how does a business break through the noise how do we reach our customers in a way that engages them, here are 6 creative steps we recommend you follow to create or critique your advertisements:.

Define you theme
There are many themes to choose from. these include visual design, attention grabbing, music, and emotion, just to name a few., there is no better theme as a means of influence or the power of persuasion than emotion. hands down the best, in our opinion., experiences that trigger our emotions are saved and consolidated in lasting memory. why because the emotions generated by the experiences signal our brains that they are important to remember., persuasive advertising … b uild the message, focus on customer needs end state and not the means. the end state is the only priority. make the message as clean and simple as possible., you cannot over achieve on the simplicity of the message. a message that the reader will quickly understand. keep in mind that pictures are far more valuable than words., a good example is this prudential’s billboard ad. this commercial definitely considers the end state needs of its customers. the retirement needs of target customers are the commercial’s objective., reminder advertising … ask a thoughtful question, you can always depend on asking thoughtful questions to grab attention of your customers. getting attention by getting them to think., a good example is the recent prudential commercial. have you seen this ad design, you know … the one with the visualization design central to their story. quite clever isn’t it, and likely one you will remember. and maybe even talk about, right, the ad starts out with the commentator asking people a simple, yet thoughtful question:, how much money do you have in your pocket right now, after he collects everyone’s answer, he asks a second, more probing question:, could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement goal.

Connect the dots
Your ads should connect the dots with other elements of your integrated marketing campaign. remember to stop interrupting what people interested in, and be what people are interested in., it was in early 2009 when ibm began its smarter planet marketing campaign strategy. at the time, the strategy seemed very ambitious. one that was maybe even a bit risky, even for ibm. but their success was based on a strategy to build out a long term campaign., to do this they defined a theme around their vision (smarter planet). they used the theme to craft a marketing strategy connecting and integrating as many smaller marketing objectives and tactics as they could., they also linked their core competencies to this theme, vision and challenge. obviously, they made sure they were all obvious to their customers., this very successful campaign continued for 5 years., persuasive advertising examples … a simple story, a good story has a beginning where a sympathetic character encounters a complicating situation. it has a middle where the character confronts and attempts to resolve the situation. and it has an end where the outcome is revealed. it does not interpret or explain the action in the story for the audience., instead, a good story allows each member of the audience to interpret the story as he or she understands the action. this is why people find good stories so appealing., it is why they find advertising that simply conveys facts and information boring., persuasive advertising examples … create a visual analogy, look for ways to illustrate your messages with visualization. visual analogies are even better., a great example of this technique is the recent prudential commercial we discussed previously. you know … the one with the visualization design central to their story., related post: successful advertisement design … 12 best examples to study, to make this point with a visual analogy, the commentator points to a series of dominoes, smallest to largest. when he makes his point on putting away investments consistently over time, he knocks over the smallest domino., this causes the chain reaction to topple all the dominoes. a great analogy to the retirement goal being achieved. as the dominoes fall the emotion rises..
The bottom line
I’m not as much surprised as saddened that such nutty beliefs and misconceptions about advertising. marketing overall can lead otherwise smart, creative people to squander their effort, money, and the patience of consumers., i’m sure there are binders full of rationale for why it’s stunningly brilliant stuff. there’ll be metrics that declare the spot a wild success., but believing those arguments, or valuing those outcomes, requires that you swallow the message hook line and sinker. not me., so if you remember one thing from this article, remember this:, marketing or advertising, you need to create information that your customers find interesting. information worth talking about and remembering. and standing for things that potential customers value., we believe an effective ad is interesting, entertaining, and stands for things viewers can stand behind. we believe it is persuasive and certainly creates the right kind of conversation..

What do you think?
Heard enough i rest my case., so what’s the conclusion the conclusion is there is no conclusion. there is only the next step. and that next step is completely up to you., it’s up to you to keep improving your innovation and creativity in ad designs. lessons are all around you. in many situations, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. but the key is in knowing that it is within you already., all you get is what you bring to the fight. and that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons., when things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step., test. learn. improve. repeat., are you devoting enough energy improving your innovation design, do you have a lesson about making your innovation better you can share with this community have any questions or comments to add in the section below, digital spark marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. we also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. , more reading on marketing strategy from digital spark marketing’s library:, ogilvy on advertising … best lessons learned from his secrets, volkswagen ad … the secrets to its effectiveness, effective advertising … 14 best examples of ad design, use 8 breathtaking commercials that employ emotional appeal, , mike schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. with 48 years of business experience, he consults on, and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. find him on facebook , twitter , quora , digital spark marketing , and linkedin ..
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- 7 Must-Try Persuasive Techniques in Advertising
7 Must-Try Persuasive Techniques in Advertising in 2023

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Using the Internet, we see thousands of advertisements a day. From watching our favorite shows in movie websites to checking our email inbox for new coupons, advertising is overflowing our lives. Most of those advertisements are presented digitally on our technology devices, such as our phones or laptops. That the number of Internet users has been increased dramatically, businesses focus on digital marketing strategies to attract customers through social media.
However, competing against multiple advertisers, you need to be concerned about persuasive marketing, which is regarded as the key to reach the right users and promote conversions for your brand. Entrepreneurs need to convince their target audiences that the product they sell is suitable for them. On the other hand, many businesses have difficulties identifying their right digital marketing strategy, which makes them struggle a lot to develop their companies.
This article will cover the definition of persuasive technique in advertising, the main categories of the term, and 7 must-try persuasive techniques in advertising .
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What is the persuasive technique in advertising?
Before getting to know what seven persuasive techniques in marketing you should try are, let’s make sure we are all clear on their definition, why businesses need to use them, and how they can change consumers’ opinions.
So what is the persuasive technique in advertising? The persuasion process is applied in many cases, from debating at schools, making plans to go travel with friends to negotiating sales deals, persuasion bases based on knowing the other party’s motivation, or fears to gain their attention and influence their decisions. In those cases, you try to persuade the reader or listener. Persuasive advertisements are so similar that they are the method you use to convince a buyer of your featured products via visuals. They are designed to evoke the action of purchasing a product or service.
That means persuasive techniques are taken advantage of to support advertising works and help brands attract public attention. These methods try to focus on a various factors that range from age, gender, race, or religion demographic. No matter what they are specifically about, these tools have proved their power in engaging the viewer’s minds, triggering others’ emotions and feelings, and even changing their attitudes, leading to bigger decisions. Using these tools, businesses, and advertisers will reach their consumers more quickly and gain what they want: sales, clicks, and votes.
The key explanation for the strength of persuasive advertising techniques is that consumers have a desire to spend as little as possible but get more good deals in return. Knowing that trend in consumer’s insights, advertisers spend more time building up the right digital marketing strategy for their brands. If you are owning a business or advertising a product, this method is very helpful. Persuasive advertising can be used in almost every company’s marketing campaign via digital devices like television, digital, print, audio, billboards, even PPC.
The more people use the Internet, the easier it is for advertisers to get data and understand their consumers. Most of the advertisements are served through phones, PC, or laptops, which provide marketing companies information about our location, browsing history, social media, and even online shopping practices. Having this data in hand, they can know detailedly what you like and what you need at the moment. From that, they will create target content that matches perfectly with your interests, making them more relevant than ever before. Moreover, advertisers tend to use persuasive techniques to support the information they find, which means consumers are likely to be convinced to purchase from their shops.
Theory about persuasive advertising techniques was first designed about more than 2,000 years ago when Aristotle gave birth to the term and categorize it into three groups. He divided the way rhetoric is used in arguments into Ethos (appeals to ethics), Pathos (appeals to emotions), and Logos (appeals to evidence and facts). This is also known as the rhetorical triangle that is still mentioned and depends on nowaday in many majors, especially marketing strategies to persuade consumers. The features of these three categories will be presented with more details in the following part.

In general, persuasive techniques and strategies are increasingly in use by advertisers via multiple fields (TV, radio, direct email, newspaper, websites, and especially social media sites. To work well with those techniques, we need to get creative and find the most suitable advertising strategy. Choosing the techniques to use, advertisers should consider whether it is effective in influencing the behavior of the target demographic or not.
What are the three main categories of persuasive advertising techniques?
Ethos persuasive technique.
Ethos is the persuasive technique appealing to audiences by focusing on credibility. The technique calls upon the superior character of the speaker, presenter, writer, or brand (in case of running a business). Easily understanding, ethos technique has the target of convincing the audience that the advertiser or the speaker is reliable and ethical. The final decision and opinion of audiences will be created based on the trust when their respectable people sign off on it.
When it comes to commercials and advertising, the ethos technique is considered one of the best ways to unlock trust between businesses and potential buyers. An advertisement using the ethos category of persuasive technique is one playing off the consumer’s respect for a brand or speaker. Thanks to that respect gradually built in the consumer’s mind, the speaker will appear as a convincing and trustworthy person whom they should listen to. Among the three types of persuasive advertising techniques we are about to mention, the ethos category is used mostly for emphasizing the strength or plus points of a brand and speaker’s characteristics.
To help you understand how Ethos is used in advertising, let’s check out the following examples.
The ethos technique is all about credibility. The basis is proved in a commercial of Infiniti, which was featured, Steph Curry. He is a celebrity who is not known for his taste in vehicles. However, due to his popularity and stature, the product was validated and promoted well.

Another example related to the history and origin story of Anheuser-Busch’s founders has shown the strength of ethos technique in connecting a brand with fundamental rights. In telling the stories to audiences via their “Born the Hard Way” spot, Busch’s turbulent immigration from Germany to St. Louis was illustrated to explain the importance of immigration and multiculturalism indirectly.
One of the very strong instances of ethos technique is the Heineken spot. This commercial video was a short story when Benicio Del Toro came to a bar with a cup of Heineken. In some seconds, he talked about how he and the Heineken brand are widely recognized and globally well-known. The advertisers are so creative that they add a pretty funny meta quality to the video through the film of two tourists spotting him and asking him for a photo, but they turned out to realize he was not Antonio Banderas as they expected.
While tying the celebrity of famous people to the brand, advertisers have dedicated to the business’s credibility and its engagement with target consumers.
Pathos persuasive technique
The second persuasive technique using in advertising is Pathos , which appeals to the emotions. Everything involved, such as senses, memory, nostalgia, or shared experience, are all used to convince an audience. The pathos technique will not only make the audience understand but also feel. Emotions of humans are all easily triggered in many ways. For example, we can get excited by a very cute puppy, turn emotional by a devastating family image, or joyful due to a beautiful love story. From great odds, inspirational songs to imagery, they can all call upon your feelings of happiness, fear, envy, and more.
In terms of consuming industry, pathos is applied to create responses that will then lead to the decision to buy something. That’s why pathos technique is becoming more popular among commercials since it will evoke your feelings and your responses, which help businesses increase their sales.
If you are running advertising work for a product, it is highly suggested you start with language because the words we read as well as the sounds we hear can generate specific feelings. Besides, advertisers tend to use sex appeal more. It is successful mong the pathos advertising techniques, especially for fashion magazines. Also, humor, snob, and patriotism appeal to become well-known and familiar with advertisement examples.
The pathos advertising technique is used in a famous campaign called “Good Goes Round” led by General Mills and Cheerios. In the advertisement, emotions of audiences are built up via good vibes with positive words. Listening to the background sound of the words “Good goes around” going with the imagery of sunshine, smiles, and bright colors, we are likely to feel the positivity and happiness. In fact, the commercial was so successful in encouraging audiences to take part in Cheerios.
In addition to the good vibe, the pathos technique also appeals to unpleasant emotions such as fear and worry. One example of it is an advertisement made by the British Heart Foundation. The video told a touching story of the narrator, who had died right at her sister’s wedding because of heart disease. The feeling of sadness and worry arises when we see the video and hear the music added. The message of “Don’t let heart disease happen to you” was spread globally, which encourages people to protect their health.
Another strong example which also touched unpleasant feelings of human is the commercial made by Zillow. In the video, a family was suffering from the loss of their wife/mother. The father realized that his son was regarding the brightest star in the night sky as his mother who is looking down on him. He decided to search on Zillow, found a home near the grandparent’s one, and bought it to cheer his son up. Surprisingly, the new home had a skylight in the son’s room, which let him see his mother’s star every night and reduce his sadness. Via the commercial using pathos technique, Zillow proved itself the type of website that can relieve the sorrow through its functionality

Logos persuasive technique
The last category of persuasive advertising technique is Logos which focuses on logic and reasons to convince an audience. It is also known as The logical appeal because when using logos, a speaker or brand will appeal to logic. To be more specific, when listening to reason, statistics, facts, charts, or graphs, every point made by speakers will be more trustworthy and audiences are likely to be convinced. Regarding advertising and marketing, those data provided while persuading will make buyers believe that the product is right for them and their decision is so reasonable although the data is sometimes not really sensible.
Apple is a famous brand that used logos technique to showcase its new features. One typical example is the iPhone X. When applying logos rhetoric, advertisers need to provide the best reasons to persuade their consumers to make a purchase more quickly. The new iPhone X is remarkable by its durable glass and Face ID software. Therefore, advertisements of Apple focused on explaining why you should choose iPhone X instead of any other smartphone.
Another example of logos persuasive advertisement is the ad called “I can’t believe it’s not butter” which was made by a food company taking advantage of the demand for healthy options. The advertisement repeated the word “organic” and “vegan” multiple times to prove that their products are made with the goodness of plants. Via the logos technique, advertisers and brands have built their popularity and credibility, claim themselves as the most logical and useful option among others.
When talking about logos persuasive technique, we shouldn’t forget Nissan Commercial which was trying to introduce its new system called “ProPilot”. In the advertising clip, there was a daughter and father driving on a highway. At that time, the daughter tried to drive faster to get through some construction. The father immediately told her to turn on the ProPilot system which Nissan had featured in their cars for the sake of both lives. The ProPilot system then really proved its functionality by saving her while she was about to veer off the road because of distraction led by a Star Wars battle scene. It automatically corrected the trajectory of the car thanks to the sensor system.
As you can see. Nissan uses logos technique to send the message that when youngsters get distracted, its ProPilot system will just save their lives one day. Through facts and logic, the brand will then increase their sales
To sum up, they are the three main categories of persuasive advertising techniques. However, it is different to identify how can you put ethos, pathos, and logos into practice and make a good marketing strategy to attract customers. Let’s dig into some common persuasive techniques which are recommended to you.
Persuasive techniques in marketing you should try
Reach your audience through social media.
Because there are more and more people using the Internet nowadays, it will be an ideal opportunity for businesses to selling products through those digital platforms. However, while reaching audiences through social media, you should consider targeted advertising which means nailing down them according to demographics, behaviors, and interests. When you know who you should focus on and who potential consumers are, a good marketing strategy will be created by sending the right messages to the right persons. This technique brings you many benefits which include saving money and time since you can spend your advertising budget on the right one who is more likely to relate to your ads and make a purchase in the future.
Facebook is the giant among multiple media platforms with 2.6 billion monthly active users and about 2 million advertisers working right now. Therefore, as a business advertising via Facebook, you need to focus on targeting properly and creating audiences. Or else, your content and posts will probably get lost among billion advertisements of competitors.
There are some tips for you to target audience while advertising through Facebook in order to ensure the potential viewers can see your content and in turn, lead to decisions. They are:
Narrowing down your audience group : This categorizing should depend on demographics, interests, behaviors, and location. The basis of it is that when you target customers more specifically, you will find it easier and quicker to reach users who care about your brand and your products. In turn, it can also lower your CPC
Registering for Facebook custom audiences : This will help you create a retargeting strategy. This will make research of who have engaged with your products before and seemed to be concerned about them. From that, those customers will be targeted well for the purpose of raising sales.
Use social proof & testimonial
We are likely to be persuaded by following the actions of others, which means consumers tend to buy a product more quickly if it is used and reviewed well by others who bought it before. This term is called Social proof or Social influence. It is when safety and validity are created when we make the decision of making a purchase if we are considering the most popular products. Some examples of social proof that can be listed are reviews post, comments, testimonials, or rating systems which all help advertisers selling their items by convincing customers to follow the pack and buy something.
For example, a persuasive advertisement can include the following messaging:
More than 6,000 customers have enjoyed the product
Most popular

The story is quite the same when it comes to Testimonial or Celebrity Association which also bases on the influence of one or a group to the opinion of a person. It is also one of the oldest sales tricks while businesses decide to attach a celebrity or a public figure to advertisements to promote a product. Those people can be Hollywood actors and actresses, music artists, television stars, or sports players who are followed by multiple fans in the world. When they involve a product or mention an item in their video or interview, it is enough for their fans to spend money purchasing similar products.
Testimonial is an old but gold tool to sell more services through advertising. Advertisers tend to invite celebrities to join their commercials or ads so that the viewers who look up to them will take into account the process of buying the products.
Increase authority
Authority or experts are those who most of us respect and trust. They appear as people with many good characteristics, from being credible, knowledgeable, to trustworthy. Therefore, when consumers consider whether to make a purchase or not, especially the big one, they tend to check out the origin and the people behind those products. If they are from those who are seen as experts in this field, sales will be increased because consumers are likely to buy more quickly.
Nowadays, this technique is not as overused as it was before. Shoppers spend more time finding the authentic fact of these authority figures. They will do some research about the brand and the expert to stop themselves from being scammed.
Some of the messages which are often used to increase authority:
The experienced team had over 30 years of service
Recommended and developed by leading experts
Doctors advise using this product
Set time & quantity limit
Set time and quantity limit is a technique focusing on the scare of the consumer. We tend to be afraid of losing out on a good deal or a special edition releases. Knowing this fact, advertisers will add some following messages to their advertisement, which prevent customers from putting off buying something:
30% off all orders for TODAY ONLY
10 other shoppers also concern about this product
RSVP to save your spot — limited seats available
To set time and quantity limit, businesses often use a scarcity aspect which will make quantities, expiring time limits, and exclusive offers do it job in enhancing the value of a product. While seeing something is desired by many people or that its price is back to the original cost in some time, consumers will go to great lengths to try anyway. It is one of the key reasons why we must have bought something spur of the moment once and regret not making this purchase.
Play with the emotion of the viewer
One of the most popular persuasive advertising methods is Emotional appeal in which advertisements are targeted to reach the public via different states of emotion. Advertisers are suggested to use this method to play with the emotions of viewers because those feelings are easily triggered. From fear, happiness, sadness, to the excitement, they are all researched carefully to inspire people to buy a product or take part in a specific task. The feelings are called upon thanks to the story, music, or imagery of the advertisements, which make audiences get distracted and follow a certain path.
Sometimes, advertisers will remove their rational thoughts and hide the facts to keep the audiences out of the real issues. To be more specific, the following examples will explain to you:
Raising a question of who the greater threat is by including two pictures of authoritative presidents, politicians, or parties of many different countries
Spreading the message about preventing drug abuse by showing pictures of a teen’s before and after
One emotion which is especially worked with is happiness sticking with humor. The advertisements or showcases focusing on this aspect are designed to make viewers laugh. There are many ways in which humor is presented such as cartoons, sketches, or comic undertones. Although the amount of information related to the item is not provided enough, the idea and message behind them will help advertisers tie the commercials to the audience’s’ minds positively and convince them emotionally to make a purchase.
Make the audience remember you
To make the audience remember your brand, you need to create a catchy slogan that is widely used around the world. You must have known about the slogan “Because you’re worth it” of L’Oréal, “The greatest tragedy is indifference” of Red Cross, or “The happiest place on earth” of Disneyland. Those are strong examples of famous brands in the world use slogan as an advertising technique to make the name of their companies are ingrained in customer’s minds.
When building a strong slogan, advertisers need to combine many factors like a catchphrase, tag-line, and word to use it in commercials or campaigns. The reason why a slogan is a powerful tool for advertising is that when seeing a slogan, audiences will associate with it to some level. They will then likely to be appealing to this brand as well as their product when they go out shopping. Day by day, when the slogan is used many times in many platforms, it will turn into a part of our daily life and language, which means audiences are convinced indirectly to trust and buy what the company is serving.

Also, the technique of repetition is used to make audiences remember you. For example, when you are not attracted to a particular advertisement or slogan, you seem not to buy products from them. However, when they are repeated again and again enough times or you hear and read about it every day in every circumstance, the message will surely stick with your mind.
Therefore, in most advertisements these days, road signs, flyers, billboards, use of colors of a product, and even logos are likely to be used more than one time to make the brand memorable, which can lead to the sales increase.
Spread a positive message
This technique is widely known as Glittering generality, which is filled with positive words having sound connotations stick with them. This is normally used to spread a positive message to the public to make them believe in a company, political party, or products. Although the true meaning behind the message is sometimes hidden, the technique is still so helpful that more and more advertisers take advantage of it.
Some common words which can be seen in ads using Glittering generality may be good, healthy, low fat, freedom, peace, home, sensational, or delicious. For example, a particular program for those who want to lose weight or a product for diet tend to claim themselves to burn “most” of the fat
Examples of the most effective persuasive ads
After having better knowledge about some common persuasive advertising techniques, we will prove the power of those methods via five famous advertisements.
Heinz’s Ketchup: Ed Sheeran
The brand Heinz is so lucky to have Ed Sheeran as one of the biggest fans of its ketchup. The commercial we are going to take as an example is said to be silly but effective. Being one part of Heinz’s advertising strategy in the UK in which the business is trying to make its product of ketchup as popular as it is now in the US.
To fulfill that target, the brand invited a global celebrity who was from the UK to join in the commercial video. In the ads, Ed Sheeran directly tells his story and introduce the product as if it is a pitch. Watching the video, audiences will feel like they are not watching an ads video but a movie clip instead. The content of the video is just so simple when Ed Sheeran proves that all the posh food and sauces will lose its best taste if they are not added with his backpack-based Heinz.
If you are also lucky like Heinz having a fan like Ed Sheeran who is followed by billions of people around the world, your advertisement will then be easily spread. On the other hand, if your brand is new and has few fans or your celebrity fanbase is a bit smaller, let’s consider working with influences who also have multiple followers on social media platforms. In fact, persuasive ads do a great job of helping a company present the image of itself for social media personalities.
Surprisingly, one tip for you is finding influencers who affect a smaller number of people since you can target easily a specific audience you are converting. Moreover, the advertising process will also cost you less than when you work with big influencers or celebrities.
Burger King: Shadow Campaign
This advertising campaign is one that makes people laugh. Some years ago, the brand of fast food, especially Whooper, created a war on Twitter by promoting user tweets grumbling about Wendy’s, one of its competitors. This campaign brought about huge hilarity, and of course, many people decided to buy Whooper and increase the brand’s sales.
In this ad strategy, the brand relied mostly on the emotion and functionality of Twitter. Not doing much, Burger King got permission from the users, and Twitter let them promote other users’ tweets. Therefore, the laughter was created most by users instead of the brand itself. Burger King let customers do the talking and discussion, which gave big weight to the message.
When it comes to your company, you can also apply this case to your story by focusing on your direct competitor. Choose one that has a minus point (such as product breaking, high cost, or not working) to emphasize and consider whether to promote and repost it. In other words, let your opponent’s derogators be your best advocates.
Curio.io: Most Interesting Person
Another example is the “Most Interesting Person” of Curio.io. Curio.io is an audio-journalism app that allows you to get a condensed version of the news without opening it. This app is somehow similar to daily newsletters to which you can listen while driving on commute.
The advertisement works well and helps the brand selling more and more products thanks to its successful ads. Not only is it video-based with captions as usual but it also provides a review and summary of the app in the ad copy. Through it, you will be offered multiple reasons why you should download Curio.io.
Curio.io is such a strong example for you to follow while letting your consumers engage with you. You should add a customer review in the advertisement, if possible. Or else, you can also put them in the copy. Curio.io successfully tells a message that “You’ll immediately become the most interesting person in the room” if you download this app, convincing them to have one for yourself. Therefore, just take this move and make your value prop personal clearly in your ad.
HP: Nobody’s Watching
HP is a big brand of laptop and technological devices in the world. Its advertisement called “Nobody’s Watching” really takes the cake.
This advertisement worked well because HP’s advertising team targeted the right customers and the right demands. HP provides a feature that helps users flip a switch and turn the laptop’s camera off, which means no one can watch you wherever you are with your computer. Knowing that users need to be safe and sound, HP made this advertisement to convince consumers that HP computers will let you be yourself.
The technique used here is targeting a specific audience. When making an advertising strategy, remember to concern about what your audiences need from your products. Keep in mind to target the potential consumers when brainstorming persuasive ads and bring about one convincing customer well.
Streeteasy: Find your place
“Find your place” advertising campaign is designed by the brand Streeteasy who was running a strategy to introduce their New York real estate mobile app. The campaign provided millions of advertisements and let them posted in every subway throughout the city and pointed up the city sections to make them relatable. People find it hard to look for a place to live, and this task makes them feel like Goldilocks.
The campaign is a typical example for those who have a subtle and indirect joke quantity inside the content. Knowing everyone’s desire is having a place not too far from work but not too close to their coworkers, advertisers designed this strategy to lean on these feelings. To call upon waves of laughter in the face of a daunting task, Streeteasy depended on city residents’ feelings.
The example brings you a lesson of understanding your brand and your customers before making an advertising strategy. People are always looking for a way to make their lives easier. Therefore, you need to convince that your brand and your products can handle this job. But first, let’s find out what problems make people annoyed, which issues among them your product can solve, and what makes your products a great solution.
Further readings
- What is Direct Response Marketing?
- 7 Functions of Marketing for Business?
Persuasive advertising is so crucial to any business’s digital media strategy that they should spend more time and effort on getting creative with persuasive advertising techniques. There are many types of persuasive techniques in marketing, and you need to take time considering what values you can bring to your user. From that, you will have a chance to ideate the appropriate method that meets your need.
Hiring an advertising agency or do it on your own? It depends on your choice and your business size. Remember that you can probably connect with the target audiences when you have the right persuasive marketing techniques and increase conversions for your brand.
Hopefully, you’ve found inspiration for your brand to start persuading your customers via advertising techniques. Leave us a comment below if you get stuck in creating a marketing strategy for your product or sharing your experience. Good luck!
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