The Language That Sells

We have been talking in class about advertisement and the means to sell. Along with these discussions, we have learned two acronyms to help with our writing.

F.A.B:
Features
Attributes
Benefit

A car for example has features, attributes and benefits. The benefit of the car is what changes it from being a feature, to the benefits we seek from it as humans. This ultimately results in power.

A.I.D.A
Attention
Interest
Desire
Action

These are phrases like,  "Hey you! You want! I've got! buy it now!" At the end of the day, advertisers are just a bunch of hookers and drug dealers.

Even the advertising for Burger King suggests that they will sell to this audience because they are open late:

We Are All Branded

Jenkins had us make a log of all the brands that we use. I wasn't surprsied at what brands controlled my life, it only made me want to throw up a little at the thought of how our society functions, and how I am a product of the 21st century.

The advertisement companies make a killing off of people. And they all target certain age groups.

In order to sell there must be:

1. Why we are selling
2. Audience
3. Language

We were in class for maybe 10 minutes then Jenkins let us out. Thanks Jenkins:)

Soft Language, advertising, and the brands we live by

Soft language according to George Carlin is like pulling the wool over your eyes.

Pardon me for a moment, but Americans use more language to cover up their shit than they do actually shitting it.

This country revolves around advertisements and the language that sells. I noticed that for any microwavable dinner, it entices you to eat it because it is a fast way to eat a "hearty, home style meal." Most lean cuisines reel you in with the low calorie count and "great taste."

Brand names are also one of the main things that we live our lives by. All material objects are controlled by brand names.

According to Jenkin's there are do's and don'ts to language and how to translate for our audience

Do's

• Dual coding
• Create emotion
• Keep it simple
• Create focus
• Be concise

Don'ts

• Cliche's
• Soft language
• Double-speak
• Betray your audience

Words Sometimes Don't Flow

I've been stuck in some kind of stupor this past month. Being sick does not help. It's the change of season, time, and seinoritis. Also living in a house with two other girls and one bathroom only adds to the stress levels. Take my advice- unless you have to, don't do it!

It goes to say that people's actions can be predicted, especially when you live with them.

Schramm's model of communication

Expectation of Reward
__________________

Work Required Effort

Sometimes what we want to say isn't always easily communicated to the person decoding the message. That is why as writers, it is our job to grab the audience's attention within the first eight words.

Happy writing everyone!