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Consumer Behavior Advertisement Analysis The advertisement I chose for this assignment is for the company VIRUS T’. This company is a musical instrument company that creates synthesizers used for live performance and studio recording. The ad was taken from the October 2013 issue of Sound On Sound magazine. Sound On Sound is a magazine about audio recording technology, it targets professional audio engineers, audio enthusiasts and music production as a hobbyists. This ad depicts a musical artist on stage in front of a microphone with their hand raised in the air.
In front of them is a VIRUS TTL synthesizer. Underneath this picture is the caption “DREAM BIG” with a description of the VIRUS TTL consumer experience, pictures of other VIRUS TTL products and contact information. The first consumer behavior concept I will analyze with regards to this ad is the extended self. Musicians are very prone to defining themselves by the equipment they use. Throughout music history many famous musicians have become strongly associated with the instrument they use. For example, it is hard to picture Jim Hendrix playing without his signature cream white Fender Telecaster.
Also, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin has been credited with increasing the popularity of the Gibson Less Paul guitar. Musicians tend to identify with their instrument on an individual level. Their instruments are one of their most prized possessions, as important as their Jewelry, cars, clothing etc. Musicians become highly emotionally involved with their instruments and take pride in showing them off and speaking about them with other musicians. This ad plays up on this individual connection by showing the back of a performer and then directly in front of the performer showing a VIRUS TTL instrument.
The performer has her hand raised high in the air towards the crowd, in-between the performer and the crowd sits the VIRUS TTL synthesizer. Underneath this picture are the capitalized words DREAM BIG enhancing the personal connection and strengthening the individual level of the extended self. The next consumer behavior concept I will analyze is the concept of puffery. Puffery is defined as making claims about a product that cannot be proved or disproved. The first example of puffery in this ad is when the ad states Virus users enjoy the feeling of confidence both on stage and in session. This is an example of puffery because it is impossible to prove whether or not a VIRUS TTL product will contribute to improving confidence, confidence is a very complicated personal emotion and it’s causes have a variety of contributing factors. The second example of puffery that is used in this ad is when the ad states, “… Our instruments give their performance the extra rocket fuel that sets them (Virus TTL users) apart. ” This statement clearly uses puffery because it is impossible to measure or prove how a musical instrument could add metaphorical “rocket fuel” to a musical performance. This is a clear example of puffery.
The last example of puffery in this By blackjacked ad is when the ad declares, “It’s the modern classic tort all players who retune to compromise. ” It is impossible to prove or disprove whether an instrument is a modern classic or not, especially because it is a subjective opinion. This use of puffery helps to enhance the image of the VIRUS TTL products. It also helps to construe strong emotions about the product, making it seem like a very appealing and special product. In conclusion this ad uses puffery and the concept of the extended self in order to make it’s product more appealing to it’s target market.