Unit 13
The Psychology of
Advertising
職場攻略/市場業務
Workplace English/Communication skills
BRAIN STORM
Share your ideas with your teacher and try to make sentences.
Do you think there is a Psychology in the Advertisements that you can see today?
VOCABULARY
Repeat these sentences after your teacher.
1. choked me up (phr.) 讓我哽咽
The story really choked me up.
這個故事真讓我哽咽。
2. neuroscientific (n.) 神經科學的
When you are neuroscientific, you think hard.
當您具有神經科學性時，您會認真思考。
3. stimuli (n.) 刺激物（stimulus的複數）
As humans, we are prone to stimuli around us.
作為人類，我們容易受到周圍環境的刺激。
4. evoke (v.) 喚起、激起
This old advertisement evokes old memories.
這個古老的廣告喚起了人們的舊記憶。
5. emotive (adj.) 感情的；情緒的
Ads also use the emotive use of language.
廣告還使用情感性語言。
6. conversion rates (phr.) 轉化率
The dollar conversion rates are getting lower.
美元轉換率正在降低。
7. subliminal (adj.) 潛意識的
I believe our ads are pretty subliminal.
我相信我們的廣告是潛意識裡的。
Dialogue
Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.
Hey, Jim. Have you seen that new Coca Cola ad? It really choked me up.
Yeah, I saw it too. That’s the new mantra for ads: Make it emotional. Playing to your feelings is all part of the neuroscientific approach that advertisers use.
Like using stimuli to evoke an emotive response? Haven’t they always done that?
Yes, but they’ve learned that crafting emotional stories increases conversion rates. It’s all very subliminal and manipulative, but business is business.
I guess so. And with ads becoming so ubiquitous, avoiding them is not even an option.
Well, you have big data to thank for that.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s nice to see ads that interest me, but when they are bombarding me nonstop, it’s a little…
Nauseating?
To say the least. It’s also scary how much the internet knows about me.
Absolutely, but that’s how companies make more gripping ads that better play on your emotions.
I think you mean prey on my emotions, not play on.
Grammar
Playing with particles: Play on, Play to, Play with
In today’s lesson, we saw the phrasal verbs “play to” and “play on” in regards to someone’s emotions or feelings. Both phrasal verbs are often used to describe behavior that is manipulative, dishonest or having an ulterior motive.
“Play to” means that someone is trying to get the attention of or gratify someone or someone’s feelings.
Imagine an orchestra “playing to” an audience. The orchestra’s goal is to impress the specific people watching. That’s the sense of “play to.“
“Play on” is like “play to” but with an additional nuance: The goal is usually to gain an advantage or evoke a response. In this lesson, it refers to the way advertisements take advantage of people’s emotions, fears or insecurities in order to increase their sales.
And yet there’s another phrase: “play with.” It’s just like “play on” except it conveys a general disregard for a
person’s feelings, not necessarily to evoke a response or gain an advantage. Imagine a child playing with a toy: There’s no intention except to enjoy the toy. For that reason, “play with” has a synonym: “toy with.” For example: He’s toying with my feelings.
1.He didn’t really mean what he said. He was just playing to the crowd.
2.Marketing strategies play on people’s fears and insecurities.
3.Banks need to have rigorous online security, because they’re playing with people’s livelihood.
DISCUSSION
Make a conversation with your teacher.
1.What do you think is the role of Psychology in advertising?
