Ads Everywhere
Growing up, I used to watch cartoons on TV channels like Tree House and YTV and the Cartoon Network. The commercials showed to me were almost always specifically targeted at my age group: children. The commercials very covertly used to suggest that children should buy their products in order to enjoy life. For example, Nerf guns were advertised for young boys, in hopes to appeal to them (boys with guns running around shooting each other = fun). I remember several Barbie commercials being aired, which not surprisingly appealed to me. I used to go beg my father right away for such things. It was advertisements that turned me into a consumer. I used to constantly badger my parents for anything I felt compelled to buy. Most advertisements followed the artful psychology SPICE in order to attract children into buying their products. Most commercials were simple and catchy. They often displayed how buying their products would benefit us. They were witty and appeared confident in selling; and they used just the right amount of empathy in order to effectively communicate with us children. The products that used to be advertised used to have a very bold personality. For example, Barbie. Barbie was advertised to young girls and their personality just screamed “Beautiful. Girly. Fun. Perfect.” This personality, of course, attracted many girls who wished to own something that would identify their own personal desires. Including me.