In the ads above one can clearly see the women's perfect hair, that have no fly aways, are shiny, and volumized, pretty much the way most girls want their hair to look like. However, a lot of them know that the style that is seen on the ads for shampoo bottles rarely works. Although, the companies of many shampoo producers have tricked people into believing that if they use their product then their hair will also look like this. By putting beautiful girls on their posters who have amazing hair/ styling the models hair to look like that they are catching the consumers eyes. Which is exactly what they want, however, the size of the models takes up more space on the poster than the product itself. It seems like they producers are banking more on what they put on the poster to work better than just showing off their products. Showing off what could happen if they used their products.
This is an example of classical conditioning because the consumers are tricking the producers into believing that by using our products your hair could look like this too. And people believe it, and thus buy the products in hope of getting their hair to look like that too. Thus they have fallen prone to the aspect of a conditioning stimulus. The consumers and glad that by using this process they can have people buy their products.
I think the things you highlighted on in your summary do a good job explaining classical conditioning in a way that is relatable to real life experiences. I never noticed that the products are usually smaller than the model, as you mentioned in your blog. That definitely makes me look twice at ads now.
You definitely have a good point. It's almost like the competition between these products is to find the most beautiful woman and has nothing to do with the product. Good example of Classical Conditioning.
Agree! I used to know a hair model in the past and she told me that hair models have to take care of their hairs very carefully so that the hair always looks good. It's not the product that makes the hair look good; it's definitely the model. Let's not be tricked so much!
After reading this, I will look twice at hair ads! As a female, I do want the long and shiny hair. I also know that my hair won't look like this if I use the products advertised but I still fall into the trap of buying products that I see various celebrities modeling for. Very good example of classical conditioning!
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After reading your blog, I now have a new outlook on all beauty ads. Make-up companies do the exact same thing as shampoo companies do. The companies do a good job in fooling the consumer to believe that they too can also look like the models advertising their product if they use it. Good real life example of classical conditioning.
As a girl myself, I was drawn to your article because I saw the "perfect hair" headline--that is, with today's technology, companies can photo-shop models, after spending hours doing their hair and make up, to look perfect, therefore tempting girls to buy their products so they can look that perfect, too. You're right, though, those products hardly ever work. I just hate that our society is so money-obsessed that companies sell their products by flaunting images of women with unattainable beauty that negatively affect the self-esteem of REAL women. Again, though, they do it because it works.
You make a very good point about the conditioning. If you look at one of the ads, the model's cleavage is even more noticeable than her hair. By conditioning us to associate their product with the beauty these models appear to have, companies reel in new customers. I also think that the ads may lower self-esteem, which may make buyers more vulnerable to other types of ads/conditioning as well.
I'd agree that any woman knows the limit of a shampoo, so it's not really a matter of being disillusioned in that way, but rather which brand we fall prey to identifying with in these repeated exposures. More of a priming effect. I've worked in a salon, and can identify other psychological effects at play for hair care outside of print advertising. But the format of these ads (big picture, little product), is so typical for drugstore grade beauty products. If I'm flipping through a magazine, maybe my eyes register it but I don't stop to glance that page because I know I'm not interested in the product.
Wow, I had never noticed how small the products are in comparison to the models in advertisements. That's crazy! I wonder how common that type of layout is in advertisements. I also wonder what type of layout design is the most commonly used and which is the most successful. I definitely will pay more attention to advertisements in magazines and their layouts. Nice post!
Oh! I noticed now that ppicture of products are smaller than model! That is interesting thing!
I think you explained how shampoo ads works in classical conditioning. After I read your writing and searched some of shampoo ads and most of them have a little picture of product itself and one of them has no product picture! Have you thought about how it will be ifthe ad has big picture of shampoo instead of model? I think that ad would be either succeeded or failed. Because people might think that shampoo would be really good in scientific or chemical way and verified completely but also they might think that shampoo would be cheap and not working properly.Anyway, I think your essay is easy to understand.
Something that people should pay attention to is the model herself (or himself). They show off the hair but that isn't always the only beauty shown. One of them had incredibly large breasts showing, another had a very expensive-looking shirt on. They put these models on because then you will think, "Well, if I buy this product, my hair will look great, which will make me look rich or sexy."
That's also why beer commercials are a party filled with attractive people. You will have many friends, most of them will be attractive, and you will be happy. There are many other settings for drinking beer, like in a dim-lit, smokey bar, where you're tired and the last thing you want to do is dance with attractive women.
In social psychology this is the perfect example of the messenger effect. People are more apt to be persuaded by a beautiful person, or a celebrity, than anyone else. This is commonly used in advertising as shown above. I think anyone is likely to be persuaded by the gorgeous hair that the models are sporting above.