You've heard the term before, but now you're wondering: what is classical conditioning? Let's try to put it in perspective. Say you go to a diner and order this really awesome burger -- a burger so delicious that your mouth starts to water at the mere sight of it. The burger is an example of an unconditioned stimulus and your mouth watering is an unconditioned response: in other words, you don't have to learn to make your mouth water -- it just happens naturally. Now, say you are always served by the same waitress, who, at this point, is considered a neutral stimulus. If you order the burger enough times, you will find that the mere sight of the waitress will make your mouth water, even if the burger is nowhere in sight. The waitress, once a neutral stimulus, has now become a conditioned stimulus, and your mouth watering is now a conditioned response, because the reflex now happens to a new stimulus. Congratulations, classical conditioning has forged an association between the waitress and your watering mouth! Try explaining that to her when she notices you drooling as she walks towards you.
The same concept is being used today, in advertisements. Watch these two commercials: one by Burger King, and the other by Axe.
Burger King: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjrRqDdWiQU
Axe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3IHmrJ9THY&feature=relmfu
In the Burger King commercial, which advertises "Burger Shots", the unassuming man is instantly surrounded by a bevy of gorgeous women. Thus, the commercial forges an association between the Burger Shots and hot girls. Similarly, in the Axe commercial, a connection is forged between "Axe Fever" and beautiful women. What's the point of these connections? Well, in the viewer's mind, if he (because these commercials are obviously targeting young men) buys Burger Shots from Burger King instead of a Big Mac from McDonald's, or if he uses Axe instead of another brand of soap, hot girls will find him irresistible, and lots of sex will follow. Whatever arousal a man might get from these commercials will spark up whenever he sees the product. So, you get the same feeling of euphoria when you see the Burger King sign because the commercial has forged a connection between Burger King and pretty girls, and your money is now theirs.
So, here's the question: how do we resist this psychological pull? Hopefully, reading this blog post will have made you more aware of how professional advertisements work. The way the world is, advertisements will always try to condition you. Honestly, it wouldn't be very effective advertising if they weren't trying to. But if it's a choice between McDonald's more family-friendly commercials and Burger King's raunchier ones, it may be worth thinking about what you would rather have: a warm connection between McDonalds and family, or a fake connection between Burger King and girls you are never going to get.
Anyone here needs a FREE MC DONALD'S GIFTCARD?
ReplyDelete