Even
though the green advertisement is not emphasized in today’s marketing as it was
in the 1980s and 1990s; some marketers still utilize the technique in their
product presentations. Green advertisement is based on the belief that the
business of advertising is usually brown. As a result, the advertisers tend to
make the advertisements green by promoting environmental values in their
advertisements. This may be achieved by
the ways the companies that use green advertisement operate and package their
products. According to Corbett (2002), the analysis of how green advertisement
uses the exploitation of nature in the presentation of the products, nature is
shown as a tool used for human pleasure rather than presenting it as a product.
Marketers, therefore, positioned their new and existing products as
environmentally friendly. Companies largely embarked in green advertisements by
presenting biodegradable, recyclable and environmentally safe products.
This
paper discusses the use of green advertisement in the current advertisements.
The current green adverts have taken the approach of using the nature on the
background of their adverts other than just presenting environmentally friendly
products. They have taken the use of visual elements of nature in the presentation
of their products. This is achieved through presenting beautiful unspoiled
natural backgrounds in an attempt to present the beauty of nature. These
beautiful backgrounds also play the role of evoking feelings similar to those
evoked by direct contact with nature. In
this paper, we will base the argument on one of the latest Jeep adverts on
YouTube, and how the advert has been able to equate the product with nature.
In
this particular advert, the advertiser has used different natural settings on
which the product is presented. The vehicle is presented as having the ability
to manoeuvre ways through different terrains such as snowcapped grounds, dusty,
rocky and muddy grounds as well as through forests and water masses. These
natural grounds are also presented in a very beautiful way, for instance, green
and thick forests as well as snow-capped mountains. As much as the natural
grounds are appealing to the eyes of the viewers, nature adds to the beauty of
the product and also its ability to move on those different grounds. These
advertisements have a great effect on the way people react to them. The
enhancing of the feeling of utilitarian environmental benefits by brands
through green adverts positively affects the intention to purchase.
According
to Meister and Japp (2002), the most common use of nature in an advertisement
in the green adverts is the use of natural features such as rivers, mountains
and wild animals. This is used to create a blending effect between the
environment and the background. In the Jeep advert, for instance, though the
vehicle is shown on a beautiful outdoor natural environment, the natural
environment is not presented for sale but rather to sell the message. The
appealing qualities of the environment have been equated to the appealing
qualities of the product. Based on some of the six reasons for faint green
adverts by Corbett, here are some of how the Jeep advert utilizes these
reasons.
Nature
has been used in this advert to attach the humanmade qualities of the product
to the natural values and qualities. This advert does not focus on the
superiority of the vehicle as compared to the other similar SUVs but rather
seeks to sell the attributes of the vehicle that relate to the natural
environment. Nature is portrayed as the source of peace and happiness while the
vehicle is shown as the medium to take you to nature.
The
second reason as to why this green ad uses nature as a backdrop is to relate
the vehicle with nature as sublime. This is achieved by showing the distorted
reality of nature as a sense of beauty. For instance, the turbulent motion of
ice, dust, water and mud as the vehicle drive over them creates a great
admiration of the vehicle. This is presented as an artistic element of nature,
which affects how people respond to nature. In reality, some of these natural
settings are inaccessible on normal circumstances. However, the audiences
expect the advertisements to feature the idealized unrealistic presentations of
nature.
The
advertisers have also used Corbett’s reason for a faint green advert to please
the humans. Nature has been used in the
advert to impact on the narcissist audiences. The use of outdoor adventures
creates great interest and admiration by the narcissist. The narcissist would
be concerned with self-pleasure and anthropocentric (Meister and Japp,
2002). They would, therefore, be highly
attracted to the product that is shown to have the ability to conquer the
natural challenging elements such as driving on mountainous and rocky
lands.
According
to Twitchell (2003), the advertisers also consider the cultural aspects of
their target audiences while creating the adverts. This is because people tend
to group themselves in different groups depending on their zip codes,
lifestyle, among others. The advertisers, therefore, focus on branding the
consumers in those groups. The differences in behavioural sequences of the
consumers are a key element that affects the way adverts are made. The
advertisers may focus on the spending behaviours of their consuming communities. For instance, some people would buy on
impulse what appeals to them while others will plan for a future purchase if
they are interested.
In
conclusion, the use of nature as a backdrop for advertisement plays a great
role in how people respond to adverts. This is because the ads carry attributes
that relate to both the environment and the culture of the consumers. The
aspect of the green adverts is not only to sell the products but also the
meanings associated with those products. This approach of advertisement also
presents the benefits of the environmental attributes, as shown in the adverts.
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