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Money Sense for Teens Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue 2

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Advertising - They Made Me Buy It! • Advertising Appeals and Methods • Bad Ads • Name That Brand • Your Assignment - Should You Choose to Accept It • Did You Know • The Cost Of Advertising

Advertising – They Made Me Buy It!

Sellers use advertising to tell you and other consumers about their products and services. They want you to NEED their product. Advertising is planned to reach large numbers of consumers at one time. You will find advertising in many places: on televisions, billboards, on buses and large trucks, on the web, in magazines and many more places.

Good advertising is useful and can help you be a better shopper. Good ads provide facts – how much the item costs, a description of the product and where you can buy the product. Other ads may not be as good. They may be misleading, deceptive or false. This issue of Money 2000 youth edition focuses on advertising and how you can use it to become a better consumer.

Advertising Appeals and Methods

Advertisers are smart people. They spent large amounts of money last year on advertising targeted at young people. They know you are influenced by friends.

Advertisers use a variety of appeals to sell their goods or services. They develop ads that suggest you can become better looking, be more popular or become rich by buying or doing something described in their ads. They use pictures of good-looking teenagers having fun using the product they are advertising. They appeal to your emotions or how you feel. They appeal to your desire to be liked, accepted, good looking to the opposite sex, popular or successful. They may also appeal to your insecurities or fears.

Think about your favorite advertisement, either on television, in a magazine or on the Web.

Think about an advertisement you DO NOT like.

Advertisers use various methods to sell products.

• Slogans/Songs – using a catchy song or slogan to promote their product.

• Testimonials – using a famous celebrity to recommend their product.

• Promises – promising you will be (choose one) liked, successful, rich, pretty/handsome, etc.

• Something free – offering something free if you will purchase their product.

Bad Ads

Some ads may be untruthful. They may mislead you. Watch out for:

• Misleading words, phrases or claims, such as wonderful, fantastic, could, can be.
• Bait-and-switch advertising – Merchants may offer a wonderful price on a product to get you to their store. Once you are there, the merchant tries to get you to buy a higher priced item by telling you the advertised item is sold out or is not as good as a higher priced item.
• Marked down - Something you want to buy may be advertised as: "Was $45, now only $10." A great sale? Maybe. Just be sure you know the regular price. The item may only be worth $10.

Name That Brand

Many times, we buy items just because we are familiar with the brand. Take a few minutes and list the first brand you think of when you think of the items below:

Your Assignment -- Should You Choose to Accept It

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to watch television for three hours. While watching, keep a list of the advertisements you see. Then complete the following.

How many advertisements did you see in three hours? ________

What five things were advertised most:

The Cost of Advertising

Think ads are free? Think again. You, or whoever buys the services or goods advertised, actually helps pay for the advertised item. As stated above, ads provide facts, but they also help pay for newspapers, magazines, printed items and television programs. Goods and services might cost less without advertising. Generic or plain label items, which are not advertised, will probably be less expensive.

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