AN ANALYSIS OF THE PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES USED IN DOVE REAL BEAUTY Essay

AN ANALYSIS OF THE PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES USED IN DOVE REAL BEAUTY SKETCHES - Essay Example The film, which compares, the images of women and strangers about various women uses numerous persuasion techniques to capture the attention of the viewers. An analysis of the persuasion techniques that the film uses is essential in understanding the reason why the video captured a market of fifteen million viewers within one month. Cialdini’s Weapons of Persuasion Cialdini describes successful marketing as a science rather than magic or luck. The author argues that public proof is one of the principles of successful persuasion, and marketers should make use of it by proving to their customers that other people have also tried their products or services (Cialdini, 1993). The Dove film uses social proof by showing the viewer the participants of the research, and how they described themselves. A viewer sees the women who took part in the research, and how they described themselves while behind a curtain. Viewers can also see the artist who sketched the appearances of the women a s well as the strangers who described them during the study. This creates an impression in the mind of the viewer that there are other people who believe that they are beautiful more than the way they think (Perloff, 2010). ... The strangers who describe the women also take part in the study in the same location and they answer the same questions (Dove, 2013). The viewers of the film think that the experience is real because of this consistency that the firm maintained throughout the study. Therefore, the audience is persuaded by the reality factor in the film, and they begin to view themselves in a more positive way. Older women also begin to view themselves as young and enthusiastic beings as Cialdini argues that they are more prone to inconsistency (Sullivan, 2008). The researcher argues that they prefer consistency and commitment more than the young because of their old age, which takes away most of their energy. Therefore, the consistency in the film may capture the attention of the elderly more than the young. Aristotle’s Artistic Proofs Aristotle argues that speakers have to persuade to their audience using their personal characteristics, proving to them, and ensuring that they influence their minds (Heinrichs, 2007). The lack of these elements is unproductive leading to low sales and profits for marketers. Ethos is the first technique that Aristotle describes as the art of creating authority and credibility to the audience (Oshaughnessy, 2004). This means that the audience is persuaded by speakers who have the qualifications to perform the tasks. The Dove film uses ethos in that the artist who sketches the women has the knowledge of sketching images in a perfect manner. Gil, Zamora, the artist is a forensic sketch artiste who has experience in drawing the sketches of over three thousand criminals (Dove, 2013). The artist also speaks in an authoritative way as he asks women to describe their