Analysis Of Chosen Ads In Terms Of Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs

Nowadays advertisement has become a common part of our daily lives. Advertisement itself is a form of persuasive communication which aims to fulfil our different needs. Abraham Harold Maslow was an American psychologist who was mainly known for creating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, where he classified human needs by distinct categories, from the most pressing at the bottom to the least pressing at the top. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was arranged as follows: physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualisation needs. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a person will try to satisfy the most pressing need first; when that need is satisfied, it will stop being a motivator, and the person will then try to satisfy the next most important need.

Evaluating one of Thatcher cider‘s advertisements published in the UK, it is noticeable that according to the maslow’s consideration of human needs,it applies to social needs. When the ad states “A real must for all true cider lovers “, it clearly aims to give cider lovers a strong sense of belongingto a particular membership group, which is regarded as astrong social desire by Maslow (1943). Moreover the ad also states that Thatcher’s cyder is also “the perfect complement to food “, so it can be argued that besides satysfing social needs, the product also aimsto satisfy physiological needs, by suppressing thirst. Analyzing the print advertisement of Extra, launched in the UK, the slogan “arrive ready “might be interpreted as “keep your teeth clean and your mouth fresh wherever you areby chewing Extra gum “ ; hence the need in this case appears to be of esteem nature which maslow (1943) describes in terms of self-esteem, recognition and status.

Nevertheless the purpose of using Extra gum brand, like any kind of gum brand, is to stay clean, fresh and conseguently confident troughout the day. Furthermore, the aim of chewing a gum is also to achieve mouthfreshness and cleanlinessquickly, when there is no possibility or time to use a toothbrush ;this is the reason why the firm alsopromises a “ free holder for your car “ with the purchase, which will result in a further encouragement in terms of buyingthe product. Tesco magazine advertisement “colds travel fast “, available in the UK, may be associated with safety needs according to Maslow’s hierarchy needs, which cover security and protection needs. Targeted at households consumers, the advertisement is aimed to aware families regarding cold symptoms such as cough, fever and congestion.