Advertising Portfolio

          Colgate’s Active Salt ad, as shown above, is an example of a national consumer ad. National consumer ads advertise products commissioned by the manufacturer of a product or a service. Here, Colgate added new ingredients in their toothpaste, stating that the salt and lemon is what removes yellowness from teeth. Also in the advertisement is actress Kareena Kapoor, who has dazzling white teeth. Kapoor holds up the Colgate Active Salt toothpaste as if she is saying that it was the toothpaste that helped her achieve bright and attractive teeth.

          The Colgate advertisement is trying to sell this product to their customers that would like brighter teeth. Removing the yellow from anyone’s teeth can result in bright, attractive teeth. Teeth like Kapoor’s will have everyone looking at them and envious of how pearly white they are. That is exactly why this ad has an obvious emotional appeal, by emphasizing a satisfaction with purchasing the product, with the theme of glamour and attention. According to Twitchell (p. 62), “The bathroom… it is there, behind closed doors, that we go to ritually consume products to cure problems created for the public on television screen and on the magazine page.” This quote shows how we as humans are obsessed with how we look. In order to obtain that look of “glamour” we utilize products such as Colgate’s Active Salt to ensure that we are always looking our best.

          Colgate’s advertisement includes a lot of disinformation, which is deliberately misleading language that attempts to lead persons to unwarranted conclusions. This plays a huge role in ad because it makes the consumer think that the product does something, or is useful for something, when it might not be as great as they think.

          The first form of disinformation utilized in the advertisement would be weasel words. Weasel words are words that suggest that a product produces positive results. The weasel word in this ad would be “remove.” Colgate is stating that the two main ingredients have the power to get rid of the yellowness on teeth, which is a positive outcome. As the consumer, we cannot be so sure that it is salt and lemons that actually provide the results because these products are filled with a numerous amount of ingredients.

          Continuing with the association of disinformation, one will notice that there is small, condensed type in the advertisement that limits or modifies a claim made in the ad. That small type is referred to as a fine print qualification. The print is really small, and it makes it hard to read when looking at the advertisement. Without reading the fine print qualifications, a consumer might not utilize the product to the best of its ability.

          Additionally, the ad contains other forms of disinformation, implied causality and appeal to authority, which are invalid forms of arguments. Implied causality suggests that an effect follows directly from use of the product. In this example, using Colgate’s Active Salt toothpaste should remove yellowness from teeth. In all reality, it is unlikely that the yellow from one’s teeth will disappear after one use. In fact, it might take weeks of applying the toothpaste until results are noticed. Moreover, an appeal to authority is a trade on a person’s celebrity or expertise in some field and includes celebrity endorsements. Kapoor is a well-known actress that could be getting endorsed for Colgate in trade of her popularity.

          Aside from disinformation, the advertisement also includes puffery, which is the elegant but largely meaningless language. Through puffery, one can see the usage of personification. In this ad, Colgate is giving both salt and lemons a human trait, power. Moreover, Colgate is saying that it is salt and lemon that will remove yellowness from teeth. Giving human traits to non-human items reinforces the advertisement’s message.

          Overall, it is the incorporation of Kapoor, puffery, and disinformation in this ad that makes it great at appealing to the masses. Looking at this ad, one would think that they could achieve sparkly white teeth from using Colgate’s Active Salt toothpaste.