The Power of Ads: How They Shape Our Daily Lives and Decisions

Have you ever wondered how many ads you see in a day?

During our Marketing class, Professor Rafaela Canova Davide shared a fascinating statistic:

We come across between 4,000 and 10,000 ads daily. This incredible number highlights just how deeply ads are part of our everyday lives and how they shape our buying decisions.

This fact has also been confirmed by Forbes's own research

👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾

Read Forbe's Article here

This huge number shows just how much ads are a part of our lives and how they affect what we buy. They not only influence our decisions but also serve as daily reminders that we need to buy things, just in case we forget.

In this blog post, I'll talk about:

• How ads influence our decisions, often making us buy things we don't really need.

• Personal stories that illustrate how this happens.

• The process of perception—exposure, attention, and interpretation—and how it plays a role in advertising's effectiveness.

• The emotional appeal of ads and how they create powerful connections to products.

• The role of sensation in advertising, such as how colors, sounds, and textures grab our attention and shape our buying behavior.

Let’s dive right in!

Ads Are Everywhere

From the moment we wake up and check our phones, to our commute, and even during our free time, ads are everywhere.

They come in many forms such as billboards, social media posts, TV commercials, and even product placements in movies. This constant exposure can shape our preferences and desires, often without us even realizing it.

My Personal Experience with Ads

One of the best examples of how ads influence my behavior is my experience with Ryobi tools.

Every time I open Facebook, I see ads for the latest Ryobi products.

Even though I don't need new tools, I find myself drawn to these ads. Even right now they keep bombarding me with tons of Christmas deals and sales, they only have one mission, they are trying to get me.

I often end up browsing through Home Depot's website, adding multiple items to my cart, even though I only planned to buy one.

This behavior shows just how effective targeted advertising can be, leading to impulsive buying decisions.

The Process of Perception

To understand how ads influence us, it's important to look at the process of perception, which involves three stages: exposure, attention, and interpretation.

1. Exposure: This is the first stage where we see an ad. With so many ads around us, only a few catch our eye.

2. Attention: Once an ad catches our eye, it needs to keep our attention. This is where creativity in advertising is key. Ads that are visually appealing, emotionally engaging, or highly relevant to our interests are more likely to grab our attention.

3. Interpretation: Finally, we interpret the ad's message. This interpretation is influenced by our personal experiences, beliefs, and current needs. For example, an ad for a new smartphone might resonate more with someone who is already thinking about upgrading

A Personal Story: Father's Day at Home Depot

Last Father's Day, I had a classic experience of how exposure, attention, and interpretation work together.

While walking down the aisles of Home Depot, I came across a deal I couldn't resist: a two pack of Ryobi batteries for just $79, normally priced at around $100.

The bright signage caught my eye (exposure), the discounted price held my attention, and my interpretation was that this was a great deal I shouldn't pass up.

Despite not needing new batteries, I ended up buying them.

This is a perfect example of how ads and promotions can lead us to make purchases we hadn't planned on.

The Emotional Appeal of Ads

Ads often tap into our emotions to create a connection with the product.

This emotional appeal can be very powerful, making us associate positive feelings with a brand.

In my case, I have a strange happy feeling during Spring, especially when the grass starts growing and you begin feeling the smell of grass. I can’t help but get excited.

I start thinking about pulling out my Ryobi weed wacker and John Deere lawnmower.

Mowing the lawn isn’t just a task for me, it’s my personal time to relax and reset.

don't' believe me? see it for yourself, down below 👇👇👇👇👇

So yes, there’s definitely something about the mower and the smell of fresh cut grass that clears my head.

By the time I’m done, I feel accomplished, like I’ve done something good for myself and my space.

That’s why I’m so connected to these brands. They’re part of the experience that makes me look forward to spring.

When I see ads with sunny days, a freshly cut yard, and someone enjoying the process, it strongly touches me personally.

It’s not just about the tools, it’s about how they make something as simple as mowing the lawn feels so good.

The Role of Sensation

Sensation refers to our immediate response to things like light, color, sound, smell, and texture.

One of the best examples of how ads influence my behavior is my experience with Ryobi tools.

The bright green yellow neon color of their products always catches my eye whenever I walk into Home Depot.

It's like the tools are glowing, making them stand out from everything else on the shelves.

This color doesn't just grab my attention it almost feels like it's pulling me in, creating a sense of excitement and urgency.

The sensation of seeing that vibrant color triggers something in my brain. It makes the tools look more appealing and almost irresistible.

Even though I already have a good set of tools at home, the bright neon color makes me feel like I need the latest Ryobi drill or saw.

It's like the color is whispering to me, convincing me that my current tools aren't good enough.

This clever use of color is a perfect example of how sensation plays a role in advertising in general, and in this case, in my personal life as well.

In conclusion, the ads we see every day play a big role in shaping our buying behavior, no question about it!

They influence our decisions, helping us discover new products and services that can improve our lives, but often, like in my case, leading us to buy things that even though we might not always need, they most of the times are somehow part of who we are and even make us happy.

For all you shopaholics out there,

here's a free tip: Next time you find yourself adding unnecessary items to your cart, take a moment to think about the power of advertising and how it might be influencing your choices.

Remember the famous quote from Dave Ramsey: "Run like you are a gazelle with a cheetah chasing you," but instead of running, we often run straight to the cheetah and let our wallets get eaten.

Canova Davide, R. (2024). Internal Influences on Consumer Behavior. University of Arkansas, Fall Semester.

Ramsey, D. (n.d.). Gazelle Intensity: Do You Have It? Retrieved from Ramsey Solutions.

Simpson, J. (n.d.). Finding Brand Success In The Digital World. Forbes. Retrieved from Forbes.

Belch, G. E., & Belch, M. A. (2021). Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective.

Shimp, T. A. (2020). Advertising, Promotion, and other aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications.

Moriarty, S., Mitchell, N., & Wells, W. (2020). Advertising & IMC: Principles and Practice.