Why does advertisers try to enter our mental image when it comes to Alcohol and Tobacco?

            This mental image is exactly what the advertisers are trying to make us imagine. They want us to imagine that by buying their product we can be like the actors in the advertisement. Advertisers are trying to change our mental image about their product by making this product do more than what it is supposed to.  The products can change into different entities once they are placed in advertisements. This transfer of our feelings from one set of items to another is called “affective conditioning”.

           As we all know, the real image of tobacco or alcohol is not very pleasant. The real image is a drug that is used to gain happiness, and may cause many illnesses in the future. Therefore, the tobacco and alcohol image was changed dramatically in the advertisement. It was changed to an image that contain fame, attraction, having confidence, being free, and social. The consumer will feel like losing all of these features without buying Tobacco or Alcohol. The affective conditioning is the most common way to affect consumers to smoke tobacco or drink alcohol.

Sources :

1)       Markmen, Art. “What does advertising do”. Psychology today. 2010. Web. 23 Oct 2013.

2)     Dubihlela, JobDubihlela, Dorah. "Youth Attitudes Towards Advertisements Depicting Nudity and Alcohol: Ethical Dilemmas In Advertising." South African Journal Of Psychology 41.2 (2011): 207-217. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. Print.

Ahmed Alkaabi