I am Nikon

This advertisement campaign uses powerful imagery along with emotive music giving the effect that Nikon can capture a moment in time and give the buyer endless possibilities.

One particular persuasive method used is repetition.  The words “I am” are repeated in this advert in phrases such as “I am here”, “I am alive”, “I am part of the world” and finally “I am Nikon”. Repetition increases the believability and liking of a message (Pratkanis, 2012). This demonstrates the mere exposure effect (Zajonc, 1968) in which the more exposure to a stimuli, the more positively is it evaluated. Boehm (1994) found that repetition increases the perceived validity of the message. Subjects rated repeated and non-repeated sentences for validity and familiarity. The repeated sentences were judged to be higher for both familiarity and validity. The findings also suggested that familiarity mediates perceived validity.

The advert also fulfills one of Packard’s Eight Hidden Needs; creative outlets (Packard, 2007). The video touches our creative needs by showing images of faraway lands along with the caption “I am Marco Polo” or images of cooking with the words “I am Jamie Oliver JR”. This makes the viewers believe that by using the product they themselves will become more creative.

References:

Boehm, L. E. (1994). The validity effect- a search for mediating variables. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 285-293.

Packard, V. (1957). Marketing eight hidden needs. The Hidden Persuaders. New York: Washington Square Press, 68-78. 

Pratkanis, A. R. (2012). The Science of Social Influence: Advances and Future Progress. New York, NY: Psychology Press.

Zajonc, R. B. (1968) Attitudinal effects of mere exposure, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, Monongraph supplement No. 2, Part 2.