The ad (or ads) I chose was that of the Broadview Security (previously known as Brinks Home Security). Broadview Security recently launched their switch in names, from Brinks to Broadview, and with this switch came a flood of very powerful TV ads that aim to scare the audiences into buying their product. These ads are only around one minute each, but it gets the point across that an attack on your home could happen at any moment, even when you are least expecting it to happen. All of the ads show a woman -- yes, just a woman -- at home alone or with her child, setting their Broadview Security Home Alarm just incase, even during the day. The women then go on to do their everyday things when we see a white male -- all the burgalars are white, which is weird -- dressed in a black hoodie kick in the door or bust through the glass somehow, only to be scared away by the high pitched screams of the alarm and a yelling woman. The Broadview Security employee -- always a clean cut male in uniform -- calls within seconds of the alarm going off and sends help, immediately.
Professor Straubhaar talked about safety as an advertising appeal and how in the politics of Advertising, they aspire to hit the target consumer. Broadview Home Security's main goal is to use the scare tactic of having any woman in your life be portrayed as a victim. These ads are made to scare women and make men think that they have to buy this security system in order to ever leave the house again with the knowledge that their loved ones are safe from these crazy door-breaking burgulars. These ads are definitely a play on the aspect of safety and how everyone views safety differently. Broadview Security using only women in their ads just reinforces the fact that their target is the everyday --and somehow always alone-- woman. And also, in the slide 'Does Advertising Work?' Prof. Straubhaar mentioned that Advertising has the overwhelming power to deceive consumers, making the audience the 'victim' and making them buy what they don't really need. Most of the time, people aren't going to have their house burgularized. And chances are, when these burgulars hear you scream, they'll run off. I can personally say that these ads worked for my mom who bought one and no one has ever even tried to break into our house. It's only gone off when SHE forgot that it was on and opened the back door to go outside. So in a sense, she was targeted, and fell victim to buying an alarm system when in reality, we didn't need one.
Broadview Security exemplifies all of the previous points because they follow every single one of the points Professor Straubhaar mentioned like they actually learned it from him! Broadview Security is not trying to be coy with their advertising in the way that other companies would be. They are very straightforward in getting across the point that if you are a woman who is at home alone, no matter what time of day it is, some man in a black hoodie or even an ex-boyfriend or someone you just met, ONE of them will come storming in through the door you happen to be standing by with intentions that are too terrible to mention in their ads. And if you don't have Broadview Security, then those terrible things WILL happen to you -- at least, that's the point that Broadview Security is trying to drill into the heads of single women everywhere. In this case, one could argue that Broadview Security also plays on the physiological need as well as safety. And Broadview Security plays these appeals to a tee.
Scared Mother from the Backyard Advertisement
