1.
A.) What is your overall impression of this advertisement? What aspects do you find particularly persuasive/repellent as a consumer?
The fact that Paul Gilbert is playing the 20th RG's is definitely a plus. If I saw Paul Gilbert, I would definitely stop and check it out. It's a good attention grabber, especially considering that the majority of guitarists who own Ibanez guitars are into shred, rock, metal, etc.
The only thing I didn't like about this particular ad is that there was more emphasis placed on Paul, and a couple of cool pictures, than on the actual guitar and it's features.
For example, I think the ideal advertisement would go something like this;
Presenting the 20th Anniversary RG!!!
Along with all of your favorite colors from the original RG's, this guitar is loaded with great features, such as;
*An Original Edge Double Locking Vibrato System
*A Basswood Body
*24 Jumbo Frets!
*A Maple Fingerboard On the Desert Yellow and Roadflare Red Models
*A
Rosewood Fingerboard On The Black Model
*A Five Piece
Wizard Prestige Neck (Built To The Exact Same Specs As The Original RG's In 1987!)
*3 Hot DiMarzio Designed Pickups! Perfect for everything from rock, to metal, to blues!
Other than that, I think it's a good ad.
B.) What is your overall impression of this advertisement (ignore the giveaway part; focus on the Dave Mustaine quote and image)? Again, what aspects do you find particularly persuasive/repellent as a consumer?
I would look at that advertisement, simply because I'm a big Mustaine fan. Other than the picture of Dave, it's a rather plain advertisement. It also doesn't tell us much about the strings you're trying to sell.
2.
A.) Have you ever bought an electric guitar product on the basis of an advertisement? If so, what product and where was it advertisement?
Yes, and I've regretted it. I've learned from personal experince that doing so is usually a bad idea. Not necessarily because the product that was advertised is bad, but because I bought it without trying it, and it just wasn't right for me.
3. If you are looking for a new electric guitar pedal to buy (eg. a distortion pedal), to what extent do you allow advertisements to influence your decision? Where do you find these advertisements?
A.) Personally, ads have no influence on me. It's another one of those things where I have to try it before I buy it. An advertisement might make me more inclined to try something when I walk into a guitar store, but that's the extent of an ad's influence on me.
For example, I really don't care what wah pedal Hendrix used. All I care about, is that the product works as advertised, and that I like it.
4. How do you respond to the exploitation of images of masculinity in electric guitar advertising, such as Yngwie Malmsteen's "Real men play real Marshalls" ad, or Krank's sexist use of women in advertising their Distortus Maximus? How about connotations with violence in the advertisement of guitar products, such as the use of the word "loaded" to describe speaker boxes housing speakers?
A.) It all depends on who it is, personally. If I saw the ad with Yngwie, I would stop and read it, because I like Yngwie. But it would not make me want to go out and buy a Marshall amplifier just because he uses one.
B.) I don't know that I would call the Krank advertisement "sexist". But it would catch my attention if I saw a beautiful woman in the ad, because to be honest, you can't help but not notice it. Again, it would not make me want to buy a Krank, but I might check a Krank out next time I go to a guitar store. So, I guess it's a fairly effective advertising method.
C.) As far as saying an ad connotates violence simply because it describes it's speaker cabs as "LOADED!", is a bit of a stretch. I would have never even guessed that they were referring to loaded, like they were talking about a firearm. I would have thought something more along the lines of "Man! That cabinet must be LOADED with awesome speakers!".
5. In conclusion, how effective do you think advertisers of electric guitar products are in convincing
a) you
b) the "target audience"
to buy their products? How do you think the advertisements of said products could be improved?
A.) Not very. I can't remember the last time I read an advertisement for a guitar and thought to myself "Man! I've gotta have that!". But, I am more inclined to try a particular product if I'm fond of the ad. So, the manufacturers must be doing something right.
B.) I really can't speak for anybody else. But I do know that if I see an ad with Vai, or Yngwie, or Paul Gilbert, etc., it's much more likely to catch my attention. So, yeah, it does work pretty well.
Hope this was helpful.
