Tomayto Tomahto

FREE TOMATO SEEDS!

So, here I am eating dinner and flipping through a magazine and long and behold! Tomato seeds! I know, why would tomato seeds be stuck randomly on a magazine page that has a dirt background? I thought the exact same thing. I ripped off the seed packet and happily flipped the page. That's when I saw it. The ad. It was staring me in the face, mocking me with its tomato. I knew the ad had served its purpose. It had captured my attention through the clutter and made me think about tomatoes and its product (I hate tomatoes).

This ad was selling tomato sauce. So why give me these magical seeds? Well, first, to bribe you and second, to help emphasize the freshness of their tomato sauce.

This ad totally uses the technique of bribery. Free tomato seeds! What kind of person doesn't like free stuff?! We humans are a greedy bunch. We crave for things that we don't have to pay for. So, this ad appeals to this need for free items and gives us free seeds. We now have a positive feeling to wards this company and if we are ever in need of tomato sauce, we'll go to them. Why? Because they gave us something free.

Then there's the ad...

This ad is also trying to emphasize the freshness of their product. Dirt+seeds+shovel= freshness. On the back page of the ad it says, "Plant some freshness of your own." They are inferring that their tomatoes are fresh out of the ground and grown from hand. By giving us seeds and telling us to plant our own fresh tomatoes, they are indirectly saying that their tomatoes are fresh as well. The ad also states, "tomatoes in our salsa go from the field to jar in 24 hours." If that doesn't scream fresh, then I don't know what else does.

Because there is so much emphasis on freshness, this company is also appealing to our psychological needs. It is classifying our need to eat tomatoes. We see and read about the freshness, now we want to eat it and experience it for ourselves.

Overall, this ad was totally effective on me and completely captured my attention with the free seeds. It did its duty and caught my eye through the clutter of media and ads. It depends on its freshness and bribery to help sell its product and as for me, it did a pretty good job.

I hope you have a nice day and I also hope that you find free seeds of your own!