Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

Abstract
The aim of this Project is to provide an introduction to the "Freudian Personality
Theory” as a personality development tool, and investigates the influence of Freudian
Personality Factors in some advertisement. In our findings we show that, how id
influenced the AXE body spray advertisement, Superego influenced by the Daily
Prothom Alo & Save the Children advertisement and Ego influenced by DBBL
Scholarship ad & Prime Bank loan advertisement. Finally, we try to personify that
advertisement.
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

1. Introduction

Personality of a person is the result of his individual traits. Personality

distinguishes one person from another. It also determines how and why a
consumer behaves in a particular way. A person's attitudes, his values in life, and
the influence exerted by the people around him shape his personality. As a
person grows up, his personality is altered or modified by the people or events
surrounding him or due to his education.

However, it doesn't change radically and remains consistent. The Psychoanalytic

theory proposed by Sigmund Freud is based on the unconscious motives an
individual has. It is based on the hypothesis that all human behavior is driven by
the unconscious 'motives that a person has and that these motives are influenced
by that person's biological drives (physiological needs).

2. Origin of the report

This paper is generated under the regulation of Dr. Md. Masudur Rahman,
Course Instructor, East West University. It’s a requirement of the subject
Consumer Behavior (MKT_504) to fulfill the decoration of MBA Degree. The
topic of this paper is “Freudian Personality Theory & Related Advertisement
Based on This Theory”.

3. Objective & Purpose

Our main objective is to find three advertisements based on Freudian Personality

Theory. If those advertisements personify a brand, how those ad do this. Based
on the purposes the specific objectives of this study are:
 To describe the Freudian Personality Theory & Brand Personification.
 To identify & investigate the key factors of some advertisement which are
influenced by Freudian factors.
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

4. Data Sources
To prepare this paper we use both primary data analysis and secondary data
analysis.

Our Primary Data sources are

The necessary data and information was gathered by following sources

a. Examining documents,
b. Making observation.

Sources of Secondary Data:

Different kinds of Secondary sources were used to collect data. Several reports,
publications, different kinds of papers and worldwide web helped us to gather
data. The papers are:
a. Different textbooks.
b. A few past research project
c. World Wide Web.

5. Related Constructs of this Study

 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

5.1 Personality
Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics
possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations,
and behaviors in various situations.
So, Personality is the supreme realization of the innate idiosyncrasy of a living
being. It is an act of high courage flung in the face of life, the absolute affirmation
of all that constitutes the individual, the most successful adaptation to the
universal condition of existence coupled with the greatest possible freedom for
self-determination.

5.2 Personality Theories

Critics of personality theory claim personality is "plastic" across time, places,
moods, and situations. Changes in personality may indeed result from diet (or
lack thereof), medical effects, significant events, or learning. However, most
personality theories emphasize stability over fluctuation.

5.2.1 Behaviorist theories

Behavioral theories suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the

individual and the environment. Behavioral theorists study observable and
measurable behaviors, rejecting theories that take internal thoughts and feelings
into account. Behaviorists explain personality in terms of the effects external
stimuli have on behavior. It was a radical shift away from Freudian philosophy.
This school of thought was developed by B. F. Skinner who put forth a model
which emphasized the mutual interaction of the person or "the organism" with its
environment.
Skinner believed children do bad things because the behavior obtains attention
that serves as a reinforcer. For example: a child cries because the child's crying in
the past has led to attention. These are the response, and consequences. The
response is the child crying, and the attention that child gets is the reinforcing
consequence. According to this theory, people's behavior is formed by processes
such as operant conditioning.
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

5.2.2 Psychoanalytic theories

Psychoanalytic theories explain human behavior in terms of the interaction of

various components of personality. Sigmund Freud was the founder of this
school. Freud drew on the physics of his day (thermodynamics) to coin the term
psychodynamics. Based on the idea of converting heat into mechanical energy, he
proposed psychic energy could be converted into behavior. Freud's theory places
central importance on dynamic, unconscious psychological conflicts.

Freud divides human personality into three significant components: the id, ego,
and super-ego. Freud proposed five psychosexual stages of personality
development. He believed adult personality is dependent upon early childhood
experiences and largely determined by age five. These are the oral, anal, phallic,
latent and genital stages.

5.2.3 Humanistic theories

Humanist theories emphasize the importance of free will and individual

experience in the development of personality. Humanist theorists emphasized
the concept of self-actualization, which is an innate need for personal growth that
motivates behavior.
In humanistic psychology it is emphasized people have free will and they play an
active role in determining how they behave. Accordingly, humanistic psychology
focuses on subjective experiences of persons as opposed to forced, definitive
factors that determine behavior.

5.3 Freudian Theory

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) developed his ideas about psychoanalytic theory

from work with mental patients. He was a medical doctor who specialized in
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

neurology. The father of psychoanalysis spent much of his life developing an

intricate theory of how the psyche, or mind, operates. Central to Freud's theory,
and perhaps his greatest contribution to psychology, is the notion that our psyche
is composed of parts within our awareness and beyond our awareness.
Specifically, the psyche consists of parts that are conscious, preconscious, and
unconscious.

5.3.1 Conscious, Preconscious, and Unconscious

Freud proposed that the conscious part of the psyche is that part which you are
currently aware of or are actively thinking about. It consists of all the thoughts
that presently occupy your mind. The preconscious part of the psyche consists of
the thoughts, memories, and knowledge that you are not currently aware of, but
that are available to you. It's your storehouse of memories and knowledge.

Freud's most unique contribution towards understanding the psyche is the idea
that part of our psyche is unconscious, or outside of our awareness. Freud
proposed that the unconscious is a part of our psyche that we do not have access
to. It holds thoughts, memories, impulses that we are not aware of and that we
cannot be aware of because they may be potentially damaging to us (i.e., cause
anxiety). Even though we are not aware of the contents of our unconscious,
Freud proposed that the impulses and drives within it cause much of our
behavior.

Freud posited that in addition to conscious, preconscious, and unconscious

components of our psyche, the psyche also is composed of three structures: the
id, ego, and superego. Some of these structures operate unconsciously, and
others are within our awareness.
5.3.2 The Id

The id is the Freudian structure of personality that consists of instincts, which are
an individual’s reservoir of psychic energy. In Freud’s view, the id is totally
unconscious; it has no contact with reality.
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

Freud referred to the most primitive part of our psyche as the id. We are born
with the id and it residues within the unconscious. The id is driven by primitive
animal instincts including sexual and aggressive impulses. It functions according
to the pleasure principle in that it seeks to maximize pleasure and minimize any
discomfort. The id is illogical in that it seeks pleasure without thought to what is
practical, safe, or moral. Freud argued that we are not aware of the id, but it
influences our behavior.

5.3.3 The Superego

At five or six years of age, we begin to learn about the norms, rules, and values of
society. Freud argued that children internalize these rules to form the superego,
which functions as a very strict conscience. The superego operates according to
the morality principle in that it seeks what is good and moral above all else. In
that sense, Freud argued that it is just as illogical as the id.

In contrast to the id, the superego is conceptualized as the individual’s internal

expression of society’s moral and ethical codes of conduct. The superego’s role is
to see that the individual satisfies needs in a society acceptable fashion. Thus the
superego is a kind of break that restrains or inhibits the impulsive forces of the
id.

5.3.4 The Ego

The Freudian structure of personality that deals with the demands of reality is
ego. It is the individual’s conscious control. It functions as an internal monitor
that attempts to balance the impulsive demands of the id and the sociocultural
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

constrains of the superego. The ego is called the executive branch of personality
because it uses reasoning to make decisions.

During toddlerhood, particularly during toilet training, children come to realize

that they are individuals. They recognize that they have their own desires, wants,
and needs; the ego forms. The ego refers to your identity, or sense of self. It
grows out of the id and can control the id, to an extent. The ego functions
according to the reality principle because its job is to gratify the id in accord with
reality. Because the ego is concerned both with reality and the id, it operates on
all three levels of awareness (the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious levels
of the psyche).

For example, imagine that it's breakfast time. The id may prompt us for a
chocolate doughnut. The superego may push us to eat something healthy like
bran cereal or oatmeal. The ego attempts to gratify both desires: something
healthy that tastes good. The outcome may be cereal with fruit, and some hot
chocolate. As we can imagine, the ego has a difficult job. Although we are not
aware of this internal struggle between the id, superego, and ego, Freud posited
that it influences much of our behavior.

So, According to Freudian, the unconscious need or drives, especially sexual and
other biological drives are the heart of human motivation and personality. He
constructed this theory on the basis of patients’ recollections of early childhood
experiences, analysis of their dream, and the specific nature of their mental and
physical adjustment problem.

5.4 Brand Personification

Brand personification tries to recast consumers’ perception of the attributes of a

product or service into a human-like character. The art of personality projection
has been developed to try to improve the marketer's ability to position and
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

communicate. Brand Personification Service takes that personality projection

technique to a whole new. Personality attributes must be well understood
internally in order to implement, and must be amplified externally with full
fidelity in order to communicate the rich, full promise.

Now brand image and brand identity are totally different concepts. Brand image
is what perceptions people have regarding a particular brand and it is then what
shapes personification, while brand identity is what the company wants it’s
brand to be, therefore, marketing is all about playing with the minds of
consumers and making them think the way you want them to think which could
be impossible at times.

A brand has to have magnitude in order to be effective. Therefore, it is no

wonder so much personification is present in many brands' imagery and media
today. Whether it be the talking AXE, BMW or Pepsi – applying human traits to
inanimate objects and animals works magically in branding practice. Branding is
so centered on creating a connection through a memorable experience that
marketers have to create something so extraordinary something so un-believable
- that it becomes an instant memory to the audience.

There are various forms of personification existing around us. One of them is the
owner being the brand personality such as Richard Branson for Virgin but what
would happen to the company once he is gone? Another form is having an
endorser for your brand and communicating the image through a strong and
renowned personality like what is commonly done through athletes such as
Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhter for Pepsi and Tiger Woods for Gillette.

6. Application of Freudian Factors in Advertisement

Freudian Term Id Ego Superego

Subjective Mode Impulse Reason Conscience
Typical appeal “Do it now” “Wait” “Don’t do it”
Aim Satisfaction of Balance Moral Precepts
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

appetite
Main preoccupation Energy discharge Survival Guilt
Main Consideration Desire Wallet Fear of debt
Action Bye it Limited funds Do without
Source: Adapted form Ads, Fads and consumer Culture, Arthur Asa Berger (Berger 2000: 112)

From the table we may say that, to reflect id, advertisement should have an
excitement to buy immediately. The product should be impulsive. Superego will
show us what are good & what are bad in our society. It should encourage us to
follow the ethical code. Ego will show us how to make balance between id and
superego for survive.

7. Some related Advertisement

1.For ID:
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

2.

2.

2.

2.

2.

2.
3.

Though these
advertisements are
for car but it captures
some of the mystery
and the excitement
associated with the
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

forces of primitive drives. These advertisements show an excitement, show an

appeal for man to buy the product immediately.

Fig:
AXE

From the TV ad of AXE, man may get some excitement to buy AXE. Because it
represent some erotic satisfaction that women will be closer by using this brand.
This ad represents it as an impulsive product.

4.For Superego:

The TV ad of Prothom alo says us, what we have to do. What we should not do.
The way to lead our life in the society.
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

The TV ad of Save the Children also tells us, not to take drug. It is not accepted
by the society. It does not follow our social norms.

5.For Ego:

The TV ad of DBBL & Prime Bank shows, how they make balance between the
demand of an individual & the sociocultural constraints of the superego.
 Freudian Personality Theory & its application in advertisement

References

1. Suite101: Freud's Theory of Personality: Development of the Psyche

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/developmental_psychology/78926
#ixzz0vhOqVzsM
2. http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/developmental_psychology/78926
/2#ixzz0vhTjmMZx

3. http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/developmental_psychology/78926#ixzz0vh
NZFH3t