Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
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Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is one of the most prominent manufacturers of health care products for consumers, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostics markets. Since the company’s founding in 1886, Johnson & Johnson has more than 230 operating companies within 57 countries worldwide. In order for a company to enjoy such success, their advertising and public relations tactics have to be carefully planned and unique. Through the advertisements in a campaign entitled, “Having a Baby Changes Everything,” Johnson & Johnson presents a simple message emotionally targeted to new mothers and fathers.
The fundamental objective stated on their website says, “to provide scientifically sound, high quality products and services to help heal, cure disease and improve the quality of life.” (http://www.jnj.com/our_company/index.htm) However, Johnson & Johnson connects with it’s consumers on a much deeper level. It’s objective is to emotionally bond with the consumers. Johnson & Johnson understands how a parent’s universe changes when they have a baby, and the company wants to enhance that bond between the parent and child. In an advertisement entitled, “Doorway,” a woman’s voice says, “Who would have thought that gaining 7 pounds and 6 ounces would be the best thing that ever happened to you.” Johnson & Johnson is trying to show how much a parent’s life and body changes, and how beautiful they still are. In another advertisement targeted to men entitled “Animal Sounds,” the same woman’s voice discusses how fathers would rather read with their children, than read the sports page.
Through these emotionally pleasant advertisements, Johnson & Johnson is touching the lives of new parents. By reflecting these lives and showing how well they understand them, Johnson & Johnson proves itself to be the expert in ‘baby things.’
The public has been very responding to this campaign due to the correct uses of mass media that Johnson & Johnson targeted. People use the mass media for such purposes as surveillance of the environment locally and globally, entertainment, reinforcement of their opinions, and decision making. Johnson & Johnson has already captured passive audiences by these advertisements due to the catchy slogan and emotional visuals. A new father will automatically watch the advertisement upon seeing a baby bond with a father. However, in order to communicate with audiences that actively seek information, the organization must appeal to a certain aspect of mass media. Johnson & Johnson heavily targeted people who use mass media for decision making, and reinforcements of their opinions. People who are trying to make decisions about baby care have a wide variety of baby products offered by Johnson & Johnson, as well as their thorough website with multiple pages dedicated to baby talk. People who are looking for reinforcement of opinions about baby care also have Johnson & Johnson to turn to. Active audiences will know that this organization is aimed to help new parents and children emotionally and physically, and when it comes to opinions and decisions, Johnson & Johnson can be viewed as the most reliable.
In order for an organization to be effectively persuasive, it must practice characteristics such as repetition, appeal to self-interest, source credibility and timeliness. In order for Johnson & Johnson’s advertisements to be remembered, it repeatedly used the slogan of, “Having a Baby Changes Everything.” By repeating this slogan in each of the advertisements, the company hopes for viewers to remember it’s familiarity with having children. The advertisements also appeal to self-interest. In “Frogs,” Johnson & Johnson show how poker night was once the most appealing, but after having a baby, it is ‘boys night in,’ you look forward to. Fathers who feel the same will pay attention to this message since they can directly relate to it. In another advertisement entitled, “Hats,” it appeals to women who once spent hours trying to look glamorous, and now spend hours trying to look silly with their children. Likewise, women who can relate to this aspect of having a baby will be drawn to this commercial because it captures the exact feeling they experience.
Johnson & Johnson also made sure to use clear, simple advertisements. Each advertisement is less than a minute long and contains a simple message. ‘Before having a baby, you are the center of your universe. That changes dramatically when a baby comes into your life.’ (www.johnsonsbaby.com/learning_place/babycare/bathing/bath time) Instead of having a long complex commercial, the persuasive message is simply expressed in a direct fashion. Each advertisement contains one primary idea. “Doorway” portrays how gaining weight can be glorious. “Animal Sounds” portrays how reading with your child can be better than reading the sports page. Through the creation of many short commercials, Johnson & Johnson is able to touch on many different aspects of having children in a straightforward manner. Timing is another characteristic, however in this case, the advertisements may appeal to others while excluding people who are not new parents. Therefore, the element of timeliness can be applied limitedly.
I believe that this advertising campaign is overall effective in the objectives of Johnson & Johnson. Through the use of repetition, self-interest and clarity, the advertisements are catchy, memorable and effortless to understand. It encompasses all methods of persuasion that need be. However, since Johnson & Johnson is a long-time organization and prominent in the healthcare world, there was no need to include source credibility in the commercials.
Johnson & Johnson incorporated their objective of emotionally bonding with consumers through the use of its advertisements. According to a press release, these advertisements were aired during regular primetime programs as well as during specials such as the World Ice Challenge, U2 concert, and holiday events. Each of these shows targets different age groups, therefore the campaign is able to attract all sorts of people. This guarantees strong message penetration. Johnson & Johnson also greatly benefits by being such a well-known organization. People who watch commercials in order to support their predispositions, are able to reinforce their positive views about Johnson & Johnson’s baby products. The problem of self-selection is not present in this case. It is also difficult for people to perceive the advertisements in different ways due to the simple direct manner of the commercials.
Johnson & Johnson took all the necessary steps in making sure their advertising campaign, “Having a Baby Changes Your Life,” succeeds and reaches a wide audience. They were effectively persuasive by using clear commercials with repeated slogans, and avoiding any limitations such as lack of message penetration or self-selection. With the creation of ten individual commercials containing the same message, it is hard not to believe that Johnson & Johnson is knowledgeable and helpful when it comes to children. This campaign was flawless, with the use of minimal words in order to prove a great deal.
Disclaimer
The above essay was written by a college student and merely states opinions by a college student. However, if you feel strong about responding to the opinions stated, please write to articles@directorym.com and express your concerns.
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