To create the necessary illusion of superiority, advertisers usually resort to different basic techniques. In this advertisement we are being asked to believe that this shampoo, Head and Shoulders, will stop dandruff. There is no definite evidence that proves that Head and Shoulders will completely stop dandruff. In this advertisement there are words or claims that appear substantial upon first look but disintegrate into hollow meaninglessness once we analyze. If we take the advertisement apart we come up with these words that stand out. The words include "helps control," and possibly even "symptoms" and "regular use." The claim is not "stops dandruff." "Helps Control" is a modifier that practically negates the claim that follows. If advertising claims that their product is truly superior, the ad will say it so very clearly and will offer some kind of convincing evidence of the superiority. If an ad hedges the least bit about a product's advantage over the competition you can strongly suspect it is not superior--may be equal to but not better. In this ad there is no evidence that Head and Shoulders will completely stop dandruff, actually there is no evidence that it can even prevent the start of dandruff, they are simply trying to sell their product to the viewers. Some additional evidence that would help evaluate the alternatives is if the ad simply said "Head and Shoulders stops dandruff" and they had physical evidence that was proven by someone that it really does stop dandruff. The whole point of an advertisement is to sell their product, and the way advertises choose to sell their product is by adding in extra words to make it sound like their product is simply superior over others. We as viewers have to analyze each ad, to see what persuasive techniques an advertiser will use to bring us in.
