Q. What visual cues are being used to heighten interest in this product? 

A. This particular advertisement is visually activating a range of already well-developed sensory associations (sight, touch, smell, sound, taste). This is how each sense is activated:

Sight: This model looks like the candy itself – her hair is the color of the dark chocolate candy coating, her skin is milky white like the candy inside, and her eyes are mint green.

Touch: Because we see goose bumps on the model’s skin, there is a strong tactile quality to this ad. We don’t just “see” this attractive model eating candy; we can practically “feel” her eating it.

Smell: When we smell something good, the familiar and expected behavior is to close our eyes, which this model does to let us know her sense of smell is pleasantly aroused.

Sound: We also hear a “whooshing” sound and see wind blowing through the model’s hair. These are visual references to a brisk kind of freshness and to chilled air. This candy doesn’t just look, feel, and smell good: it sounds good too (and will blow your hair back).

Taste: All of these visual references are designed to direct our attention to a taste sensation…we “visually” taste the candy at the same time the model does. The visual cues are so strong and direct (and well-constructed) that we are able to connect with the exact flavor profile of this product – based, interestingly enough, on watching someone else eat it.

There are also visual hints that indicate that this candy is being eaten surreptitiously – she looks both ways before unwrapping the foil, bites her lip and quickly eats the last piece, making the experience of watching her eat it all the more exciting, because we become voyeurs to her private, sensual experience.