Buyology - Martin Lindstrom [37]
In other words, the tobacco companies’ efforts to link “innocent images”—whether of the American West, purple silk, or sports cars—with smoking in our subconscious minds have paid off big time. They have succeeded in bypassing governments’ regulations by creating stimuli powerful enough to replace traditional advertising. And in fact, they’ve even managed to enlist the help of governments all over the world; by banning tobacco advertising, governments are unwittingly helping to promote the deadly behavior they seek to eliminate.
For me, these results were a revelation. I speak at an enormous number of conferences every year, all around the globe. At each and every one, I’m exposed to literally hundreds of logos displayed on the walls, on brochures, on bags, on pens, and that’s just for starters. For companies, the logo is regarded as king, the be-all and end-all of advertising. But as our study had just shown with what my research team assured me was 99 percent scientific certainty, the logo was, if not dead, then certainly on life support; that the thing we thought was most powerful in advertising was in fact the least so. Because, as our study had proved, far more potent than any cigarette logo were images associated with smoking, whether it was a red sports car or an aura of romantic solitude against a backdrop of the American Rockies.
So what are the least powerful ads in prompting you to smoke? Tobacco ads without warning disclaimers. Followed by ads with warning disclaimers—which make the ads all that more enticing—then merchandising (ashtrays, hats, you-name-it). More powerful still was the subliminal imagery, particularly the Formula 1/NASCAR race association. It’s a little scary to find out that what we thought had the least to do with smoking is actually the most effective in making us want to smoke, and that the logo—what advertisers and companies have long endowed with almost mythic powers—in fact works the least well.
Can you imagine a world without logos? No headlines. No taglines. Can you imagine wordless ads that you could look at and know immediately what brand they were selling? Many companies, like Abercrombie & Fitch and Ralph Lauren, and as we’ve just seen, Philip Morris, have already begun to use logo-free advertising, and to great effect, too. In the future, many brands will follow suit. So remember, subliminal messages are out there. Don’t let yourself—and your wallet—fall prey to them.
WHEN YOU GET dressed in the morning, do you always put your left shoe on first? When you go to the mall, do you always park in the same section of the parking lot, even though there are closer spots elsewhere? Do you have a lucky pen you always take to important meetings at work? Do you fearfully refuse to open an umbrella indoors? If so, you’re not alone. In the next chapter, we’re going to take a look at the extent to which rituals and superstitions govern our “rational” lives—and how most of the time, we don’t even notice it.
5
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?
Ritual, Superstition, and Why We Buy
LET’S PRETEND WE’RE AT a beachfront bar in Acapulco, enjoying the mellow ocean breeze. Two ice-cold Coronas coming right up, along with two slices of lime. We give the limes a squeeze, then stick them inside the necks of our bottles, tip the bottles upside down until the bubbles begin to get that nice fizz, and take a sip. Cheers.
But first, let me pester you with a multiple choice question. The Corona beer-and-lime ritual we just performed—any idea how that might have come about? A) Drinking beer with a lime wedge is simply the way Latino cultures quaff their Coronas, as it enhances the beer’s taste. B) The ritual derives from an ancient Mesoamerican habit designed to combat germs,