Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [119]
6.11.1. Consider mild puffery
Mild puffery can be persuasive when advertising for low-involvement, credence, or hedonic products.
Mild puffery is often beneficial for customers. They might get more enjoyment because the puffery can create the anticipation of a good experience. It is also good that suppliers are enthusiastic about their brand because this might lead them to try harder.
Evidence on the effects of puffery
In an experiment on the effect of exaggeration, 220 subjects were shown a full-page B&W magazine ad for a ballpoint pen. Two levels of exaggeration were used, after which the subjects sampled the pens. Greatly exaggerated claims led to lower intentions to purchase than did mild puffery (Marks and Kamins 1988).
In a non-experimental study, five TV commercials for national brands were shown to a sample of 100 subjects. They contained a total of 13 claims, such as “Ponds Cold Cream keeps skin soft and young.” On average, the subjects believed half of the puffery claims (Rotfeld and Rotzoll 1980).
6.12. Questions
I was sitting in a lecture and struggling to stay awake. Then the lecturer asked a question. It jolted me awake. The lecturer then went on to answer his own question. According to Zillman and Cantor (1973), my experience was not unusual. Their experiment involved providing the same lecture content in two different ways; some subjects heard statements while others heard rhetorical questions. The rhetorical questions led to more involvement and learning when subjects were tired, bored or distracted.
Questions come in four forms, according to Areni (2003). Using an advertisement for Glidden paints, he illustrated them:
• Rhetorical: A rhetorical question is phrased such that no answer is expected: “Isn’t it obvious that Glidden offers better service than any other company?”
• Directives are implied orders phrased as questions: “Why don’t you carry Glidden in your stores?”
• Concessions begin with an interrogatory word and suggest that any other option than the one mentioned is foolish: “Why would you carry any other brand?”
• Tag questions are declarative statements followed by a short phrase: “Glidden offers better customer service than any other company, doesn’t it?”
The type of question is important, yet we have little evidence on how to use each most effectively. An analysis of over 2,500 TV commercials found that 31 percent contained questions (Howard 1990).
6.12.1. Use product-related questions only if you have good answers
When questions are used, they should be related to the product. In addition, they should only be used when there are answers that support the ad’s message. The idea is to get people to think about the benefits of the product. Without good answers, questions are expected to be of little value.
Evidence on the effects of product-related rhetorical questions
In a lab experiment, 160 University of Missouri undergraduates, working individually, evaluated radio commercials that dealt with a proposal stating that comprehensive examinations should be required for graduation. In the low-involvement condition, the message was of little interest to the students because it related to a different college and it would take place ten years in the future. In the high-involvement group, the changes would take place next year at the University of Missouri; thus, it would affect them:
The bold font in the above table shows the best strategies depended on the level of involvement. For low-involvement decisions, rhetorical questions lead people to think about the strong arguments. For high-involvement products, statements were more effective. Apparently, if consumers are already highly involved, and the arguments are strong, they will already be inclined to think about the information. Thus, according to this study, use questions when people are not thinking much, and when