Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [130]
7.1.3. Consider cultural values when formulating arguments
Almost all of the research that I present is this book is free of cultural differences. However, it would seem that cultural values might affect which arguments are most persuasive to a group. And it does help to tailor ads to cultural differences. But there are two problems. First, the effects are small, perhaps because diversity of values within groups is large. And second, it is difficult to tailor arguments to different cultural groups. To date, the most promising distinction has been that some people are more persuaded by arguments that focus on individualism (e.g., “make more money”) while other people are more persuaded by arguments based on collectivism (e.g., “make this a better community”). In sum, principles are of little help in this area.
Evidence on tailoring arguments to different cultural values
A meta-analysis of 67 experimental studies found that ads that were adapted to cultural values were more persuasive than those not so adapted. However, the effect size was not large and the effects were due mostly to studies on individualism versus collectivism (Hornikx and O’Keefe 2009).
7.2. Clarity
[Advertising] … is the most exciting, the most arduous literary form of all, the
most difficult to master, the most pregnant in curious possibilities.
Aldous Huxley, 1927
Advertising experts call for clear prose. But despite advertisers’ efforts to write clearly, many people misunderstand ads.
One reason for miscomprehension is that people typically race through ads. This is satisfactory if they are already familiar with the content. However, fast exposure harms comprehension when the material is new or unexpected. This was shown in a study in which graduates of a speed-reading course were asked to read materials in which alternate lines were taken from two unrelated sources. Upon completing their reading of this nonsensical document, many speed-readers failed to notice that they were reading two unrelated documents; they claimed they understood the material (Ehrlich 1963).
To assess the amount of miscomprehension on TV, an examination was made of 38 commercials and 22 program excerpts, all 30 seconds long, which was the full length of the commercials. Two segments were viewed by each of 2,700 people at 12 testing sites in the United States. After viewing, the subjects took six-item true–false tests to assess comprehension. Only 17 percent of the viewers were able to correctly answer all six questions about a communication. On average, the miscomprehension of program excerpts, at 32 percent, was a bit higher than the 28 percent for the commercials (Jacoby and Hoyer 1982). A reanalysis of these data corrected for guessing and concluded that, on average, viewers understood only about 46 percent of TV messages (Schmittlein and Morrison 1983).
To assess print ads, Beltramini and Brown (1994) combined findings from two of Jacoby’s studies with those from another study, to obtain a comprehension rate of almost 80 percent. As with TV, print ads were easier to understand than the typical magazine article (Jacoby and Hoyer 1989).
7.2.1. Use simple prose for high-involvement products with strong arguments
When the arguments are strong, clear text in an ad can increase understanding and persuasiveness. This is especially important for high-involvement products. Otherwise, clear writing is not needed. In fact, it might harm persuasion. For example, if an ad has a weak argument, a clear explanation would make this apparent, especially for high-involvement