Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [132]
7.2.2. Avoid negative words
Both sides in the abortion debate use positive terms to express their position: “pro-choice” and “pro-life.” They do not do this, however, when referring to the other side’s position. For another example, those who favor taxes on people when they die call it an “estate tax.” Those who oppose it call it a “death tax.”
Negative words have negative connotations. Consider this headline for a 1994 print ad by Oldsmobile, “If you expect to be hassled, hounded and haggled in our showroom, expect to be disappointed.” (Oldsmobile produced automobiles up to 2004.)
Claims often sound more authoritative when negatives are used. Advertisers, lawyers, doctors, bureaucrats, and academics do this. Consider this statement from an academic journal: “Significantly fewer [advertisers] disagree humor is not effective at gaining yielding or gaining intention to purchase.” However, they make the message more difficult to understand.
Negative words can be persuasive if used to announce that a common belief is wrong. To attract attention, this announcement should come early in an ad. For example, an ad for JFM 102.2 Radio in London said: “Annoy the neighbors. Turn it down.” In this case, the negative approach might lead customers to think about the implications.
Negative words can gain attention if they surprise, as was the case for Bernbach’s VW ad with the headline, “Lemon.” Why would an automaker call one of its cars a lemon? As the ad explained, a team of inspectors caught this defective car before it left the factory.
Advertisers generally avoid negative words. In our WAPB analysis, of the 480 tested full-page print ads by leading U.S. firms, 84 percent avoided negative words in the headlines and 89 percent avoided them in the text. For example, in lieu of “contains no caffeine,” use “caffeine-free.” Good slogans also tend to avoid negative words. AdAge.com’s “Top ten slogans of the century” includes only one with a negative word, Clairol’s “Does she … or doesn’t she?”
Evidence on the effects of negative words
Our analyses of quasi-experimental data on print ads supported this principle. The first analysis refers to negative words in the headlines of an ad and the second to the text:
Print ads with negative words in the headlines harmed recall and persuasion, except when refuting common beliefs. In our WAPB analysis there were 16 pairs of ads in which negative words were used in the headlines, but did not refute popular beliefs. The negatively worded headlines had only 0.65 times as much recall.
There were six pairs in which one ad used negative words to refute common beliefs, and the other used only positive words. Here the headlines with negative words had 1.67 times better recall.
Print ads without negative words had better recall. Our WAPB analysis found 26 pairs of ads in which one ad avoided negative words, while the other did not. For example, an ad for a Ford Extended Service Plan that included only positive words had a recall score that was more than twice that of another ad for the same product that said, “How to buy a used car without kicking yourself later.” Ads without negative words in the body text had 1.31 times better recall than the ads with negative words.
We analyzed non-experimental data from WAPB. In comparison with the industry norms for each ad, the average persuasion score for the 184 ads that avoided negative words in the text was 9 percent higher than the comparable score for the 37 ads with negative words.
7.3. Forceful text
Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committed language. Rule 12.
William Strunk, Jr., The Elements of Style, 1918
Forceful or powerful language connotes confidence. Powerless language invites counter-arguments.