Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [136]
Each of three groups of 100 11th-graders was divided such that half the students read the original version and half read one of the new versions. They then wrote down everything that they could remember. The students who read the text-linguist version comprehended 2 percent more than those who read the original version; those who read the version by the composition instructors comprehended 2 percent less. In contrast, those who read the interesting Time/Life-editor version comprehended 40 percent more.
7.5. Tone
Tone refers to the connotations of words and to the relationship that you wish to develop with the audience.
7.5.1. Use a calm tone for high-involvement products with strong arguments
You have to be noticed, but the art is getting noticed
naturally without screaming or without tricks.
Leo Burnet, 1950s
The use of a calm tone can be achieved in print by avoiding attention-getting devices such as exclamation marks, all capitals, bold fonts, and large fonts. For sound media, it is achieved by avoiding loud music or sounds, extreme variations in tone, fast talking, and many scene cuts. For all media, a calm tone calls for moderate language.
Shouting disrupts thinking; therefore, it should not be used for high-involvement brands with strong arguments. In addition, shouting can disrupt counter-arguing and could lead customers to make poor decisions. While shouting can gain attention, it might not capture the attention of those in the target market. Furthermore, it may detract from a quality image for the brand, and also from the media. For example, Google AdWords prohibits the use of capital letters and exclamation marks in headlines.
Evidence on effects of a calm tone
This principle is based primarily on received wisdom.
In a lab experiment using an ad for banking services, 221 subjects were randomly assigned to hear a calm tone or an intense tone. Some of the subjects were assigned to a high-involvement condition (student loan) while others were assigned to a low-involvement situation (ATM machine usage). Consistent with this principle, under high involvement, a calm (low-intensity) approach led to a better attitude toward the advertised service (Gèlinas-Chebat and Chebat 1996).
7.5.2. Do not violate tastes or standards
Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your own family to read.
David Ogilvy, 1963
A 1989 Chiat/Day ad showed two young men, one wearing Reebok sneakers and the other wearing Nike, doing a bungee jump off a bridge. After they have finished their leap, we see that the Reebok lad did fine. As for the other, we see the rope tied to an empty pair of sneakers. The ad closes with a voice-over about better-fitting sneakers; however, the shock of the ad overwhelms the message. Reebok stopped using the commercial after immediate complaints from viewers. I suspect that the ad also annoyed bungee operators and Nike.
Taste is a key concern when there is uncertainty about the sensitivities of the target market, and when people outside the target market will encounter the ad. Tastes differ greatly within a culture, across cultures, and across time. A 1919 Odorno under-arm deodorant ad, “Within the curve of a woman’s arm, a frank discussion of a subject too often avoided,” so outraged many subscribers to the Ladies Home Journal that they canceled their subscriptions.
Tastes and standards are often enforced by legal restrictions. For example, U.S. First Amendment rights of free speech do not apply for commercial purposes. Thus, while you have the right to say, “Ice cream is good for you,” the state can prohibit you from advertising that “Smith’s ice cream is good for you.” This has not always been the case. Free speech applied to advertising in the United States until 1942, when a court case ruled that freedom of speech does not apply when