Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [153]
The results of this study suggest that disclaimer labels, especially those which rely upon brief negative words such as “no” or “not,” will have little impact on the consumers’ mental states relating to secondary meaning, confusion, purchase preference or the perception of quality.
Based on two lab experiments, Mason, Scammon, and Fang (2007) concluded, “In general, the government-mandated disclaimer did not impact consumers’ beliefs about either the efficacy or the safety of dietary supplements.”
I was involved with experiments on the effect of a statutory disclaimer in order to provide evidence for a court case. Using mall intercepts in Florida, we showed two mock Yellow Pages advertisements for implant dentistry to each of 317 subjects, and asked them to say which dentist they would recommend to a friend who needed dental implants. In all cases, one of the two dentists’ advertisements included credentials from the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) and the other had no apparent qualifications specific to implant dentistry. Thus the latter dentist was, on the information available, not as qualified to perform implant dentistry. For half of the subjects, the AAID-credentialed dentist’s ad was accompanied by a statutory disclaimer. Of the subjects who did not receive the disclaimer, 13 percent recommended the less-qualified dentist, compared with 21 percent of those who saw the disclaimer. Thus, 1.6 times as many subjects made inferior decisions when they saw the disclaimer. The disclaimer was especially likely to mislead women and those without a college education (Armstrong and Green, 2010).
The tendency for confusion was supported by a lab experiment where 64 subjects rated “original” and “corrective” ads for Firestone Tires, Listerine mouthwash, Freihoffer’s bread, and Crown Petroleum. All of the materials were taken from U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proceedings. The statements judged as deceptive by the FTC were not relevant to the consumers’ decision; as a result they had little impact. However, by stating the limitations, the corrective ad enhanced credibility (Glassman and Pieper 1980).
Findings from analyses of non-experimental data also show that corrective advertising tends to confuse rather than clarify. A study involving corrective advertising for a mouthwash (Listerine) found that only 29 percent of the 83 subjects understood the corrective message. The effects were the same whether the ads were written by the FTC or by the company (Mazis and Adkinson 1976). In another study on ten corrective ads, there was a median miscomprehension rate of 61 percent (Russo, Metcalf, and Stephens 1981). An examination of corrective advertising for Excedrin versus Bufferin that was written by the FTC found that only 24 percent of the 45 respondents understood the message, while 40 percent were confused, and 36 percent misunderstood (Jacoby, Nelson, and Hoyer 1982).
Checklist 7 summarizes principles for crafting the message. These principles require creativity, skill—and effort. Copywriter Adrian Holes gave this advice: “You’ve completed your 15th draft. You finally sit back and say to yourself, yup, that’s good. Congratulations. Now tear it up and do it again. Only better. I told you this writing business was tough.”
Checklist 7 Message
7.1. Arguments
7.1.1. Use only strong arguments for high-involvement products.
7.1.2. Use positive arguments.
7.1.3. Consider cultural values when formulating arguments.
7.2. Clarity
7.2.1. Use simple prose for high-involvement products with strong arguments.
7.2.2. Avoid negative words.
7.3. Forceful text
7.3.1. Use specific words.
7.3.2. Use power words if they fit the product.
7.3.3. Use active rather than passive voice, unless the subject of the sentence is obvious.
7.4. Interesting text
7.4.1. Consider interesting writing.
7.5. Tone
7.5.1. Use a calm tone for high-involvement products with strong arguments.
7.5.2. Do not violate taste or standards.
7.5.3. Be cautious about using a personal tone.
7.6. Word selection
7.6.1. Use words with