Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [63]
Print ads that did not mix rational and emotional appeals had better recall. Our WAPB analysis found 50 pairs of print ads in which one ad had either rational or emotional appeal while the other ad used both rational and emotional appeals. Recall for ads that did not mix the appeals was 1.24 times better than the ads that mixed them.
Turning to non-experimental data, an analysis of 80 automobile ads found that recall for ads using either a rational or emotional appeal yielded better recall than did ads that used both types of appeals (Mehta and Purvis 2006).
Eye-tracking studies of 190 subjects as they watched Dutch TV commercials found that people were overwhelmed when both emotion and information were present, and were more likely to fast-forward through such ads (Elpers, Wedel, and Pieters 2003).
TV commercials containing “a balance of rational and emotional appeals” were lower on comprehension and much below average with respect to persuasion in comparison with commercials that did not contain such a balance (Stewart and Furse 1986).
3.2. Trust
The best ways for an advertiser to gain trust are to tell the truth and to honor promises. This is especially important when a firm is seeking long-term relationships with customers. There is nothing new about this. Adam Smith said:
The success of most people … depends upon … the opinion of their neighbors and equals: and without a tolerably regular conduct these can very seldom be obtained. The good old proverb, therefore, that honesty is always the best policy [is] almost always perfectly true.
3.2.1. Sign an ethical standards statement for each ad
“If you want to sell product, you should tell the truth about the product
… stick to the truth, and that means rectifying whatever’s wrong with the
merchant’s business. If the truth isn’t tellable, fix it so it is.”
John E. Powers, Wanamaker copywriter, 1880
Volvo showed in a 1990 TV commercial how its cars could withstand the force of being run over by a monster truck, while other cars were crushed. The slogan was “Volvo, a car you can believe in.” When it became public knowledge that the Volvo car had been fitted with reinforcement beams for the filming of the ad, Volvo’s credibility was damaged. The agency that created the ad resigned from the account, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission fined Volvo, and Volvo took out full-page ads in national newspapers to apologize.
Truth and honesty are vital for advertising, especially for organizations that desire continuing relationships. Most advertisers agree. Still, we know that some lying occurs, so the key issue is how to reduce the likelihood of dishonest advertising. Moreover, it is important to avoid even the appearance that advertisers lie.
Harvard Business Review subscribers were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, “In general, advertisements do not present a true picture of the product advertised.” Half agreed that it was accurate (Greyser and Diamond 1974). A series of Roper Organization surveys for the period from 1973 through 1983 found consistent answers to the question of whether we can be confident we are getting the truth in most advertising—about half were “Not at all confident.” A 2005 U.S. Gallup poll asked people to rate the honesty and ethical standards of people engaged in 20 occupations; advertisers ranked next to last.
In the early days of advertising, truth was often ignored. For example, soon after tobacco was introduced to England in the middle of the 16th century by Sir John Hawkins, it was recommended as a treatment for toothaches, worms, bad breath, and cancer. Tobacco sellers continued to advertise health benefits up through the 1950s.
False statements are now