Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [92]
In another lab experiment, in which 261 students viewed cellphone ads, indirect conclusions were relatively more effective when there were strong arguments for the brand (Martin, Lang, and Wong 2003/4).
Print ads for CD players were shown to 192 subjects. The ads contained either explicit or implicit conclusions. Highly involved subjects were more likely to infer omitted conclusions, and when they did, they reported more favorable brand attitudes (Kardes 1988).
In an experimental study of reactions to 16 advertising slogans, subjects were more likely to question direct claims. As a result, they had less confidence in the direct claims than indirect claims (Harris et al. 1989).
5.10. Innuendoes
Innuendoes involve raising questions or possibilities that suggest relationships. The idea is to present an idea in such a way that the recipient does not counter-argue.
I was presenting testimony as an expert witness for the plaintiff. A lawyer for the defendant was cross-examining me: “Professor Armstrong, how much were you paid by the client to date?” A: “Over $60,000.” He paused for effect, then went to a different issue. He was, of course, using an innuendo to suggest that I will say whatever the client pays me to say. But he cannot actually say this because I am waiting with my counter-arguments, such as to explain all of the care that went into designing and running our experiments and the need to be involved with all aspects of the research. Lawyers quickly learn the value of innuendoes.
Innuendoes can also be presented visually. Visual innuendoes can convey ideas that would be inappropriate to describe in words. It might be inappropriate to say that a product will help consumers gain power, status, or sex appeal, but visuals can imply this. As Earnest Calkins, an ad agency president in the early 1900s, stated: “A picture can say things that no advertiser could say in words and retain his self-respect.”
Innuendoes are especially effective when the credibility of the source is high.
5.10.1. Use positive innuendoes when there is some basis
A direct claim such as, “Nike shoes help Michael Jordan to jump high,” might lead to counter-arguing. Also, it might not be true. Nike’s actual ad used an innuendo. It showed Michael Jordan wearing Nike shoes and defying gravity while dunking a basketball with the headline, “Michael Jordan 1, Isaac Newton 0.”
Positive innuendoes can be used to express seller’s aspirations and their high view of themselves. Because innuendoes do not explicitly make arguments, customers are less likely to make counter-arguments when a positive innuendo is used.
A 1963 Bernbach TV commercial for Volkswagen allowed viewers to draw their own conclusions about the product:
Early on a cold winter morning, a man leaves his house, and trudges through the snow. The headlights go on, an engine starts, and his Volkswagen Beetle navigates through the snow. A male voice-over asks, “Have you ever wondered how the man who drives the snowplow drives to the snowplow? This one drives a Volkswagen. So now you can stop wondering.”
In 2002, Pfizer ran a TV ad campaign for Viagra showing a confident-looking man who was praised by his friends for various changes (e.g., “new haircut, Bob?”). The ad implied a benefit, but never overtly stated it (Slate, August 12, 2002). Also, by using an innuendo to imply a benefit, Pfizer was able to avoid the U.S. federal requirement that side-effects be stated when benefits are mentioned.
In September 2006, I received a free sample of Dove’s “Calming Night” Soap, which was provided “in partnership with the National Sleep Foundation.” It gave advice on how to get a good night’s sleep, such as, “Relax with a warm evening shower,” but it did not suggest using