86. There are two traditional advertising tactics for promoting a product, event, ( j6 \1 x4 t! G
candidate, or point of view. One is to provide reasons; the other is to bypass reasons
9 t! s" ?( j. p. paltogether and appeal strictly to emotion. Considered in isolation, emotional appeals are ' B/ n; m$ s5 i8 b, g6 {/ M
far more effective. But many of the most influential ads combine slim reasons with + E# s$ w' X. W4 I
powerful appeals to emotion.9 F; e# V" b0 c: O4 V
To appreciate the power of emotional appeals we need only consider the , j2 w, e2 O; {' J; l
promotion of sodas, beer, cigarettes, cosmetics and so on. This advertising is the most + L* z. R; k6 z
successful in the industry; and it trades almost exclusively on the manipulation of our
! _# `) B0 d# Ddesires, fears and senses of humor. In fact, it wouldn't make sense to offer up arguments,
9 @- c3 W4 x# Z- ]because there really aren't any good reasons for consuming such products.
9 `7 \# S& o8 A Even so, some of these products are advertised with at least superficial reasoning.
4 T* S( k" j7 L& K3 `! M+ X" n0 ^- EFor instance, in the promotion of facial moisturizers it has become popular to use the - u) X5 N! K" i9 U
image of a youthful woman with fresh, unlined skin along with the claim that the 8 T W! Y; Z1 u X( b/ |' c
product "car reduce the signs of aging." This is indeed a reason, but a carefully couched
6 w& x1 ]# h6 x! xone that never really states that product users will look younger. Still, countless middle-7 y7 ]8 [9 [. Y ^0 K M K
aged women will pay twice as much for products that add this claim to the expected
1 l3 i$ c' Z; l( h- a; Aimage of youthfulness that trades on their fears of growing old., n$ c0 L/ _: \& ?. R# D
One of the most clever and ironic combined uses of reason and emotion is seen in
* R g& Z, ^5 @0 C( dthe old Volvo slogan, "Volvo, the car for people who think." The suggested reason for
6 y# A8 Z, Q6 f1 }2 rbuying the car is obvious: it is the intelligent choice. But the emotional snare is equally
; E( ^' t2 q) @clear; the ad appeals to one's desire to be included in the group of intelligent, thoughtful
. N5 y3 L0 q3 ~% z" |: K7 Y$ h+ ]people.$ ^5 B, N) f2 u
In conclusion. I agree that appeals to emotion are more powerful tools than
* B' e' I) K; C3 U3 j2 n. W4 u( darguments or reasoning for promoting products. It is no coincidence that advertising ! q1 j- ~+ i6 R. s K8 O
agencies hire professional psychologists, but not logicians. Still, in my view the most
6 @3 r' {# \ n% [6 k% J: ?2 Z. rinfluential advertisements mix in a bit of reasoning as well. |