86. There are two traditional advertising tactics for promoting a product, event, 9 ?' F) W! C$ O1 r
candidate, or point of view. One is to provide reasons; the other is to bypass reasons
) ~: ~" u- q& X% j: ^5 E- ~6 Caltogether and appeal strictly to emotion. Considered in isolation, emotional appeals are
% r# M/ E. N- A) M$ [2 R! bfar more effective. But many of the most influential ads combine slim reasons with & K3 K9 }+ w* T$ v
powerful appeals to emotion.$ V4 F3 E% r4 C/ f
To appreciate the power of emotional appeals we need only consider the 8 a- U( J( F2 g3 V6 r& x
promotion of sodas, beer, cigarettes, cosmetics and so on. This advertising is the most 1 D. @+ b- C2 \2 b9 ~& I. }# f+ w
successful in the industry; and it trades almost exclusively on the manipulation of our
% _# L ?) @# ~4 Y/ |( bdesires, fears and senses of humor. In fact, it wouldn't make sense to offer up arguments,
) }! N; w' g1 Q* V, l% lbecause there really aren't any good reasons for consuming such products.
4 Z7 O) b! {! K( U& }' R/ X Even so, some of these products are advertised with at least superficial reasoning. $ l5 L4 L4 w& t6 V/ S
For instance, in the promotion of facial moisturizers it has become popular to use the
9 f/ C! J4 E6 b* U' himage of a youthful woman with fresh, unlined skin along with the claim that the
7 r* _1 y9 h$ y- q2 [product "car reduce the signs of aging." This is indeed a reason, but a carefully couched & }* N; _2 h- L {/ b% w% b5 \' U4 \" H
one that never really states that product users will look younger. Still, countless middle-
, u7 w9 v9 p8 Uaged women will pay twice as much for products that add this claim to the expected & B" R# p9 f5 k2 C
image of youthfulness that trades on their fears of growing old.
% @. Y8 q* X5 c One of the most clever and ironic combined uses of reason and emotion is seen in * m6 Z) a; f r( E
the old Volvo slogan, "Volvo, the car for people who think." The suggested reason for . l! i1 U7 \3 m
buying the car is obvious: it is the intelligent choice. But the emotional snare is equally $ L/ b r( v( \" c5 H3 u7 a0 p
clear; the ad appeals to one's desire to be included in the group of intelligent, thoughtful $ Y/ w: _5 P2 X( O) Q
people.
/ y8 l" I8 L" ?+ O, }* } In conclusion. I agree that appeals to emotion are more powerful tools than
' F, z. ]# T' }) \9 x1 j0 barguments or reasoning for promoting products. It is no coincidence that advertising ; B$ f5 s; w8 h
agencies hire professional psychologists, but not logicians. Still, in my view the most
5 S# N' r+ l9 tinfluential advertisements mix in a bit of reasoning as well. |