You don’t wear a certain type of jeans because they’re ‘so you’. You do it because you have a positive association with them. It could be for style, comfort, or even the general impression you’re trying to give the world. All that matters is that you have a desirable affiliation. And if you do, you’ll wear the jeans.
We rely on our emotions to make virtually all our decisions. The ones within our control, at least. Emotions decide what we want. A study found that the execution of ad content didn’t really impact the effectiveness of the emotional response, so basically, a crappy ad that hits someone right in the feels will still be highly regarded. We’re just not making the logical, informed decisions we think we are when watching adverts, we’re relying on our feelings to determine if we like the product.
And we associate everything. Anything could remind us of something else. Brands are no different. “Ad-evoked feelings make brands likable.” We know this. If we feel good while watching an ad, that feeling mixes in with the product. Did you get that warm, fuzzy feeling watching that puppy play with those newly washed sheets? The product, laundry detergent, could be shown for a split second, and only to create the association. Yet still, the association is made and we want the product.
No one wants to buy from a brand they have a negative association with. And the joy an advert brings spreads beyond just the ad, the product, and even brand can be interwoven with feeling. Adverts can aid in building positive brand association, if adverts from a brand consistently evoke certain favourable emotions eventually consumers will relate them with the whole brand.
Guilt is a powerful emotion. But so is desire. It’s been found that we are less likely to buy something we view as unethical, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t. It just means that if we do, we’re gonna feel guilty. An advert needs to be powerful enough to persuade consumers into a purchase from an overpowering desire that can block out any feelings of guilt. At least until after the product’s consumed. Luckily our favourite products tend to be the ones we view as the most reprehensible. It is “suggested that consumers often feel the guiltiest about the things that afford them the greatest pleasure.”
Emotions control us. We like to think we’re logical, almost computer-like beings, but we’re not. “Emotional reactions function as the gatekeeper for further cognitive and behavioral reactions.” Strong emotions can even impair our cognitive function, rendering decision-making a lot more limited. We just don’t have as much control as we like to think we do.
We tend to think that emotions can make us irrational, but one study suggests quite the opposite, that they are actually the key to rational thinking. We are our emotions. There isn’t a logical part of us and an emotional one, they are intertwined. We can try and get all the facts and figures and make as much of a strategical decision as possible but it won’t erase the underlying influence of how we feel. All of this suggests triggering strong emotions is more than a little crucial in advertising.
Adverts elicit emotional responses in heaps of different ways but whatever your reaction may be all that matters is that you liked the feeling. You could laugh, smile, or maybe even cry. Just as long as you’re on the lookout for that feeling again, the advert hit the mark. To you, it hit home.
References
Kemp, E & Bui, M & Chapa, S, The Role of Advertising in Consumer Emotion Management, International Journal of Advertising,© 2012 Advertising Association, pp. 343
Poels, K, How to capture the heart? Reviewing 20 years of emotion measurement in advertising, Dept. of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, pp. 3
Geuens, M & De Pelsmacker, P & Tuan Pham, M, Do Pleasant Emotional Ads Make Consumers Like Your Brand More? Emotional Ads / Vol. 6, No. 1, 2014, pp. 41 - 42
