Today, in my consumer behavior class we were discussing
advertisements that are directed towards different emotions. I knew we would
probably watch commercials that made us laugh or smile, but I didn’t realize
the emphasis would be placed on advertisements that made us cry. Before I knew
it, my entire class was somber and choked up from watching commercials for soap
and batteries.
It’s called sadvertising, and it is taking over several
branding campaigns. Marketers have noted that commercials that cause you to cry
are more likely to be shared and spread through word-of-mouth. In essence, if a
marketer wants to make a video go viral, they just need to make an audience
cry. A few examples can be found on this page.
Part of the reason marketers are putting time into these ads
is because content marketing is the new buzzword. Marketers are trying to
create a story for their brand instead of just pushing product. Companies can
show their values and beliefs more efficiently through story telling, and it
makes the company seem more trustworthy and sincere.
This type of advertising is also very affective at getting
the audience to pay attention. We are constantly being pushed information and
advertisements, but when we see something with meaning and honesty we are
compelled to stop and watch. We also are then obliged to share it with all of
our friends.
Personally, the commercials I remember best involved tears
instead of laughter. Even more, the brands I think the most fond of have all had
sad advertisements. Do you think more highly of brands that made you cry during
a commercial as well? Hopefully, I won’t be crying in a classroom again anytime
soon, but I think this trend may stay for a while.
Meredith,
ReplyDeleteI think this idea of creating a persona for products is so interesting, and the practice has definitely been increasing over the past few years. Most of the time it simply seems companies are trying to tell a story rather than actually push their product but that's the genius behind this type of marketing. The commercials do both, they engage customers and they sell the product. Perhaps the first commercial that did this, made us cry, is the ASPCA with Sarah McLaughlin, I know I change the channel every time this commercial comes on. Great post!
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ReplyDeleteMeredith, even though I am a public relations major I have a particular interest in marketing and advertising. I think this new concept of content advertising and sadvertising is especially interesting based on my prior research and knowledge from other pr and communications courses. For example, last semester I did a huge research project about the barely dressed models that Calvin Klein uses to sell their clothing. I came across the term shockvertising in my research. The idea of shockvertising is that companies use concept that is so shocking in their ads that it works to sell products. Shock could be considered an emotion and I am actually not at all surprised that sadvertising is now all the rage. Dr. Kathie Fleck always says that it's not what you say, it's how you make people feel. No one likes feeling sad, however sadness is a very strong emotion and perhaps even stronger than joy or shock. Thanks for this post, I really enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post and the good cry. lol
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