Source: Kover and Abruzzo, 1993
Advertisers strive to engage consumers through their choice of message tone. Some of the most common emotional appeals focus on fear, humor and self-idealization. The use of fear as a motivation in advertising places emphasis on the severity of the threat. Zeitlin and Westwood (1986) found that fear appeals range in intensity from mild to severe. Their research suggests that in order to be most effective (not just attention getting), fear-based messages should present a mild to moderate threat and provide a do-able solution. If the fear instilled is either too severe or not followed up with a reasonable solution, the viewer will not be able to surmount his/her sense of dread and process the advertising message. In a similar vein, negative ads (ads in which the viewer is exposed to annoying or unpleasant creative content) can also be effective if the negative technique is used to promote a product benefit. This situation is often referred to as the "love that product, hate that ad" syndrome (Zeitlin and Westwood, 1986) and has been used to describe Charmin's Mr. Whipple and Wisk's Ring Around the Collar campaigns.
Humor is another frequently used emotional technique which must be employed with caution (Kover, Goldberg and James, 1995). Some advertisers view humor as a can't lose method for enticing viewers into paying attention to the message. However, it is important that the humorous creative technique does not result in a loss of product message. Research by Kover, Goldberg and James (1995) indicates that in most cases, humor has little on viewers' interpretations of advertising effectiveness.
In accordance with the theory that consumers choose brands to fulfill both rational and emotional needs, it is not surprising to discover that ads which evoke notions of personal enhancement have been found to be highly effective (Kover, Goldberg and James, 1995). Messages that play to consumers' desires for achievement of the ideal self arouse high levels of message empathy and, in turn, ad liking and purchase desire. Nike's "Just Do It" campaign is a prime example of successful advertising based on consumers' desire to achieve the ideal self.
Researchers use a variety of verbal, visual and physiological response tools to measure consumers' emotional responses to advertising. Verbal measurement scales involve extensive adjective check lists which are often viewed as time consuming and lengthy for users to complete. Visual measurement tools include dial turning instruments and the Self Assessment Manikin (SAM). Morris (1995) supports the use of the SAM as an easier method for PAD (pleasure-arousal-dominance) measurement that commonly uses verbal listings. Finally, physiological response tools include the galvanic skin response meter and pupil dilation monitors which base emotional response levels on changes in the physical state of the viewer. These measurement tools provide the benefit of immediate response measurement, which in many cases, cuts through the clutter of respondent self-monitoring, a situation which may occur when using either verbal or visual measurement tools (Kover, Goldberg and James, 1995).
Decisions regarding advertising message tone can be divided into a number of consideration sets including informational/ transformational message, high/ low involvement and perceived risk, emotional/ rational benefits and congruency between product and message. In many instances, creative executions are developed by approaching the question, "Should our brand message cater to informational or transformational needs?". In the case of informational motives, the brand seeks to provide a solution to a problem, satisfaction where there is disappointment or reminder in case of shortage. Transformational motives are addressed when advertising elevates itself to a less information-driven, tangible level where brand messages fulfill sensory and social needs (Kover and Abruzzo, 1993). As the figure below shows, both motivational perspectives elicit emotions which may be felt by consumers.
Source: Kover and Abruzzo, 1993
Chaudhuri's (1998) studies on luxury and necessity items have yielded information on the relationship between high-involvement and low-involvement products, perceived risk and emotional experience. High-involvement purchase decisions often involve high levels of perceived risk, sending consumers into a state of increased information search. This suggests that informational motives should be addressed in advertising for many high-involvement products. Conversely, low-involvement decisions usually incorporate low levels of perceived risk. When developing message appeals for either high or low-involvement categories, it is important to know that perceived risk shares a direct, inverse relationship with emotional experience. That is to say that high perceived risk is decreased through positive emotional experiences, while low levels of perceived risk are increased when a person is in involved in a negative emotional experience. Advertisers' may attempt to influence opinions of perceived risk to their benefit by using a negative emotional approach to increase the perceived risk associated with brand switching in a low involvement category. Meanwhile, a high-involvement brand may employ a positive emotional message to lower the perceived risk of a consumer who is carefully studying brand alternatives.
Foote, Cone and Belding has developed a model called the Contingency Approach (Holbrook and O'Shaughnessy, 1984) as a guide for choosing whether to apply emotional or rational messages in their clients' advertising. The Contingency Approach states that emotional appeals should be made when promoting attitude changes towards feeling products like jewelry, cosmetic and fashions. Thinking products such as cars and furniture should employ rational messages, according to this model. It is important at this point to introduce the concept of congruency (Zeitlin and Westwood, 1986). Advertising congruency is achieved when the brand message is consonant with the tone of the advertising. When congruency is not achieved (for example, through misapplication of sex appeal or inappropriate choice of celebrity spokesperson) ads are often not liked and considered to be uncreative and not persuasive. Therefore, it is important to recognize the potential for exceptions to the Contingency Approach. Thinking aspects of fashion do exist, as do feeling aspects of cars. Advertisers who fail to understand this duality do so at their own risk.
Of course, the short answer is everyone. However, Stout and Rust (1993) found that females and older people are most easily persuaded by emotional advertising. These groups are more likely to feel empathy toward the situations presented in emotional ads and as a result, view the brand more favorably than those competitors advertising based upon rational appeals.
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