Introduction to Advertising

Advertising Practices

MKTG 3809

Advertising Practices

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These materials have been adapted from the following OER resources:

Launch! Advertising and Promotion in Real Time by Solomon et al. 2009: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/launch-advertising-and-promotion-in-real-time

Principles of Marketing by Lumen Learning https://courses.lumenlearning.com/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016/

Introduction to Marketing by USG Ecore https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/home/2366486

MODULE 6 - Creative strategy – Developing effective ads

Effective promotional campaign starts with identifying the target audience and the objectives for the campaign. When advertising is part of a broader integrated marketing communications effort, it is important to consider the strategic role advertising will play relative to other marketing communication tools. With clarity around the target audience, campaign strategy, and budget, the next step is to develop the creative strategy for developing compelling advertising. The creative strategy has two primary components: the message and the appeal.

The message strategy requires answering the following questions:

• What message elements should the advertising convey to consumers?
• What should the key message be?
• What is the call to action?
• How should the brand promise be manifested in the ad?
• How will it position and differentiate the offering?

With advertising, it’s important to remember that the ad can communicate the message not only with words but also potentially with images, sound, tone, and style.

Along with message, the creative strategy also identifies the appeal, or how the advertising will attract attention and influence a person’s perceptions or behavior. Advertising appeals can take many forms, but they tend to fall into one of two categories: informational appeal and emotional appeal. We will discuss many more advertising appeals and message strategies later in this module.

Communications model

For most of history, advertisers talked to consumers—the traditional communications model was a one- way street. It was pretty simple, really: The source (such as an advertising agency) created a message (the advertisement) and selected the medium (newspaper, TV, outdoor, etc.) that carried it to the receiver (the consumer). The consumer may have given feedback to the source about the message (typically only indirectly, namely by buying the advertised product or service or not)—and of course she may have ignored it, just as people often do today—but the line of communication was clearly drawn. The producer called the shots and the message was univocal (one voice).

Figure 6.1. The Traditional Communications Model

Flash forward to a more dynamic—and chaotic—picture. Today, thanks to social media and mobile applications, advertising messages come from many sources simultaneously through different media that target different receivers (consumers, business partners, stockholders, even government officials). At the same time, receivers talk with one another and they may initiate their own communication with the sender, whether that organization wants to hear it or not.

The updated communications model is interactive, nonlinear, and multivocal (many voices). In addition, consumers now may choose to opt out of listening to a particular message—they often get to decide which messages they see or hear, and when. In the old days, opting out meant getting up to make a sandwich when a TV commercial came on, but today many of us have a lot more control to determine what messages will appear for us to consider in the first place (such as when you follow a specific influencer or company on Instagram). For marketers, this permission marketing strategy makes sense (even though some may be indignant that they’re losing control over the situation). The rationale is very simple: A message is more likely to persuade consumers who have agreed to listen to it in the first place.

Figure 6.1. A New Interactive, Nonlinear, Multivocal Communications Model

Seth Godin, founder of direct interactive marketing agency Yoyodyne (which Yahoo! later acquired) explains the importance of permission marketing: “We’re getting good at avoiding spam: e-mail spam, newspaper spam, TV spam, calling-me-at-home-over-dinner spam. The point of advertising shouldn’t be to interrupt more people who don’t want to talk to us.” To be heard above the noise, advertisers should seek permission from people to tell their story and begin a private, personal conversation that revolves around mutual interest and respect^[1].

Anatomy of an advertisement

Advertisements use several common elements to deliver the message. The visual is the picture, image, or situation portrayed in the advertisement. The visual also considers the emotions, style, or look-and-feel to be conveyed: should the ad appear tender, businesslike, fresh, or supercool? All of these considerations can be conveyed by the visual, without using any words.

The headline is generally what the viewer reads first—i.e., the words in the largest typeface. The headline serves as a hook for the appeal: it should grab attention, pique interest, and cause the viewer to keep reading or paying attention. In a radio or television ad, the headline equivalent might be the voice-over of a narrator delivering the primary message, or it might be a visual headline, similar to a print ad.

In print ads, a subhead is a smaller headline that continues the idea introduced in the headline or provides more information. It usually appears below the headline and in a smaller typeface. The body copy provides supporting information. Generally, it appears in a standard, readable font. The call to action may be part of the body copy, or it may appear elsewhere in a larger typeface or color treatment to draw attention to itself.

A variety of brand elements may also appear in an advertisement. These include the name of the advertiser or brand being advertised, the logo, a tagline, hashtag, Web site link, or other standard “branded” elements that convey brand identity. These elements are an important way of establishing continuity with other marketing communications used in the integrated marketing communication campaign or developed by the company. For example, print ads for a campaign might contain a campaign-specific tagline that also appears in television ads, Website content, and social media posts associated with the campaign.

Figure 6.2. Example – Hoover advertisement with ad elements shown

Copywriting

Copywriters create memorable and motivating text that will be spoken or written within the ad. Because short headlines and copy are generally more effective, copywriters must make each word contribute to the ad’s goals.

Ads use both words and images—indeed, all the senses. Achieving this result requires close cooperation within the creative team between copywriting and art direction.

The copywriter works with the art director to develop the concept for the ad. Copywriters must understand the meanings (both plain and hidden) behind words. For example, words like “new” are used a lot in ads because they capture our attention and pique our curiosity. Other words, such as “don’t miss” and “urgent,” arouse fear, while “how to” promises practical advice.

Words can convey facts, create musical poetry, re-create history, command action, plead, and paint pictures. Copywriting makes use of the language centers of the brain to instill emotion and create memories. “Fundamentally, I value a good combination of image and message in an eye-catching way. You want something that makes you say: ‘What’s going on here?’ The visual itself can be simple,” observes one marketing director^[2].

Copywriters also work on the pacing and sounds of words to reinforce the message and emotional tone.

For example, Apple Computer’s three-word “Rip. Mix. Burn.” campaign used a staccato of short imperative verbs that resonate with a fast-paced youth culture and create a subtext that Apple’s computers let you do these tasks very easily and quickly.

Advertisers structure commercials like other art forms; they borrow conventions from literature and art to communicate^[3]. Two important structures are dramas and lectures (you’re certainly familiar with that one!). A lecture is like a speech; the communicator addresses the audience directly to inform them about a product or persuade them to buy it. In contrast, a drama is similar to a play or movie. Whereas an argument holds the viewer at arm’s length, a drama draws the viewer into the action. The characters only indirectly address the audience; they interact with each other about a product or service in an imaginary setting. Dramas attempt to be experiential—to involve the audience emotionally.

Advertising creatives also rely (consciously or not) on literary devices to communicate these meanings. For example, characters like Mr. Goodwrench, the Jolly Green Giant, and Charlie the Tuna may personify a product or service. Many ads take the form of an allegory; a story about an abstract trait or concept that a person, animal, or vegetable stands for.

A metaphor places two dissimilar objects into a close relationship such that “A is B,” whereas a simile compares two objects, “A is like B.” A and B, however dissimilar, share some quality that the metaphor highlights. Metaphors allow the marketer to activate meaningful images and apply them to everyday events.

Art direction

The term “art direction” goes beyond choosing or creating images that go into marketing communications. It is more encompassing and holistic; a good art director blends the elements of an ad into a powerful message that strongly resonates with the viewer.

The art director is the chief designer of the ad. She is responsible not only for creating the visuals but also for deciding how the message will communicate the desired mood, product qualities, and psychological appeals. In addition to the illustrations in an ad (photo, cartoon, drawing), the art director uses principles of design to unify the elements of the ad and direct our attention to the point of emphasis.

Art direction has grown in importance as advertising has become more visual. Pictures tell a story more quickly than words, and they let advertisers put the brand in a social context, which links the brand to certain “types” of people or lifestyles. According to Marie-Catherine Dupuy, vice chairman and chief creative officer, TBWA/France, “Art direction is crucial. You can find the best idea—but if it’s not well art directed, it’s killed. I say that even though I’m a former copywriter. For me, art direction is 80 per cent of the effectiveness. That’s also the place where artists from every side can express themselves and bring their full talents to the ad.”^[4]

Copywriters and art directors turn intangible ideas into tangible realities. The messages they create that use words or images capture the essence of the advertising strategy and translate it into something that the target understands—and hopefully resonates with.

Source effects

Elements of who, how, and where an advertiser sends a message significantly affect how—or if—the audience receives it.

Source credibility

Source credibility means that consumers perceive the source (the spokesperson) as an expert who is objective and trustworthy. A credible source will provide information on competing products, not just one product, to help the consumer make a more informed choice. We also see the impact of credibility in Web sites like eBay or Wikipedia and numerous blogs, where readers rate the quality of others’ submissions to enable the entire audience to judge whose posts are worth reading.

Using a spokesperson/testimonial framework, a “man on the street” or a celebrity praises the product or service. The spokesperson who endorses the product need not be famous. A testimonial features an everyday consumer to whom the target audience can relate. This representative consumer praises the product or describes his experience with it. The framework implies that if the product worked for this person, it will work for you.

Star Power

In the case of the celebrity, the reasoning is that if a famous person believes the product is good, you can believe it, too. For the advertising to be effective, however, the tie between the product and the celebrity should be clear. When Louis Vuitton featured Mikhail Gorbachev in an ad in Vogue, the tie was not clear. Why would the association with the former Soviet leader who brought an end to Communism motivate a consumer to buy a luxury brand bag?

This framework is effective because celebrities embody cultural meanings—they symbolize important categories such as status and social class (a “working-class hero,” such as Peter Griffin on Family Guy), gender (a “tough woman,” such as Nancy on Weeds), or personality types (the nerdy but earnest Hiro on Heroes). Ideally, the advertiser decides what meanings the product should convey (that is, how it should position the item in the marketplace) and then chooses a celebrity who embodies a similar meaning. The product’s meaning thus moves from the manufacturer to the consumer, using the star as a vehicle^[5].

For celebrity campaigns to be effective, the endorser must have a clear and popular image. In addition, the celebrity’s image and that of the product he or she endorses should be similar—researchers refer to this as the match-up hypothesis^[6]. A market research company developed one widely used measure called the Q- score (Q stands for quality) to decide if a celebrity will make a good endorser. The score includes level of familiarity with a name and the number of respondents who indicate that a person, program, or character is a favorite^[7].

A good match-up is crucial; fame alone doesn’t work if people know someone but dislike him. The celebrity may bring the brand visibility, but that visibility can be overshadowed by controversy that the spokesperson can generate. It also helps when your spokesperson actually uses the product. The Beef Board faced negative publicity when its spokesperson, Cybill Shepherd, admitted she did not like to eat beef.

Because consumers tend to view the brand through the lens of its spokesperson, an advertiser can’t choose an endorser just based on a whim (or the person’s good looks). Consider Tupperware, which decided to mount an advertising campaign to support its traditional word-of-mouth and Tupperware party promotional strategies. The brand is sixty years old and harkens back to 1950s-style June Cleaver moms. In its attempt to stay relevant and up-to-date, the company looked for a modern image of the working mom. Rather than going with a spokesperson like Martha Stewart, who would reinforce the old image of Tupperware, the company chose Brooke Shields as their spokesperson. “We’ve seen her go from a model to an actress to a Princeton graduate…then be open with issues she’s had with depression,” said Tupperware Chairman-CEO Rick Goings. That, he said, meshed perfectly with the company’s new “Chain of Confidence” campaign, which is dedicated to building the self-esteem of women and girls^[8].

Spokes characters

Celebrities can be effective endorsers, but there are drawbacks to using them. As we previously noted, their motives may be suspect if they plug products that don’t fit their images or if consumers begin to see them as never having met a product they didn’t like (for a fee). They may be involved in a scandal or upset customers, as when the Milk Processor Education Program suspended “Got Milk?” ads featuring Mary- Kate and Ashley Olsen after Mary-Kate entered a treatment facility for an undisclosed health issue.

For these reasons some marketers seek alternative sources, including cartoon characters and mascots. After all, as the marketing director for a company that manufactures costumed characters for sports teams and businesses points out, “You don’t have to worry about your mascot checking into rehab.”^[9] And researchers report that spokescharacters like the Pillsbury Doughboy, Chester the Cheetah, and the Snuggle Bear do in fact boost viewers’ recall of claims that ads make and also yield higher brand attitude^[10].

Source attractiveness

Source attractiveness refers to the source’s perceived social value, not just his or her physical appearance. High social value comes partly from physical attractiveness but also from personality, social status, or similarity to the receiver. We like to listen to people who are like us, which is why “typical” consumers are effective when they endorse everyday products.

So, when we think about source attractiveness, it’s important to keep in mind that “attractiveness” is not just physical beauty. The advertising that is most effective isn’t necessarily the one that pairs a Hollywood hottie with a product. Indeed, one study found that many students were more convinced by an endorsement from a fictional fellow student than from a celebrity. As a researcher explained, “They [students] like to make sure their product is fashionable and trendy among people who resemble them, rather than approved by celebrities like David Beckham, Brad Pitt or Scarlett Johansson. So they are more influenced by an endorsement from an ordinary person like them.”^[11]

Still, all things equal, there’s a lot of evidence that physically attractive people are more persuasive. Our culture (like many others) has a bias toward good-looking people that teaches they are more likely to possess other desirable traits as well. Researchers call this the “what is beautiful is good” hypothesis^[12]. Is source attractiveness more important than source credibility? The answer depends on the product or service you sell.

Advertising appeals and message strategies

All ads need some type of appeal—a psychological basis that motivates the viewer toward the advertiser’s goals. The creative team can choose from a variety of appeals to help structure the advertising. Let’s have a look at the most common ones.

Resonance and relevance

The keys to superior advertising are resonance and relevance. A great ad makes a deep impression that reverberates inside you and stays with you, while it creates a bond between you and the product. “Just do it.”

Relevance is the extent to which the images, ideas, concepts, and advertised product attributes overlap with the target’s needs, wants, values, context, or situation. Resonance is the extent to which these images, ideas, concepts, and advertised product attributes connect more deeply in the target’s heart and mind. Let’s look at a few examples of how the two factors work together and then dig into more detail about how exactly to make a message sell.

Likability

A large-scale study of prime-time commercials found that the likeability of a commercial was the best single predictor of its sales effectiveness^[13]. The author noted that “consumers first form an overall impression of an advertisement on a visceral or ‘gut’ level. To the extent that this impression is positive they are likely to continue to process the advertising more fully.”

He found five factors that constitute an ad’s likeability:

1. Ingenuity—clever, imaginative, original, silly, and not dull
2. Meaningfulness—worth remembering, effective, not pointless, not easy to forget, true to life, convincing, informative, and believable
3. Energy—lively, fast moving, appealing, and well done
4. Warmth—gentle, warm, and sensitive
5. Does not rub the wrong way—not worn out, not phony, and not irritating

So, at the end of the day, no matter how you do it, you want people to like your ads. That sounds like a “no-brainer,” though many advertising messages don’t achieve this simple objective. Why is it so important that people like your ad?

• Likeable commercials are less likely to be avoided (zapped).
• Likeability is the “gatekeeper” to further processing: once a likeable ad gets our attention, we’re more likely to think about the message it’s conveying.
• The positive feelings the ad evokes transfer from the advertisement to the brand.

One-sided messages

One-sided messages present only the positive attributes of the product—they provide one or more objective reasons to buy the product. These often include objective variables such as price, performance, size, and power.

Two-sided messages

Two-sided messages present both positive and negative information about the product. Although most advertising messages are one-sided, research indicates that a two-sided message is very effective.

Although it seems counterintuitive that an advertiser would want to publicize negative attributes of a product, doing so actually builds credibility by making the message more balanced. People who hear only one-sided arguments may be more skeptical of the message, wondering what hasn’t been said. Refutational arguments, therefore, which raise a negative issue and then refute it can be quite effective if the audience is well educated and if the receivers are not already loyal to the product. (If they are already loyal to the product, then discussing possible drawbacks has little merit and may actually raise doubts.)

Comparative messages

Comparative messages explicitly trumpet a brand’s virtues vis-à-vis one or more named competitors. To promote its line of chicken sandwiches, the Arby’s fast-food chain aired TV commercials that took direct aim at rivals McDonald’s and Wendy’s. In one spot, a young man stands in a (fictitious) McDonald’s boardroom as he tries to convince McDonald’s executives to serve a healthier type of chicken. Framed against a familiar golden arches logo, he proclaims, “I propose that McDonald’s stops putting phosphates, salt and water into its chicken. Consider replacing your chicken, that is only about 70 percent chicken, with 100 percent all-natural chicken.” Board members break out in laughter. At the end of the spot, a voice-over chimes in: “Unlike McDonald’s, all of Arby’s chicken sandwiches are made with 100 percent all-natural chicken.”^[14] This messaging strategy is more common in the United States than in other cultures like Japan, where it is extremely rare because some people consider it a rather abrupt and even rude way to communicate.

Scientific appeal

A scientific framework uses research and evidence to show the brand’s superiority over other brands. This executional style is popular with pharmaceuticals or with food products or beauty products that distinguish themselves in terms of their health benefits. For example, when the German pharmaceuticals maker Beiersdorf relaunched its Nivea Baby line of skin care products in Europe, it put a greater emphasis on the line’s extensive dermatological testing. “Clinical tests have always been a standard in the development of Nivea Baby products,” said Ingo Hahn, Beiersdorf’s lab manager for skin care product development. “However, with rising expectations of parents regarding product safety and skin compatibility in baby care, we decided to put more emphasis on this fact with the brand relaunch in 2005, providing our consumers with even more insights in the extremely high standards of the Nivea Baby product safety policy.”^[15]

Demonstration

A demonstration shows the product in use to illustrate its performance and effectiveness. Television and video are the best media for demonstrations. This framework is a favorite for cleaning products of all kinds (household, laundry, automotive) and to showcase the unique benefits of traditional products. Just think about all those gadgets you see on TV infomercials — “It slices, it dices, it washes your car.…”

Informational and logical appeals

The informational appeal offers facts and information to help the target audience make a purchasing decision. It tries to generate attention using rational arguments and evidence to convince consumers to select a product, service, or brand. For example:

• More or better product or service features: Ajax “Stronger Than Dirt”
• Cost savings: Wal-Mart “Always Low Prices”
• Quality: John Deere “Nothing runs like a Deere”
• Customer service: Holiday Inn “Pleasing people the world over”
• New, improved: Verizon “Can you hear me now? Good.”

The following Black+Decker commercial relies on an informational appeal to promote its product. (Note: There is no speech in this video; only instrumental music.)

https://youtu.be/w6tqDoJQokM

Text alternative for “Black and Decker 20V MAX” (opens in new window).

The logical appeal is a rational one; it describes the product’s features, advantages, and price. Advertising that provokes a strong emotional response without providing sufficient product information is unlikely to change behavior and increase market share. It breaks through the clutter but doesn’t necessarily induce people to buy. Purely emotional advertising is memorable but doesn’t build business. The advertising connects with consumers, but it fails to make use of that connection with the credible information needed to change people’s minds. This is particularly true of humor appeals. The solution? Advertisers need to strike a balance with campaigns that integrate product information and emotion. Logic and emotion work in concert to help consumers make decisions^[16]. Effective advertising needs to convey both seamlessly.

Emotional appeal

The emotional appeal targets consumers’ emotional wants and needs rather than rational logic and facts. It plays on conscious or subconscious desires, beliefs, fears, and insecurities to persuade consumers and influence their behavior. The emotional appeal is linked to the features and benefits provided by the product, but it creates a connection with consumers at an emotional level rather than a rational level. Most marketers agree that emotional appeals are more powerful and differentiating than informational appeals. However, they must be executed well to seem authentic and credible to the target audience. A poorly executed emotional appeal can come across as trite or manipulative. Examples of emotional appeals include:

• Self-esteem: L’Oreal “Because I’m worth it”
• Happiness: Coca-Cola “Open happiness”
• Anxiety and fear: World Health Organization “Smoking Kills”
• Achievement: Nike “Just Do It”
• Attitude: Apple “Think Different”
• Freedom: Southwest “You are now free to move about the country”
• Peace of Mind: Allstate “Are you in good hands?”
• Popularity: NBC “Must-see TV”
• Germophobia: Chlorox “For life’s bleachable moments, there’s Chlorox”

The following Heinz Ketchup commercial offers a humorous example of an ad based entirely on an emotional appeal:

Video: https://youtu.be/6igElOW4hUA

The common denominator among the most successful ads is that they create an emotional connection with the brand. They appeal to the heart, not just the mind.

A large-scale study that analyzed award-winning campaigns found that the most effective ones focus on emotional, rather than rational, appeals^[17]. What’s more, the Gallup organization reports that customers who are “passionate” about a brand deliver two times the profitability of average customers.

We simply can’t take the emotional contact a company has with customers and the emotional impact of its brand for granted. For example, Procter & Gamble traditionally advertised its Pampers diapers on the basis of their performance in keeping baby dry. But, as Jim Stengel, former chief marketing officer at Procter & Gamble, said, “Our baby-care business didn’t start growing aggressively [in the early 2000s] until we changed Pampers from being about dryness to being about helping Mom with her baby’s development. That was a sea change.”^[18] The lesson: wrap your practical products with an offer that appeals to emotions. People are more loyal to brands they “feel,” not just those they think about.

Of course, not all brands necessarily bring a tear to the eye—the point is to figure out just how the brand resonates with its audience and to develop messages that reinforce this relationship

Fear appeal

“Students who don’t read their textbooks will never land a job when they graduate.” - A fear appeal dwells upon the negative consequences that can result unless a consumer takes the recommended action. A recent advertising campaign for the Volkswagen Jetta took this approach; spots depict graphic car crashes from the perspective of the passengers who chatter away as they drive down the street. Without warning, another vehicle comes out of nowhere and brutally smashes into their car. In one spot, viewers can see a passenger’s head hitting an airbag. The spots end with shots of stunned passengers, the damaged Jetta, and the slogan “Safe happens.”^[19]

Advertisers often resort to fear appeals when they want to bring about a radical behavior change, such as driving responsibly, eating healthily, or quitting smoking. Other fear appeals use ostracism by others—due to body odor or bad breath or limp hair or yellowed teeth or using outdated products—to create feelings of insecurity that the consumer can overcome by doing—guess what?

How well fear appeals work depends on how easy it is to comply with the ad’s message. A switch to a stronger, longer-lasting deodorant to avoid embarrassing stains is quite doable, and it is easy to see a benefit (if indeed the deodorant works). In contrast, fear appeals that discuss the negative consequences of smoking have to climb a higher hill because the behavior is extremely hard to change (despite good intentions) and it’s harder to detect the (long-term) health benefits. Sometimes the fear appeal is too strong and makes consumers tune it out, especially if the ad does not present a solution. Scare tactics may also backfire as people cope with the negative feelings or guilt the ad inspires by deciding the threat does not apply to them.

One famous TV commercial that relied on a heavy dose of fear was an ad for presidential candidate Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1964. The campaign showed a little girl counting daisy petals in a field, “1, 2, 3.…” Then, a voice-over started a countdown, “10, 9, 8…” leading to the image of a telltale mushroom cloud as an atomic bomb exploded. “These are the stakes,” the voice-over said, concluding with “the stakes are too high for you to stay home” while the screen displayed the words “Vote for President Johnson on November 3.” This classic spot stirred up voters’ fears about the heavy trigger finger of Johnson’s opponent, the conservative politician Barry Goldwater, and (analysts say) contributed to his huge defeat in the election.

Sex appeal

It’s important to consider cultural differences in gauging sex appeal, as some countries allow more exposure of skin or sexual situations than others. In the United States, a passionate kiss in an ad or a movie is perfectly fine, whereas in other countries such a display in public could be punishable by a fine, or jail time.

Given the potentially negative reaction, do sexual appeals work? Products for which sex appeals work best are those aimed at teen or college-age buyers or for products like wine, perfume, beauty products, and lingerie. Advertisers need to tread lightly and avoid the temptation to go all-out: although erotic content does appear to draw attention to an ad, a sex appeal runs the risk of alienating the audience. And ironically, the viewer may actually hinder recall of the advertised product. In one survey, an overwhelming 61 percent of the respondents said that sexual imagery in a product’s ad makes them less likely to buy it^[20].

In 2007, Dial rebranded its Soft & Dri deodorant with a focus on the sexy rather than on the functional attributes of the deodorant. “We’re trying to take the brand to a more emotional and less functional area,” said Vanessa Kamerer, Dial’s brand manager for Soft & Dri. To revive the brand, Dial conducted research and learned that consumers associated Soft & Dri with soft and sexy. Kamerer thought this was an important advantage and distinction for the brand because most other brands in the sector focused on technology. Kamerer pointed out, however, that the brand had to be careful with the “sexy” positioning. “Sexy is a tricky one with women,” she said. “For a lot of women sexy can be trampy or slutty and that’s not what we wanted.”^[21] She’s right: research shows that female nudity in print ads generates negative feelings and tension among female consumers, whereas men’s reactions are more positive^[22]. In a case of turnabout being fair play, another study found that males dislike nude males in ads, whereas females responded well to undressed males—but not totally nude ones^[23].

A campaign by Scotch-maker Johnnie Walker featured billboards in California with a seductive “Julie” and the message, “My number is 213-259-0373. And I drink Johnnie Walker.” Drinkers who called the number heard a prerecorded female voice deliver a sales pitch and then an invitation to order Scotch by phone. During the eight months that the billboards were up in nineteen cities, 526,000 people called Julie (perhaps hoping for more than a sales pitch). This response sounds impressive. But did the campaign motivate callers to buy the brand? Unfortunately not. In fact, sales of Johnnie Walker declined 5 percent during the year of the campaign^[24].

Humor appeal

“A guy walks into a bar.…” A humor appeal makes us laugh and feel good. But it’s often difficult to execute well, because people have to understand the humor and they have to link it to the brand. Like sex appeals, sometimes the very humor that gets our attention distracts us from remembering the ad or from influencing our behavior.

It also helps when viewers don’t get offended; this can be an iffy proposition especially when ethnic or national stereotypes are involved. An outdoor ad in Belgium to promote the speedy new Eurostar train service from Brussels to London via the English Channel backfired when a group of British journalists discovered it. For some reason they didn’t appreciate a poster that showed a shaven-headed English soccer hooligan urinating into a teacup. For Belgians this imagery made sense because the fan’s pose mimicked a very famous Brussels landmark, the Manneken Pis statue^[25]. The Brits didn’t appreciate the architectural reference.

One advantage of humor is that it reduces counterarguing; this occurs when a consumer thinks of reasons not to agree with the message. Because the comedy distracts us from our tendency to come up with reasons why we shouldn’t change our opinions, we are more likely to accept the message a humorous ad presents, as long as it does not insult or make fun of us.

Humorous appeals are seldom used by banks, which tend to project a staider image. That’s why Community Bank System decided to use a lighthearted campaign with the message “Bank Happy.” “We really wanted to find something different, something that was unbank-like and, if you look at those headlines and the disclosures, there’s humor built in,” said Hal Wentworth, the bank’s director of sales and marketing. The campaign was designed by Mark Russell and Associates and took five months to produce. How does the bank use humor? To establish the tie to happy experiences, one ad says, “The feeling you get when you eat chocolate. Now available in a bank.” It even brings amusement to the fine- print copy at the bottom of the page. Although most people skip this, the fine print in the “Chocolate” ad says, “If you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking there’s some kind of catch. Something that requires us to write more about it in the fine print. But there isn’t. Oh sure, we could go on and on about ourselves. Like how we’re committed to serving rural areas. And how most of our people have been working with us for years. And how all of our loan decisions are made locally by folks you’ve probably cheered with at soccer or baseball games. But we won’t. Instead, we’ll just tell you that when we say ‘Bank Happy,’ we mean it. We don’t want you to ‘Bank Reasonably Contentedly’ or ‘Bank Kinda Sorta Pleased.’ We want you to Bank Happy. And we’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.”^[26] These days, more people in the banking industry could probably use a good laugh.

Values appeal

Finally, advertising can be relevant to consumers when it uses a values appeal; this type of message relates to people’s strong underlying beliefs about priorities in their lives and morality. A research team conducted a comprehensive study of values across thirty countries to identify universal values that people hold regardless of where they live. The researchers found six categories of values that are universal:

1. Striver: Ambitious people who seek power, status, and wealth
2. Fun-Seeker: Individualists who seek excitement, leisure, variety, and adventure
3. Creative: Open-minded people who want freedom, fulfilling work, and self-reliance
4. Devout: Spiritual people who are traditional, respectful, modest, and obedient
5. Intimate: Supportive people who create strong, deep bonds with friends and family
6. Altruist: People who want equality and justice for everyone in society and care about the environment

Certain countries exhibit a predominance of some of these values over others. For example, more than one-half of all Swedes are Intimates, which means that they emphasize social relationships as guiding principles in their lives. In contrast, 46 percent of Saudi Arabians identify Devout values as their guiding principles, while 52 percent of South Koreans are Strivers. Another study found that North Americans have more favorable attitudes toward advertising messages that focus on self-reliance, self-improvement, and the achievement of personal goals, as opposed to themes stressing family integrity, collective goals, and the feeling of harmony with others. Korean consumers exhibited the reverse pattern.

Creating advertising messages that resonate with your target audience means identifying and appealing to the values that motivate their behavior. For example, Taco Bell’s advertising campaign “Think Outside the Bun” appeals to Creatives who seek novelty and learning new things. In contrast, the “Night Belongs to Michelob” campaign appeals to Intimates who value romance and friendship. Finally, British Petroleum’s “Beyond Petroleum” campaign appeals to Altruists who value social responsibilities and preservation of the environment^[27].

Occasionally ad executions invoke a values appeal when they show how a product goes against a group’s values. This approach appeals to target consumers who are rebellious or nonconforming. To appeal to teenage viewers, the CW network launched a campaign to promote the TV show Gossip Girl that includes quotes from the Parents Television Council, an advocacy group that has criticized the show for its graphic inclusion of sex and drugs. One ad shows two of the underage characters together in bed, below a caption that reads “Mind-blowingly inappropriate!”^[28]

It’s interesting to note that individuality is a value most closely associated with the Fun-Seeker segment. Countries that have a high percentage of Fun-Seekers in their population include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Germany. Creating a winning brand position in these countries might entail targeting the Fun-Seeker buyers with a brand that can offer an avenue to self-expression. In contrast, countries where individuality ranks lowest are the Devout-dominant countries of Indonesia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, where duty and faith outweigh personal expression. Self-expression appeals would not work well in those countries.

Slice-of-life

A slice-of-life framework presents everyday people in an everyday situation, like riding in a car with friends. Wal-Mart used this kind of execution in a commercial that showed a young family going on vacation. The bored kids torment each other in the minivan until they finally arrive in Orlando. The title card then explains what you’ve seen: “Wal-Mart saves the average family $2,500 a year. What will you do with your savings?” The value proposition is clear: shopping at Wal-Mart throughout the year will save you enough money for a vacation. The spot ends with the slogan: “Save money. Live better.”^[29]

Andrea Learned, coauthor of the book Don’t Think Pink: What Really Makes Women Buy has found that when selling cars to women, slice-of-life frameworks are the most effective. The best car ads show average looking women and men in slice-of-life situations. “Women respond when an advertiser fits the car into consumers’ lifestyles instead of putting it on a sporty pedestal with overly gorgeous models,” she explained^[30].

Example: Household Challenge Meets Household Humor

Say your client is a bank that wants to promote its home mortgage product in an era of foreclosures and banking scandals. The objective of the message is to show that your mortgage terms won’t be as burdensome as the competition’s. How can you get this message across? It’s not the sexiest idea in the world, but then again, saving money does turn a lot of people on.

Ad agency Hall Moore CHI faced this challenge with its client NatWest, a British bank. Art director Richard Megson and copywriter Matthew Davis worked together to create an animated TV ad that showed a man struggling under the weight of a huge mortgage. He threw his burden into a washing machine and shrank it to manageable size. The message was simple and clear—the idea of shrinking a huge mortgage was appealing and relevant to the target audience of homeowners^[31]. This execution delivers both relevance with its image of a large mortgage (as many consumers struggle with these today) and resonance as it graphically depicts the tempting process of shrinking one’s debt in the wash.

Example: The Resonance of Personal Stories

Now let’s consider Adidas’ “Impossible Is Nothing” campaign. The campaign originally launched in 2004 to coincide with the Olympics. Ads featured great athletes of the day in clever integration with great athletes of the past. The visuals made it seem as though the athletes were interacting across the ages. For example, in the ad “Laila,” boxing great Muhammad Ali goes into the ring with his boxer daughter, Laila Ali. The two spar and Laila eventually lands a punch that sends her dad backwards into the ropes. The film of Muhammad was culled from two of his fights from the 1960s, while Laila was shot in front of a blue screen so the two images could appear together^[32]. Although the athletes and the special effects were fun to watch, they were not driving home the message because, ironically, the events depicted in the “Impossible Is Nothing” ads were impossible. The impossible was made possible only via an optical illusion, and that didn’t resonate with the audience.

Fast-forward to 2007. This time, Adidas found a better way to express the idea of doing the impossible. Its new ads featured personal stories from athletes, both famous (David Beckham) and not so famous (Boston Marathon runner Kathryn Smolen). In the spots its agency 180 Amsterdam/TBWA created, the athletes told true stories of challenges that they had overcome—their own “impossible.” For Olympic swimming superstar Ian Thorpe, the challenge was an allergy to chlorine—an allergy that sidelined him until he gradually overcame it.

The athletes hand-draw a picture as they talk. The simple drawings are primitive; they remind us of childhood and thus echo the storyline. For example, twenty-two-year-old American sprinter Allyson Felix draws herself as a stick figure with legs that look like ski poles as she explains that kids taunted her with the name “chicken legs” when she started out as a little kid playing basketball. Later, she says, “I came out for the track team and kind of wanted to prove everybody wrong.” Next, we see her as she wins an Olympic medal. “People putting you down can drive you to do things you didn’t even think you could do yourself,” she proclaims^[33]. Although the drawings are animated by artists at Passion Pictures, the feeling is personal and human. As Jason Oke of ad agency Leo Burnett Toronto commented, “After watching these I get inspired and I actually get what it means to attempt something that everyone else thinks you can’t do.” Just as an ad can resonate with a person, elements of an ad ideally work together to reinforce each other as the childhood stories and drawings of the Adidas campaign did. Another example is an ad for a diet strawberry cheesecake that pairs the luscious image of the cake with the words “berried treasure,” to evoke the connotation of hidden delights and richness that lies inside. The play on words requires some thought, which rewards viewers with satisfaction when they “get it” and strengthens the connection among all the elements—words, images, product, brand, and meaning.

Lifestyle appeal

A lifestyle framework shows how the product fits into your life. For example, the “Denny’s Always Works” campaign emphasizes that the nation’s largest full-service family restaurant chain is open twenty-four hours and has a variety of meal choices that meet a range of unique dining needs. Each TV commercial opens with a consumer describing why Denny’s fits perfectly into his or her life. The ads are shot on a striking yellow background with simple, fun animation that accents what the person is saying. An actor portraying a Denny’s guest customer speaks, and then the spot closes with a close-up of delicious food footage. To show different lifestyles, one of the fifteen-second spots opens on a frazzled mom who is amazed that Denny’s breakfasts can fill up even her teenaged boys. “I didn’t think that was possible,” she says. Another fifteen-second spot features a young twenty-something guy saying how Denny’s extends his late night fun, because after the club scene winds down he can still get great food at Denny’s.^[34]

Situational effects

Where a message is said—that is, our physical and social environment—affects how receptive we are to the advertising message. What’s part of the physical environment? Surroundings and decor, for example. Our arousal levels rise when we’re in the presence of others. This arousal can be positive or negative. Watching a funny movie is often more enjoyable in a full movie theater where everyone else is laughing, too. But if we feel uncomfortably crowded, we may put up our guard.

Intangibles like odors and even temperature affect our ability and desire to listen to messages. Indeed, a growing number of marketers are counting on scents to turn into dollars as they invest in costly new technologies to create scented ads (a magazine ad with a scent strip costs four to eight times as much as an odorless version). Sure, we’re used to a bombardment of perfume smells when we open a fashion magazine, but today the boundaries have widened considerably. Kraft Foods promoted its new DiGiorno Garlic Bread Pizza with a scratch-and-sniff card.

Finally, the message has to stand out from the clutter of competing messages and stimuli, which can be a challenge given the multiple stimuli vying for our attention at any one time. Consumers often are in a state of sensory overload, where they are exposed to far more information than they can process. The average adult is exposed to about 3,500 pieces of advertising information every single day—up from about 560 per day thirty years ago.

Communication often involves new ideas, new products, and new information. Whether people adopt a new idea or product depends on many factors. The communications model for advertising (discussed above) is affected by the forces that govern the diffusion of innovation.

The Burger “King.” The GEICO gecko. “Bounty, the quicker picker upper.” “Where’s the beef?” The “swoosh.” Most of us are very familiar with these advertising characters and phrases—in fact, some days it seems everyone we know sends us the same hilarious YouTube clip to check out the latest spot. Did you ever wonder why a phrase you hear for the first time one day suddenly comes out of everyone’s lips a week later? How does this process work, and why should we care? The latter question is easy: Advertising depends on the transmission of information among members of a society to spread the word about new ideas, products, and services.

A lot of cutting-edge advertising strategies depend on our willingness—and enthusiasm—to share information and ideas that appeal to us with others. Indeed, this is the backbone of viral marketing, which we’ll talk about in detail later—basically this term refers to a process where people pass on a phrase, a joke, a slogan, or perhaps a URL to their network of friends, who in turn pass it on to others until thousands or even millions of us see it (think about how often more than one friend or acquaintance sends you the same e-mail joke).

An innovation is any idea, product, or service that consumers perceive to be new (whether it actually is or not!). Diffusion of innovations refers to the process by which an idea spreads through a population. To grasp how this works, think about the way a cold spreads through a dorm or office. One person “imports” the germ, and sure enough, some of those in his immediate vicinity start to hack away. They in turn transmit the cold to others so that before you know it almost everyone in the building is yearning to breathe free. Hence the viral in viral marketing.

An idea spreads in much the same way as a cold or other virus (hopefully with more pleasant results). The process begins with a small group of people, and then if it’s appealing enough it spreads (diffuses) into a larger market. We define the “spreaders” in terms of the relative speed with which they pick up the new idea:

• Innovators (about 2.5 percent of the population) adopt the idea first. These are usually people who are the hard-core members of a taste culture (e.g., “tuners,” enthusiasts of hopped-up cars, or “gamers,” who closely follow the blogs about a new videogame still under wraps at a studio).
• Early adopters (about 13 percent of the population) often are influential people (including those in the media, such as advertising columnists) who build buzz around a new idea, ad campaign, or product.
• The early majority (about 34 percent of the population) adopt a product once it has become known. They like to be “up” on things, but only after they’ve already started to make their way into the mainstream.
• The late majority (another 34 percent) are skeptical of new products and take even longer to adopt them. Together with the early majority, this is your true “mass market” consumer.
• Laggards (about 16 percent of us) are the last to adopt. In fact, they may never try a new variation - “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Ironically, sometimes they stick with the tried-and-true for so long that it becomes fashionable again

Figure 6.7. Diffusion of Innovations

Evaluating ad executions

Recall and recognition

Executing advertising effectively requires that consumers notice the ad, recall the brand, and remember it favorably when they make a purchase decision. Recall means that viewers can remember and retell the specific marketing messages to which they were exposed. Recognition means they recognize the brand or message when they see or hear it again, even if they can’t recite it from memory.

Because marketers pay so much money to place their messages in front of consumers, they are naturally concerned that people will actually remember these messages at a later point. It seems that they have good reason to be concerned. In one study, fewer than 40 percent of television viewers made positive links between commercial messages and the corresponding products, only 65 percent noticed the brand name in a commercial, and only 38 percent recognized a connection to an important point^[35].

Ironically, we may be more likely to remember companies that we don’t like—perhaps because of the strong negative emotions they evoke. In a 2007 survey that assessed both recall of companies and their reputations, four of the ten best-remembered companies also ranked in the bottom ten of reputation rankings: Halliburton Co., Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., and Exxon Mobil Corp. In fact, Halliburton, with the lowest reputation score, scored the highest media recall of all the sixty companies in the survey^[36].

Metrics related to recall and recognition ignite controversy even among agencies themselves. For example, Carat Insight uses recognition techniques rather than recall. Mary Jeffries, the agency’s head of evaluation, explains: “Most research techniques have relied on consumers’ ability to remember advertising messages and they then use this as a proxy for effectiveness. This means that media such as radio, outdoor, press, cinema and online suffer terribly, as they do not get recalled. Our belief is that ads can work even if you can’t spontaneously recall them. This is why [we] use a recognition technique, which is a more accurate measure of likely exposure to advertising than recall.” Carat Insight provides a service it calls integrated communications evaluation (ICE), which uses recognition techniques and statistical modeling to identify the relationship between media channels and creative executions^[37].

In contrast, Intermedia Advertising Group is a research firm that measures advertising effectiveness by monitoring the TV-viewing population’s ability to remember an ad within twenty-four hours. The firm assigns a recall index to each ad to indicate the strength of the impact it had. In one recent year, while ads with well-known celebrities like Britney Spears, Austin Powers, and Michael Jordan had very high recall rates, three of the top five most remembered ads starred another (and taller) celebrity: Toys “R” Us spokes animal Geoffrey the Giraffe^[38].

Under some conditions, these two memory measures tend to yield the same results, especially when the researchers try to keep the viewers’ interest in the ads constant^[39]. Generally, though, recognition scores tend to be more reliable and do not decay over time the way recall scores do^[40]. Recognition scores are almost always better than recall scores because recognition is a simpler process and the consumer has more available retrieval cues.

Both types of retrieval play important roles in purchase decisions, however. Recall tends to be more important in situations in which consumers do not have product data at their disposal, so they must rely on memory to generate this information^[41]. On the other hand, recognition is more likely to be an important factor in a store, where retailers confront consumers with thousands of product options (i.e., external memory cues are abundantly available), and the goal is simply to get the consumer to recognize a familiar package^[42].

The Stopping Power of Creative Ads: Are They Effective, or Just Cool?

Other agencies maintain that above all, the ad must get noticed. And very creative ads do get noticed— they break through the clutter. Ads that win creative awards have twice the “stopping power” of regular non-award-winning ads. They get your attention. Moreover, award-winning ads create buzz.

But, although they are more entertaining, creative ads also can confuse the very people they’re intended to persuade. Sometimes a clever ad can be too hip for its own good. Research on award-winning ads finds that consumers are more likely to say “I couldn’t tell what that brand had to do with what was said and shown.” This means that executions may require tweaks (which copy testing can guide) so that the ads are able to generate sales for the brand as well^[43].

New Ideas Support New Brand Launches

Attention-getting ads are particularly valuable when the communication objective is to help launch a new brand by boosting awareness and generating buzz. Apple’s “1984” ad is a case in point; the classic spot elevated the Apple brand from simply a utilitarian message (how a computer makes you productive) to an icon representing an attitude and point of view. Before the breakthrough “1984” ad, Apple’s TV commercials used slice-of-life and problem-solution frameworks. The “1984” commercial—shown only during the Super Bowl—created huge buzz for its allegory and cinematic distinctiveness. It created a position for Apple as revolutionary, liberating—much more strongly than a recounting of Macintosh’s user-friendly features would have done.

Copy research

Copy research provides evidence that your ad gets the audience’s attention and delivers a message that motivates the consumer to consider buying your product or service. The overall effectiveness of an ad is a combination of three variables:

1. Attention: Entertainment value is a major predictor of attention-getting power, but if consumers don’t see the connection of the ad to the brand, the ad won’t lead to a sale.
2. Branding: Communicating an idea or feeling that the consumer already has about the brand confirms the value of reminder advertising. Even better is advertising that communicates a new idea or a new feeling, but one that still fits the brand in the eyes of the consumer. This kind of advertising helps consumers to see the brand in a new light, to think about it in a new way.
3. Motivation: Finally, an effective ad makes the viewer want to take action and buy the product.

Pretesting asks the test subject whether they are more likely to buy the product now or in the future.

Pretesting and Post testing

Copy research involves two phases: pretesting and post testing. Pretesting takes place before the campaign starts. Post testing takes place after the campaign, to evaluate the effectiveness of the copy in communicating its message.

The idea behind pretesting is to verify that the product claims and technical aspects of the ad resonate with the target audience. Pretesting also identifies weak spots within an ad campaign. Pretesting can also be used to edit a longer commercial into a shorter one, or to select images from the spot to use in an integrated campaign’s print ad^[44]. This process often involves asking consumers to place the ad into one of these categories based on their perception of the brand^[45]:

• Reinforcement: The ad fits the way I already think and feel about the brand.
• Augmentation: The ad gives me a new idea or feeling toward the brand, and I can see how it fits the brand.
• Dissonance: The ad does not fit the brand at all.

Copy Testing: Comparing Appeals

A related term, copy testing, refers to testing one type of execution over another, or one kind of product feature, benefit, or price over another. Copy testing is done before launching the campaign to fine-tune the ad to be most effective.

Copy research involves assessing that the consumer noticed the ad, was able to recall the brand name, learned something about the brand, and became favorably disposed to trying or buying the product. Companies like Ameritest, Anderson Analytics, and Millward Brown specialize in providing copy testing and related research to ad agencies and advertisers.

The Starch test, the product of a research service founded in 1932, is a widely used commercial measure of advertising recall for magazines. This service provides scores on a number of aspects of consumers’ familiarity with an ad, including such categories as “noted,” “associated,” and “read most.” It also scores the impact of the component parts of an overall ad, giving such information as “seen,” for major illustrations, and “read some,” for a major block of copy^[46]. Factors such as the size of the ad, whether it appears toward the front or the back of the magazine, if it is on the right or left page, and the size of illustrations play an important role in affecting the amount of attention readers give to an ad.

Believe it or not, only 7 percent of television viewers can recall the product or company featured in the most recent television commercial they watched. This figure represents less than half the recall rate recorded in 1965. We can explain this drop-off in terms of such factors as the increase of thirty- and fifteen-second commercials and the practice of airing television commercials in clusters rather than in single-sponsor programs^[47].

Television commercials tell a visually compelling story with moving pictures. During a TV commercial, the audience’s feelings change as they move through the film. Copy research company Ameritest calls this the “flow of emotion” and uses it as a measurement device based on frame-by-frame testing. This technique involves taking a deck of photographic images—created by grabbing key frames from the commercial— that represent the visual content of the ad. Consumers sort the images into a one-to-five scale from “very negative” to “very positive” feelings. The number of frames in a test varies with the visual complexity of the ad rather than its length. A typical thirty-second commercial will break down into about ten to thirty frames for viewers to evaluate. The resulting sort by the consumer shows how (or whether) their emotional response changed during the commercials. Frames can also test whether the commercial prompted the viewer to think about the brand (on a one-to-five scale from “did not make me think” to “made me think a lot”)^[48].

Creativity versus safety

Many creatives believe that testing a campaign will drain the creativity from the campaign—that the only messages audiences will “approve” will be those that are safe and predictable, and hence, boring.

Advertising legend David Ogilvy, however, disagreed. Near the end of his career he commented, “Most creative people detest research, and I’ve never understood why.…In my day, I used research very often to give me the courage to run campaigns that were risky.”

In fact, copy research can actually give you the evidence to go with a radical or risky idea that company executives might not have approved otherwise. Boring ads that don’t tell the consumer anything new aren’t very effective. The most effective ads are those that stretch the meaning of the brand in the mind of the consumer. That is, the consumer learns something new about the brand, or the ad pushes the frontier of the brand. An effective ad is neither too far removed from the brand nor too staid.

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2. Quoted in Alasdair Reid, “Newspaper Advertising—The Creative Potential: What Makes a Great Newspaper Ad,” Campaign, January 20, 2006, 32. ↑

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26. Quoted in Karen Krebsbach, “Community Bank’s ‘Bank Happy’ Sets Cheerful, Playful Tone,” US Banker 117, no. 7 (July 2007), 28. ↑

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29. Bob Garfield, “Long-Awaited Wal-Mart Ads are Obvious…Yet Brilliant,” Advertising Age, September 17, 2007, 69. ↑

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31. “Simplicity Originality Relevance,” Precision Marketing, August 24, 2007, 17. ↑

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33. Barbara Lippert, “The Impossible Dream: Super Athletes, Simple Drawings Make Adidas Ads Hypnotic,” Adweek, April 16, 2007, 44; http://www.adidas.com/campaigns/usiin/content. ↑

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37. “Marketing League Table,” Marketing, September 5, 2007, 35. ↑

38. Vanessa O’Connell, “Toys ‘R’ Us Spokesanimal Makes Lasting Impression: Giraffe Tops List of Television Ads Viewers Found the Most Memorable,” Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, January 2, 2003. ↑

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41. James R. Bettman, “Memory Factors in Consumer Choice: A Review,” Journal of Marketing (Spring 1979): 37– 53. ↑

42. Mark A. Deturck and Gerald M. Goldhaber, “Effectiveness of Product Warning Labels: Effects of Consumers’ Information Processing Objectives,” Journal of Consumer Affairs 23, no. 1 (1989): 111–25. ↑

43. Charles Young and Larry Cohen, “Creative Awards vs. Copytesting,” Quirk’s Marketing Research Review, April 2004. ↑

44. Charles E. Young, The Advertising Research Handbook (New York: Ideas in Flight, 2005), 27–30. ↑

45. Charles E. Young, “Finding the Creative Edge: Research as Flow,” Admap, December 2006. ↑

46. Adam Finn, “Print Ad Recognition Readership Scores: An Information Processing Perspective,” Journal of Marketing Research 25 (1988): 168–77. ↑

47. “Terminal Television,” American Demographics (January 1987): 15. ↑

48. Charles E. Young and John Kastenholz, “Emotion in TV Ads,” Admap, January 2004. ↑