Thursday, November 29, 2012

Advertisement: Stirring emotions to drive behavior

"It is often profitable to stir controversy. An ad that upsets people and thereby generates headlines is an excellent source of free publicity. But if it alienates potential customers, it has gone too far. Benetton, a fashion brand, reels in young shoppers by annoying their parents, for example with a recent ad showing the pope kissing Ahmed al-Tayeb, an Egyptian imam. An edgy image helps sell clothes, but it works less well with cars, as Toyota found with an ad in Australia that mocked both Range Rover and the British queen: “Don't worry, Your Majesty. You're not the only British export that's had its day.” Monarchists howled. Toyota apologised."

Read further how "insult" is leveraged to stir emotions in consumers to drive behaviors in The Economist "Ad Hominem" here.

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