We uncover an ad’s power to connect with consumers – while studiously ignoring consumers’ attempts to connect the dots about ads.
Everyone’s a critic. Who doesn’t have an opinion? When it comes to advertising, people eagerly chime in, rationally analysing an ad’s highs and lows, inferring intended themes, and deciding if it’s the type of ad that would get them to buy that breakfast sandwich, hybrid sedan, mobile phone plan or toilet paper.
Save it. We’re not really interested.
Well, to clarify, we don’t think it is right to appoint viewers as advertising consultants. Funny, neither do ad agencies.
On the other hand, we definitely do want to know how ads affect people. Does the commercial grab, delight, bore, baffle? How does it hit them? We know by building a systematic framework that lets us observe reactions – side-stepping viewers’ deductive self-analyses and logical processing.
Even if an ad packs the hoped-for emotional wallop, we can’t take for granted that the brand will. It’s an entirely different question: will the brand connect emotionally with consumers via its advertising? It depends on how viewers of an ad expect they’ll feel while envisioning what it’s like to eat, wear, visit, use, and otherwise experience the brand. As neuroscience teaches, anticipated emotional consequences drive brand choice. And reluctance. And avoidance.