Beware of the E, F
and G of advertising
(this article by the author was also recently published in Asian Age, Ad+ section)
Emotions are
loudspeakers of experiences, thoughts, culture, perceptions, environment and
disposition and they work to amplify all these through a ‘remembered’
association. Emotions are important because they generate feelings -
deep-rooted physiological and psychological sensations that help relate, adapt
or cope with any situation. They may be conscious or sub-conscious, and emotions
are essential in managing our personal outlook, inducing social behaviour. Emotions
are important in unequivocally classifying action and are important
accompaniments to it. They are also important in creating memory since and act
as triggers for connected thoughts.
The use of emotion in
communication is not new. Aristotle the Greek philosopher articulated it in his
book 'Rhetoric' as pathos, which when
used in conjunction with logos (logic)
and ethos (ethics) could make a
persuasive argument. Emotional responses result from deep 'internal' forces and
have strong subliminal influence on audiences. Pathos is related to sympathy
and empathy, and the use of emotions helps make audiences more receptive to the
communication. The response to primary emotions, (and their derivatives) like love,
joy, surprise, anger, sadness and fear, is often seen as beyond-our-control. It implies that our reaction to them is
involuntary, subliminal and therefore, uncontrollable. It is this reaction that
the communicator seeks in evoking emotions.
Advertising also uses
emotion to create a stronger associative memory of the brand - you are more
likely to remember something that made you smile, laugh or cry. Telecom
companies have mastered the use of making emotional connections. Small features
are advertised using real emotions and Vodafone made its 'Chota credit' big through
exam-ink sharing advertisements. Airtel did the same with the small boy who
complains to his father using a toy phone. Use of emotions in story-telling also
makes it interesting, real and relatable - and without it, the story would be bland
and may not have action or memory triggers.
However, since any
feeling generated due to emotions impacts us deeply, it is important to be
aware (and beware) when we are subjected to advertising that generates negative
emotions of envy, fear and greed in us. Unlike positive emotions like joy,
positivity or hope, which get enhanced by sharing, the E, F and G of negative
emotions are almost always intensely private, almost secretive. Rarely does
anyone share these emotions openly. These usually get formed due to the complex
social and personal exchanges in the formative years of one's life, these take a
shape in competitive and combative situations. Resultantly they almost always
giving rise to a feeling of anxiety and need for immediate remedial action. In
communication, use of envy directly impinges on the social worth of the
individual, fear brings an irrational urgency to the situation, and through greed,
the self-esteem is under assault.
Unfortunately, due to
their inherent anxious nature the use of these three emotions in advertising
does yield swift results, even if just as ephemeral. Caution is necessary in
the use of such emotions due to the deep residual impact they can have. For
example, if fear were used as a primary emotion to generate audience responses,
the response will generate the after-effects of fear and this could give rise
to acute reactions like stress, aggression, anger, and defence as a
natural mechanism. These negative reactions could set off undesirable and
unmanageable responses in the audience.
Though several
advertisers feel justified in using these emotions, it must be kept in mind
that in the wake of such communication consumers are left more mistrusting and
nervy, attempting to satiate their desires by stuffing up more and more. Everyone
is sure to remember examples of their own, but Onida was among the earlier user
of envy with a direct statement in its by-line. In more recent times, envy has
been used very successfully showing sexual attraction (or lack of it) to sell deos
and even undergarments. Envy in advertising, doesn't spare anyone, not even
kids. Fast food chains or cars, envy has been abused blatantly and abundantly.
Now to fear. Advertising
Cooking oil showing want you to protect the heart of your loved ones by using
the 'right' oil - it has PUFA it claims. Disinfectant soaps that want to
protect your child's health show ickky germs on the child's hands or diaper
advertisements that show you rashes in your baby's bum if you do not use a
particular brand of 'absorbent' diapers. These advertisements attempt to make fear
work for the brand, but subtly also make the wife, mother or husband more
anxious - elbowing, forcing and egging them with their communication.
Greed, the G of the
triad is a modern day malady. It is an underlying phenomena that goads economics,
companies and individuals alike. We all want more. So, ads pander to this
innate need by goading us to get something bigger, more luxurious and more
abundant. After all, who doesn't want a house that has a Jacuzzi, swimming pool
and a personal lift that opens into your living room? This is advertising of
excess - making the false claim that more is best for you.
If it works, why not
use it? Faster the results, the better it is, right? Well, no actually. When E,
F and G are used in communication, they invariably leave the customer in a
state of high-anxiety, fulfilling a purchase in the hope that the anxiety
triggered will be sated. Unfortunately the anxiety never gets fulfilled,
building further unease and discomfort in the numbed consumer. This in turn
makes the advertiser's job increasingly more difficult.
And, that's reason
enough to not use the EFGs in advertising at all - since the job of advertising
is not just to sell, but to sell justly, wisely and well.
