Recently, I was privy to some research that had been conducted by a well-known firm that pre-tests commercials. I came across this statement in the explanation of their methodology:
"In a landmark study done by the Advertising Research Foundation a number of years ago, one of the single most important measures of the effectiveness of a commercial is likeability. The more people like a commercial, the more effective it tends to be."
As expected from their analysis, this research firm puts a great deal of stock in likeablity scores when pre-testing commercials. Although the last sentence in this statement is moderated by the phrase "tends to be," the idea that commercial likeability signals effectiveness is a little like saying cloudy skies signal rain.
One of my all-time favorite commercials is the Dodge Ram Truck ad that ran during this year's Super Bowl, the one about farmers that was accompanied so unforgettably and sincerely by the voice of Paul Harvey. I was brought to tears when it came on the air. Of course that maybe explains why I'd never buy one. Real men don't cry over truck commercials. Nevertheless, please don't take offense if you own one, but for me, buying a Dodge Ram Truck would show up second from dead last on my life's bucket list; one notch higher than skydiving with holes in my parachute.
Perhaps if farming had been my chosen profession, I would have reacted to this commercial differently. In this case, I would have found this commercial likeable, but not just because of its entertainment value. I would have found it likeable because it portrayed the Dodge Ram Truck as something for people like me.
Upon telling people who ask what I do for a living, telling them I'm in the advertising business typically triggers a conversation about current commercials they like (or dislike). I have my favorites too. But as much as I like the new "hump day" commercial from Geico, I'm not compelled to give this insurance company the fifteen minutes they keep asking for. And maybe I'm must a hard sell, but for the many times I have fallen off my couch laughing while watching K-mart's "ship my pants" commercial, I have a hard time imagining myself trolling for trousers at my local K-Mart. Hey, that's just me. But that's the point. I'm not suggesting there's anything wrong with entertainment value, but showing a brand to be for people like me, will have far more impact on my purchase motivation than a commercial I happen to like.
Granted, commercials we like are more memorable. And we might stop to back up our remotes in order to watch a likeable commercial that would otherwise be ignored. But we should not get hung up on creating commercials with fascinating special effects, borrowed interest or anything else just to garner a strong likeability score. Persuasion is just not that easy. Frankly, I think any advertiser would be better off believing in lucky socks than believing that making people laugh or cry will make people buy.
Jim Signroelli is the CEO of ESW Partners, a marketing/communications agency based in Chicago. Jim is also the author of StoryBranding: Creating Standout Brands Through The Power of Story. You can read more about StoryBranding at http://www.eswpartners.com/storybranding and http://www.storyati.com
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