Emotional Advertising: Deeply Personal Emotional Triggers

Research shows that a consumer's emotional response influences him or her very powerfully, even to a greater extent than hard information (like features) in advertising and other forms of brand communication. A measure of an advertisement's 'likeability' is more predictive of its success in increasing sales. Evoking positive emotions are even more influential. This is why brand-name products are preferred over generic ones, despite their higher price. Research shows that consumers see brands as having personality characteristics, just as they do other people. There is wonder why strong emotional representations of brands are so important.

Research in 2014 by the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology suggests 4 key emotions being 1) happiness, 2) sadness, 3) fear (or surprise) and anger (or disgust).

This post illustrates how different brands align their branding or current message with one of these emotions.

Happiness

Research has shown that brands have successfully increased sharing and engagement by associating themselves with smiling, laughing customers, often connecting deeply with each other in friendship and positivity. In fact, evoking positive emotions was more successful in this regard than with negative emotions. Disney is possibly one of the few brands whose emotional ads can truthfully depict the product and real customer experience. It is inspiring to note however that, despite this fact, other brands successfully instill emotion into their branding with creativity.

Coca Cola's 7-year 'Open Happiness' campaign suggests that the drink is happiness and that opening the bottle gives access to its contained happiness. Despite the glaringly apparent lack of nutrition in the drink, especially within the context of this modern age of concern for health and welbeing through diet (and consequent falling sales in fizzy drinks), Coca Cola remains one of the most popular drinks, globally. Perhaps the reason is, at least in part, because of the fact that their advertising never even discusses the drink but instead focuses on happiness and overall very positive social interaction and the deeply personal emotions they evoke. Coca Cola does not even waste time trying to convince anyone of the drink's innate goodness. 

Although Coca Cola changed its tagline from 'Open Happiness' to 'Taste the Feeling', it maintained the message of happiness. This change was in response to the brand's challenge against its lack of nutrition. Video ads show deep emotional connection as people drink Coca Cola. This campaign's underlying message simply suggests that Coca Cola heightens the enjoyment of pleasurable moments. As usual, they used emotionally charged imagery of relationships amidst the strong signature red accents to reinforce the positive association in the minds of consumers. As to be expected, they even tentpoled this campaign for Christmas also. (The ads momentarily show the 'zero' calories bottle)

Android's 'Friends Furever' 2015 advertisement was shared so many millions of times that it was the most shared for that year and, by then, of all time. The video shows clips of unexpected inter-species animal friendships, a viral bait. Powerful animals whose relative size would have made them otherwise dangerous to their friends play with obvious affection and due tenderness. There are many surprising duos from huge elephant frolicking with a puppy, an orangutan using its large limbs to lightly embrace a canine friend amidst a loving gaze and so on. Maybe this ad was even more successful because of its video format because, apart from evoking positive emotions, it certainly put me at the edge of my seat a little with some trepidation over the larger animal's ability to easily or accidentally hurt his dwarfed companion. If this was part of the plan, the creators successfully stirred emotions from negative to positive. The song 'Oo De Lally' from Disney's Robin Hood, a term whose meaning is the gleeful 'yay' or 'yippee', is reminiscent of youth and ideals of happy friendship. The Robin Hood story was one of desire for different people (from Norman and Savon) to live together in peace. I am not sufficiently techie to understand how the 'friendship' theme can relate with how Android's operating system is designed or works  ... you know like how at least, to the end of the Kleenex ad, the link was made by the need to wipe away happy tears. This advertisement has however made me wonder whether this video is at least partially responsible for the recently exploding interest in connecting more profoundly with pets and caring for the planet.

Is the psychology behind this advertisement's success based on the idealistic desire, albeit possibly superficial, for friendship despite differences? Shakira and Activia's World Cup 'Dare  / La La La' ad was the most shared for 2014. It is a mix of many different peoples and cultural influences, from African drums. Its appeal was likely also due to how, along with the concepts of diversity, both influential music and sports are to newer generations. The ad checked several boxes.

Disney is possibly one of the few brands whose emotional ads are a direct reflection of the brand and customer experience. They certainly take full advantage as seem in their live advertisement by creating a fun experience for shoppers at a mall. 

SADNESS

Advertisements that evoke sadness are those that deal with stories of adversities and challenge. These stories stir empathy for the struggles of the protagonist. Advertisers use this story to encourage customers to identify with the story's protagonist. In the end, the advertising brand offers a solution to the challenge. 

Kleenex produces tissue. Despite the fact that tissue paper is an arguably most boring product, the brand remains strong in consumers' minds. Emotional advertising that uses an emotional story involving a beloved pet, the zeitgeist of emotional video marketing, prevents this brand from disappearing into obscurity. The 'Unlikely Friends' advertisement was one of the most viral ads  in 2015, the year of its publication. It tells a rescue and care story of a crippled dog that begins on a sad note then end with happy tears. It is only to the very end, when you might not have realized or forgotten the story was an ad when for a short moment, a protagonist sniffles and wipes away tears of happiness with a Kleenex. At that all-important emotional peak, the brandname appears with the tagline 'someone needs one' The wheel-chair bound adoptive human and wheel-bound dog walk off into the sunset, ie after a powerful message of inspiration was given that there are no restrictions. 

MetLife Hong Kong's advertisement 'My Dad is a Liar' is a tear jerker. As a little girl and her father walk on the way to her school, he reads her poem. She speaks of how wonderful he is; that he is handsome, smart, her superman and so on. As he reads, the story illustrates his funny antics infront of her to give her those impressions. However, he pauses in his gait when he reads the line about him being "a liar". As the poem continues, the viewer sees ways in which he sacrifices for her, pretending to have a job, money, to not feel hungry (so that she can eat) and so on. As the poem advances, viewers see images of the father's daily hustle with menial , some times, strenuous jobs. It shows that, despite being tired, he lies about not being tired and runs with her on his shoulders to amuse her. The turning point is the end when she acknowledges that he lies to give her a good future, at which point the father and daughter embrace. The powerful message on the screen appears that 'a child's future is worth the sacrifice' and then the advertisement appears. "We all have dreams for out children. Share yours with us and it can become reality. [and their contact details]" Not surprisingly, parents doing reaction YouTube videos were often left in tears.

Brands often re-use the same story repeatedly, with different actors and scenarios. For instance, every year, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) releases a 'thank you mom' advertisement. For the Olympics, mothers are featured helping their children overcome challenges when they started their sport of choice. The stories end with the mothers in the audience of the Olympics seeing their children perform well.

FEAR

Fear appeal is used to motivate customers to consider the risk of negative consequences for not buying into the product or message being sold. It is very common in public service advertisements that attempt to discourage behaviors that are associated with negative outcomes. 

However, evoking fear in marketing to your consumers has ethical issues that you should seriously consider beforehand.

Fear & Disgust. Being at risk of extinction, the panda has become a symbol for animal conservation and is aptly used in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) logo. Everything about their advertisement inspires deep fear and discomfort on multiple levels. Notice the somber background and heavy font. The unusual use of repetition of one word, 'change' in a single sentence reinforces the ominous message, along with the hideous image of a man mutating into a hybrid species. The hideous looking species comprises nearly 50% of the frame. The mouth, although from another species, has a sad downward slant, the harsh lighting that comes from 11 o' clock gives a sense that the being is facing some solemn reckoning of sorts from a higher power. Looking at this hybrid species evoke such repulsion as may occur when humans view a dead human being which relates mostly to one's personal struggle with mortality.

13Quit, a quit smoking helpline in Queensland, Australia showed an advertisement of a sad and fearsome story of a child losing his mother in a rush hour crowd at a train station. As parents' emotions are stirred towards sadness over the child's obvious anguish, the narrator stirs fear by asking if a child is so troubled over losing a parent for a minute, how much more will your child will be troubled by such a loss over a lifetime. Although not expressly discussed, the ad highlights the loss of happiness simply by virtue of its existence in huge contrast with all the other feelgood messages. 

  

The anti-meth advertisement below features an image that is so repulsive that it could possibly evoke sufficient fear alone. However, the sarcastic tone of its message to the teenage girl audience is also provocative. Specifically, it reminds girls of what they could lose, ie their beauty, something very important to the target market. 

Advertisers also use symbolic imagery to convey more abstract concepts like brain damage as a result of drug use. 

Example. Ccacanada does this by depicting the brain as a series of wires. It shows that, as someone consumes more drugs, wires are cut until the brain is forever short-circuited.

Anger
Anger appeal advertising often stirs emotion around an injustice, usually of a social kind. The brand presents itself as offering a solution to correct the injustice. 

Always sells female sanitary napkins. However, they have taken on the cause of sexism that can hurt the self esteem of adolescent girls. Their advertisement focuses on the insult 'like a girl' and attempt to bring awareness to the fact that the term is insultive.


Normally Happy Brands in Sad Times?
If your brand is to be like a friend to your customers, you will appreciate how unempathetic and tone deaf it will be to flaunt happiness as per usual during a crisis.

Coca Cola during the Covid19 pandemic. As the corona virus pandemic advanced, Coca Cola remained true to its bright color but with a still positive message; specifically, one of encouragement and thanks to those who are helping others. This is genius because they are still remaining true to their brand as it relates to positivity, togetherness and relationships.

We are experiencing something difficult right now. But we know that, among us, we will overcome this situation. Endless thanks to [#Istayathome] and those sacrificing everything to help others in this situation. Seeing so many people united just fills us up. 

Coca Cola after the George Floyd murder and consequent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign. Quite unlike the Covid19 scenario which did not involve needless violence by humans, Coca Cola made a significant departure from key aspects of its 'happy' mood (like using a black rather than red background). This departure was evident even visually, an element I can not recall ever having been paused. The message's tone offers promise to take a moment for reflection on how to do better. It promises to do better than the common inauthentic practice of using PR to profit from any situation, even sad ones. Time will tell its measure of authenticity. However, the effort is commendable regardless. Ultimately, they are not portraying the usual 'happy' mood, they are essentially promising to bring just that, but also to black lives. After all, their brand is about relationships and connection.

Final Thoughts

While a single emotional cue may be more suitable to a brand, brands may use combination of these emotional cues and entirely different ones for different purposes. For instance, a 'happy' brand may encourage customers to join its free shipping subscription program by instilling subtle amounts of fear over the spread Covid19 pandemic. As seen above, 'happy' brands can be solemn as well, ie while remaining true to their brand. After all, don't happy friends have moments of profound contemplation and sadness. It would appear tone deaf to be otherwise in solemn circumstances.

Degree of departing from the usual mood of the brand is a key consideration. For instance, if a happy brand uses fear-based advertising, it should mostly likely do so to a much less dramatic extent than brands with more solemn moods, like the WWF (above). Marketing executives have lost their jobs over material that was perceived to be tone deaf or otherwise insensitive.

As should have become apparent, marketers should use every possible avenue, symbolic and otherwise to overcommunicate. Notice how marketers do not miss opportunities for infusing their message into the minutest details, like Coca Cola colors in a model's tassel earrings and nail polish. When brands wanted to portray a happy mood, advertisements mostly used bright colors while their negative counterparts were all dark, drab and or monochrome.

CONTENT RELATED TO EMOTIONAL BRANDING / EMOTIONAL ADVERTISING

• Another form of emotional branding is  the brand lifestyle strategy that can be used to emotionally connect with consumes.
• With which emotion(s) can your brand or current marketing objectives best relate? Branding 101.
• Infuse emotions into as many elements of your brand personality; your tagline, lifestyle branding strategy, colors and so on.
• Limited Edition Marketing: emotional marketing using exclusivity, scarcity and urgency.
• Cause marketing