Hype and Legacy

This advert for Premier drums uses a successful, well-known drummer to try to sell the product. Pat Lundy is currently the drummer for Funeral For a Friend, and previously played drums in Rise to Remain. The quote, 'There's legacy and there's hype. I choose legacy,' here attributed to Pat Lundy, is  an example of selective presentation of information, which is being used to bias decision making. Legacy has positive connotations, implying that if you choose to play these drums you too will be part of a legacy. This also implies superior quality and long-lasting drums, which is important in such an expensive purchase. Annis and Meier (1934) found that selective presentation is persuasive, as they placed basing information in a university newspaper, which successfully persuaded students to change their opinion about a political event.
The advert is linked with an expert source, which has been shown to increase persuasion. Hovland, Janis and Kelley (1953) effectively persuaded people to change their opinion on a number of issues by using a perceived expert source to present information. They attributed this persuasion to the fact that people generally want to hold correct beliefs, and relying on expert sources helps with maintaining this goal.

References Annis, M.C & Meier, N, C. (1934). The introduction of opinion through suggestion by means of 'planted content'. The Journal of Social Psychology, 5, 65-81. 

Hovland, C, I., Janis, I, L,. & Kelley, H, H,. (1953). Communication and persuasion: Psychological studies of opinion change. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.




Amy Melody