The ad above is part of a series of advertisements for the
trade book publisher, Penguin Books UK. The ads quote the, often intriguing,
first lines of various novels. In this
instance the line ‘My right arm fell off today’ is used from Joan Frances
Turner’s ‘Dust’, and subsequently uses the slogan ‘every great beginning
deserves to be continued’.
The advert uses a range of techniques to attract the
attention of passersby, which arguably is the main aim for any advertisement or
persuasive message. Most notably, the phrase ‘my right arm fell off today’ is
likely to be a phrase no passerby expects to see. By violating the viewers
expectations, It can be seen as a mild form of ‘shock tactics’ such that by shocking
the reader, the viewer is more likely to
take another look, further cementing the persuasive message. Research has also shown
that shocking the viewer can significantly increase attention, benefit memory
and effectively change behaviours. Dahl
et al. (2003) compared three different approaches to HIV prevention advertisements
(information, fear and shock) and found those exposed to shocking ads
outperformed both other types of appeal on measures of attention recall and
recognition, highlighting its effectiveness as a communication strategy. Though
unlikely to deeply shock anyone, the Penguin ad may similarly reap the benefits
of a shocking ad in surprising their audience with a phrase they are not
expecting to see. In this way, the advertiser has successfully evoked interest
and captured the attentions of its target audience.
Furthermore,
the Penguin Books ad is fairly simplistic. Research has shown that simplicity
is important when the target audience only have brief exposure to the ad, such
as if this ad were displayed on a billboard or at a train station. Experts on
billboard advertising have previously recommend using eight words or less to
increase effectiveness. In a sample of 252 billboards, Blasko (1985) showed
that national advertisers had an average of fewer than seven words and 1.2
piece of information per billboard compared to local advertisers, who weren’t ‘in-the-know’,
averaging about 13 words and 1.6 pieces of information per ad.
A
study by Donthu, Cherian and Bhargava (1993) further illustrates the
effectiveness of simplicity. They placed 10 new billboard ads on a 30 mile
stretch of an American suburb, advertising local products and services. Four of
the 10 had 7 words or fewer, the remainder had more than 8. Fifty days
after they were placed, researchers undertook telephone interviews with 142
residents who passed all ten on their commute to work. Respondents recalled 1.5 times as many of the
ads with fewer words compared to those with many. With the main body of the
Penguin ad using a mere 7 words, research would suggest they are more likely to
be remembered meaning greater success for the company.
All in all, the content and simplicity of this rather quirky
advertisement evokes intrigue in the viewer, with the aim of cementing the underlying
persuasive message.
Blasko, V.
J. (1985), “A Content Analysis of the Creative Characteristics of Outdoor advertising: National Vs. Regional Differences,”
in Proceedings of the 1985 Conference
of the American Academy of Advertising, Nancy Stephens,
ed., Tempe, AZ, 17–21.
Donthu, N., Cherian, J.,
& Bhargava, M. (1993). Factors influencing recall of outdoor advertising.. Journal of Advertising
Research, 33(3), 64-72.
Sophie Preece
A lovely and well written analysis.
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