This
is one of Persil’s adverts for their “small and mighty” washing liquid,
launched in 2008. The ad uses a few simple, persuasive techniques combined with
some creative camera tricks to put across their message.
The most
poignant feature of the ad is the metaphor for the “small and mighty” Persil
product, which include relatively small children (seemingly) being able to push
an enormous dog sitting in a cart. Meta-analyses have highlighted the
effectiveness of metaphors versus literal language in changing attitudes
(Sopory & Dillard, 2002). The images also have the combined effect of
subverting expectations, piquing interest in the ad, which, according to
research (Fennis, Das & Pruyn, 2004), can induce favourable feelings
towards the product and boosts compliance (in this case, buying behaviour).
The
association between the product and bright colours, summer, and cleanliness, is
implicit but strong, and is a technique rooted in classical conditioning. For
example, Olson and Fazio (2001) successfully influenced attitudes by pairing
Pokémon characters with negative or positive stimuli. In this case, Persil are
hoping to pair their product (conditioned stimulus) with a number of positive
attributes, such as fun, bright colours and clean clothes (unconditioned
stimuli). The ad, to some extent, also argues against Persil’s self-interest,
with the phrase “a bottle will do the same amount of washing twice its size”.
This implies that the consumer will get more washes out of one bottle and thus
not need to buy more of the product, whilst also helping the consumer to reduce
their carbon footprint. Arguing against self-interest boosts the effectiveness
of a message by surprising the consumer and making them believe that what the
influencer is saying is true (Pratkanis, 2007).
This
Persil ad also draws on close relationships by focusing the message on the
needs of children and how parents can care for them best. This is a strong
persuasion tactic because it draws upon the knowledge that people put the needs
of significant others before their own, otherwise they feel guilt (Pratkanis,
2007). Guilt is a strong emotion that people are motivated to avoid, and brands
can take advantage of this (Burnett & Lunsford, 1994). The slogan at the
end of the ad: “every child has the right to be a child”, epitomises this. It
leaves consumers with the message that if they do not buy the product, then
their child’s clothes will become stained and dirty, unless they do not allow
the child to “be a child”. This is the nub of anticipatory regret, which
motivates consumers to buy products to protect against future consequences,
such as consistently buying lottery tickets (Wolfson & Briggs, 2002).
References
Burnett, M. S., & Lunsford, D. A. (1994).
Conceptualizing guilt in the consumer decision-making process. Journal
of Consumer Marketing, 11, 33-43.
Fennis, B. M., Das, E. H., & Pruyn, A. T. H.
(2004). “If You Can’t Dazzle Them with Brilliance, Baffle Them with Nonsense”:
Extending the Impact of the Disrupt-Then-Reframe Technique of Social Influence. Journal
of Consumer Psychology, 14, 280-290.
Olson, M. A., & Fazio, R. H. (2001).
Implicit attitude formation through classical conditioning. Psychological
Science, 12, 413-417.
Pratkanis, A. R. (2007). Social influence
analysis: An index of tactics. In The science of social influence:
Advances and future progress. (pp. 17-82). New York: Psychology Press.
Sopory, P., & Dillard, J. P. (2002). The
persuasive effects of metaphor: a meta‐analysis. Human Communication
Research, 28, 382-419.
Wolfson, S., & Briggs, P. (2002). Locked
into gambling: Anticipatory regret as a motivator for playing the National
Lottery. Journal of Gambling Studies, 18, 1-17.
Lauren Rosewarne
Excellently written, well done.
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