Seeing bits and pieces of aggression in advertising can be a little more commonplace than you think, especially when it comes to absolute phrases, such as “Choosy Moms Choose Jif” or “If you call yourself a sports fan, you gotta have DirecTV!” However, making such a confident point may not be the best factor when it comes to drawing in consumers.
A new study by the Journal of Consumer Research indicates that ads that take such a direct approach don’t always work, mainly because their slogans can be a little too assertive. For example, the DirecTV statement can throw off those who feel that they’re still sports fans even without the satellite service.
“When identity is involved, people really want to feel like they’re making the choice themselves, that the decision is meaningful,” said Amit Bhattacharjee, an assistant professor for the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, one of the main people who worked on the study alongside academics from New York University and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Marketers that “push too hard, it ruins that,” according to Amit, as it “crowds out a sense of ownership and turns consumers off.”
With a group of 120 people questioned for the study, three groups were formed, with each getting a different slogan for Charlie’s Soap, a biodegradable cleaning soap. The first got “a good choice for consumers”; the second got “a good soap for green consumers”; and the third got “the only choice for green consumers.”
The middle option, out of all three, was the most well received, while the worst performer was the “only choice” one, according to the study. The reason it was so oft-putting was because, according to Amit, their sense of “freedom in expressing their identity” was corrupted with such an absolute statement.
“At some nonconscious level, it might be a little annoying or threatening, but put in the overall context, it doesn’t necessarily cause defection,” added Mark Forehand, a professor of marketing at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.
Overall, Amit feels that the lesson for marketers here is to “reference identity without being too explicit, you do want a lighter touch.”
What do you think Are go-getter slogans like that a little too rough to take
Source: New York Times
