I've been working in the ad industry for 12 years and you can
trust me that I've met, talked to, and gained experienced from different kinds
of people. Well to be exact, two kinds of people's responses to advertisements. First,
those who are gullible to every ad and second, those critical thinkers who
often think that they are smart enough not to be fooled by advertisements. We
all know that they eventually will. You see, from the perspective of an ad man,
you know for sure that no matter what happens, you want every single person who
sees your ad to fall for what you offer. And by everyone, I mean the critical
thinkers too. Now, you might ask me, how do I do this? How do I lead critical
thinkers to the trap of persuasion? How do I make a product stand out in the
midst of competition within the same market?
Frankly speaking, persuasion is key in advertisements. When
you successfully persuade something, something “fake” can be considered “real”
and something can even be considered the opposite of what it truly is. Even
more, there could be a loss of aversion as persuasion takes place. Despite there
being a common theory of ethos, pathos, and logos, I can't just sit there and
wait for people to notice my products. I need to provide something different even
if my product has no forte whatsoever, or might even be exactly identical to my
competitor’s products. I need to create a steady stream of leads. And I need to
be proactive. My answer? Either you offer them new lenses, or you change their
perception. Let me explain the concept of this by giving you one real life
situation. Ataturk, Turkey’s revolutionary leader, wanted to prevent women from
wearing veils during the Ataturk Reforms in the 1900s to modernize the country.
Of course, if he blatantly forbids women from wearing veils, it would of course
result in a (potentially) terrible kickback. Unlike simplistic-minded people who
would directly ban the veil, he was an inventive thinker. No, he didn’t ban the
veil, but he made it mandatory for all prostitutes to wear the veil. He
paradoxically solved the problem. How so? Women stopped wearing the veil, but
he also prevented resistance that would most likely happen if he banned the
veil. Putting this particular situation in an advertisement’s context, he
“re-branded” the veil, and his brand sold successfully. What Ataturk and other
lateral thinkers realized was that all values are perceived values and they
will always be relative. So, a change in our perceived values might just be as satisfying
as what we regard as real values. One thing that I also realized after this
long experience in the industry is that persuasion is sometimes better than
compulsion. Convincing people to not do something is better than completely
banning. The result may not be instant, but trust me; it will last longer. It
will result in a better effect on changing an individual’s perception towards
your product. Take the famous, viral ad of 2012, the Dumb Ways to Die ad. You
see, that advertisement worked, having over 111 million views on YouTube. The
message was simple- “Be Safe Around Trains.”
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You see, the message was not exposed explicitly throughout
the majority of the video, but it was delivered smartly well. In fact, the
message was only discussed towards the end of the video, probably just for a
few seconds. But it worked. The persuasion worked. Yes, it was highlighted that
accidents around railways are the “DUMBEST ways to die”. But it wasn’t a usual
warning sign that says “YOU SHOULD BE CAREFUL AROUND TRAINS”, but instead,
Metro is smart enough to create impalpable values that replace actual values
which in this case appeal to be uninteresting and ignored. They change the
perspectives of people from a boring warning to something that they can always
remember, hence fulfilling the initial aim of the warning in the first place.
Creativity was of course poured out in the process, but the idea of giving a
new perspective on this message is brilliant. Indeed, this ad had a better
effect on changing behavior compared to the majority of its competition, when
it wasn’t even focused at the issue. After the ad was released, there was
approximately a 30% reduction in railway accidents and near misses, and
promoted 43% more awareness among 16-64 year olds in Australia.
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Clearly, those round, adorable creatures died brainlessly, but people found those elements
attractive and memorable. The ad was stuck in millions of people’s brains. My
daughter, a 6 year-old, even thought the song was so catchy that she wanted my
wife to sing it as a lullaby before she sleeps. It becomes tremendously
contagious, a domino effect that spreads quickly. In the end, just like
Ataturk’s story, it was a successful ad. The ad director again, “re-branded”
the message, making it truly interesting instead of monotonous for all. Metro did achieve its initial purpose of
cautiousness in railways through such a simple, yet thoughtful way. There you
go, ladies and gentlemen, how the masterminds of advertisements think. They
make advertisements work by changing people’s relative perspectives. Keep in
mind that it can be applied to any kind of advertisement, from promoting
products to raising a certain awareness.
In short, if you want to create opportunities for impulse
buying, or essentially want to make your advertisements successful, then you
have to make effective use of the impalpable values advertisements have control
of. Make them ignore the actual value, and as I mentioned previously, replace
it with seemingly “real”, intangible value. The case of raising awareness has
been discussed, but if you were to sell a product, make them have a polished
new brand, an “interesting” value that might not even exist. And I promise, you
will attain remarkable achievements from doing so. Trust me, I have been doing it for 12 years, and never have I
failed once.
