Why People Like Advertising

People all over the world enjoy advertising. In the past year, people from 70 countries have been reading my comments on the psychology of advertising.

Several of my posts have focused on the concept “attitude toward the ad.” Under this theory, the likability of a commercial as an enjoyable experience in itself can produce a positive effect on attitudes toward the brand or sponsor.

But, there is a broader point about advertising’s personal connection with people. Audience members give their attention to advertising. Their continuing interest is encouraged, indeed rewarded, by advertising that delivers an enjoyable experience.

This is why so many people like advertising as an institution in and of itself, quite beyond the attitudinal benefits for individual advertisers.

A recent commercial from India demonstrates this effect of enjoyable advertising as a reward to the audience.

The commercial is a mini-movie, billed in a teaser print campaign as “India’s official entry to Cannes.” In less than a minute and a half, it tells the life story of a Gujarati girl whose life (and afterlife) is changed by the strength of the adhesive used to apply a fake moustache.

This commercial shows why people like advertising. It is an extraordinary production, telling a charming story while reminding viewers of the sponsor’s significance.

This work was done in Mumbai by Ogilvy & Mather, India. The client, Pidilite Industries, presented the commercial as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of their Fevicol brand of adhesives.

For more perspective on psychological theory and the development of persuasive advertising, please see Strategic Power of the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Copyright © 2010 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

Super Sunday Advertising Theory

There is a conventional “learning theory of advertising.” In this view, the message content informs audience beliefs which then resolve in positive attitudes toward the advertised brand.


But, Super Sundays involve an alternative theory, known as “attitude toward the ad.” In this view, the message content is designed to be enjoyable at high levels. These feelings of enjoyment can resolve themselves in positive attitudes toward the brand. There may even be a “halo effect” on beliefs about the benefits of the brand itself.


The Snickers “Betty White” commercial won out over all the rest in the USA Today Ad Meter ratings of Super Sunday commercials.



The spot is highly entertaining, thereby enacting “attitude toward the ad.” This commercial also conveys a strong message about the benefits of the product, thereby showing the “learning” model of advertising. It is an admirable piece of advertising.

Interestingly, the psychologist Harlow Gale first suggested these alternative theories in 1900 with a concept he called “attractive ad.” You can read more about Gale's work in the article by John Eighmey and Sela Sar, "Harlow Gale and the Origins of the Psychology of Advertising," Journal of Advertising, (December), 2007.

Copyright © 2010 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

Super Sunday Advertising Prep

It's Super Sunday. About 40 advertisers will soon vie for your attention in between the football plays.

After the game (maybe even during), I'll post highlights comments on the Psychology of Advertising.

And, here's the link to the Ad Meter where USA Today will post the results of its viewer panel and provide copies of the commercials so you can see them again.

Copyright © 2010 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

Super Sunday Advertising Humor

Super Sunday is just ahead. The teams come and go, but advertising is always there to keep us entertained.

We like to be entertained, and fortunately fun is a good formula for persuasive communication. Humor is the most popular approach in television advertising, nowhere more evident than on Super Sunday.

To help you sort it all out this Sunday, here is Eighmey’s Typology of Humor in Advertising. The approach I call “Slap Shtick” is typically the most often used, but watch for the four others, too.

1. Slap Shtick: Stupid People Tricks


Last year, Doritos topped the USA Today popularity poll for Super Sunday commercials with a spot showing what happens when people take the power of a crystal ball into their own hands.

2. Ripping Off the Arts: Parody Can Pay


GE employed the Scarecrow from Oz to playfully envision the need for a smart power grid

3. Altered States: Rules of Everyday Life Need Not Apply


Coca-Cola told the story of a youth who finds friendship in a world of strange personas.

4. Exaggerated Claims: Hyper Hyperbole


Pedigree encouraged adoption of dogs by showing pet owners who had made highly inappropriate choices.

5. Strained Expectations: Take a Genre and Bend It


Hulu hired a movie star to turn a conventional celebrity testimonial into a monster movie.

So there you are. Have fun watching commercials this Sunday, and keep my typology on hand to score them.

For more on the Psychology of Advertising, please see Advertising and the Arc of History.

Copyright © 2010 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome to the Psychology of Advertising

I began this blog on the Psychology of Advertising a year ago. The objective remains to provide observations about current events and point out helpful sources for thinking about advertising.

The blog is meant for anyone interested in advertising. People everywhere like to study advertising. In the past year, thousands of people in almost 70 countries have read one or more of the 75 postings.

The spring semester begins next Tuesday. I will again be teaching a graduate course called Psychology of Advertising. This course has a long tradition at the University of Minnesota. I will also be teaching 60 wonderful undergraduate students in a course that introduces them to account planning.

In the 1890s , Harlow Gale, a faculty member in the Philosophy Department, taught a seminar he called Psychology of Advertising. Today, Gale is acknowledged as the first person to conduct scientific studies of the effects of advertising.

So this Minnesota tradition continues next week. And, I am looking forward to posting observations here on this blog. Many postings will correspond with discussions that are taking place in class, but the postings will also be offered with the understanding there are many readers around the world.

Welcome to Psychology of Advertising.

Distracted Driving and Advertising

Outdoor advertising is often placed to get the attention of drivers, but in a helpful manner. It is there pointing the way to a motel at the end of a long day on the highway, or it tells us the furniture store we seek is just around the corner, or the fastest way to the fast food.

The best outdoor advertising is designed to be read and understood almost instantly, while your eyes are still looking out the windshield.

Now, distracting our attention from outdoor advertising and our driving responsibilities, comes the latest designed-in distractions inside the car. Earlier posts on Psychology of Advertising have addressed the issues of cell phone use while driving and the designed-in distractions of the latest information and entertainment systems built into many automobiles. Advertising by cell phone providers and automobile manufacturers has routinely promoted these products and features, seemingly without recognition of the risks while driving.

Here's the latest on the evolving public discussion. It's a link to the January 1, 2010 New York Times article Bills to Curb Distracted Driving Gain Momentum.

Copyright © 2010 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

Unsafe at any speed?

In 1965, activist Ralph Nader wrote a book titled Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile.

This issue is taking on new life today, emerging in the form of arms reach electronic gadgetry in cars. Here's a key frame from a current commercial for one brand, but this marketing emphasis is seen throughout the automobile industry.


The parallel structure of the commercial demonstrates what is called a navigation and entertainment system. To use it, the driver must look down and away from the road ahead. There are many things to read and buttons to find and push.

The commercial concludes with the pushing of the car's starter button, but the demonstration of the features clearly takes place while the car is driven on a busy city street.

On December 6, 2009, the New York Times carried a story concerning the distractions of cell phone use when driving. The story focused cell phone advertising and marketing as related to promotion of phone use while driving.

So the questions of distracted driving go far beyond what you bring into the car. The question arises now as to whether the devices being built into cars are making them unsafe at any speed. And in the marketing of these devices, there are clearly legal issues relating to failure to warn.

Copyright © 2009 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.