Advertising and Psychology

Leslie Gill, Leslie Ernest Gill

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415817707
• eBook ISBN: 9781136663772
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Advertising
• Index: Business

The consequences of advertising on the social life of the community has been a much-discussed topic in recent years. Advertising as a means of influencing the thought and behaviour of masses of people involves the application of such fundamental aspects of psychology as attention, motivation, memory, association, suggestion, volition, and so on.

Modern advertising presents its message in a variety of forms: attracting, informing, reminding, suggesting and impelling us many times during the course of any single day. To what extent advertising influences our tastes, preferences and purchases may be gauged by the number of things we buy directly or indirectly as the result of reading advertisements.

In this volume the main interest is the study of public reaction to various advertising appeals. The advertising aspect of psychology involves the study of man's conscious and near-conscious activities. What goes on his mind when he is attracted by something he sees and reads in an advertisement or poster? This question Advertising and Psychology attempts to answer. Dealing as it does with so complex and fascinating a theme, this book's purpose is to provide an introductory outline in a manner intelligible to both the student and the general reader.

First published in 1954.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1. Advertising and Psychology

THE title of this book links two very important subjects, each of which plays a prominent part in the daily life of the people.

The first word in the title—advertising—is not difficult to understand. We are all familiar with the colourful, amusing and appealing posters that adorn the walls of our streets and railway stations. We cannot fail to notice, and sometimes read, the advertisements in our newspapers and magazines. They are far too numerous to be ignored, and far too irresistible not to make some mark on our thoughts and actions. Again, we cannot fail to turn our gaze toward those ingenious signs, many of them animated, that enliven the night sky of our cities with their scintillating glow. We think, too, of the great exhibitions and trade fairs, with their array of cleverly designed booths presenting the latest products, devices and inventions in every kind of merchandise. Modern advertising presents its message in a variety of forms; attracting, informing, reminding, suggesting and impelling us many times during the course of any single day. To what extent advertising influences our tastes, preferences and purchases may be gauged by the number of things we buy directly or indirectly as the result of reading advertisements, either at the point of sale, when we enter a store, or at some time previously.

2. Definition of Psychology

When we come to consider the meaning of the third word in our title, the word psychology, we realize that its definition is somewhat obscure. Ask any half-dozen normally intelligent persons to define the word and you will find the same perplexity, followed by a hesitating attempt at a vague definition. The inconclusiveness of the term is probably due to the way in which writers of popular fiction have used the word loosely to serve all manner of colloquial ends. Characters in fiction are made to talk glibly of psychological moments, of psychological blunders, plots, trends and so forth.

Psychology is not an easy subject to define in a few words. The term itself is derived from the Greek psyche meaning“mind”, and logos meaning“word”. Words about the mind, or a systematic study of the workings of the mind, are brief definitions that may be found generally acceptable.

The study of psychology involves the accumulating, sifting, classifying and checking of a mass of information regarding the mental life of the people. The application of this wealth of information can prove of practical value to those whose work is concerned with the welfare of the public and the efficient running of business and social organizations.

Students will doubtless already have discovered that psychology is a many-sided subject. Writers on psychology usually specialize in presenting their own particular branch or application of the subject. The present volume deals mainly with the principles of persuasion. It should be borne in mind, however, that there are many other equally important aspects. The psychology of teaching, for example, is closely related to that of advertising, for the latter is essentially a form of teaching people in the mass. Other branches of psychology deal with such diverse topics as sex, industrial relations, vocational guidance, and the study of mentally abnormal persons. There are many others. Whenever the human mind and its functions are discussed in relation to a particular mode of human activity, there we have a potential field for exploration.

3. Advertising Defined

In this volume our main interest is the study of public reaction to various advertising appeals. The advertising aspect of psychology involves the study of man's conscious and near-conscious activities. It deals with his mental and emotional reactions to the things he sees, feels, tastes, hears and smells. What goes on in his mind when he is attracted by something he sees and reads in an advertisement or poster? This question psychology attempts to answer. It is a subject of immediate practical interest to everyone engaged in publicity.

The work of the copywriter or advertisement producer is very closely linked with psychology. Writing copy for an advertisement is, in fact, the very essence of applied psychology. It is the chief function of the copywriter to produce the basic ideas for advertisement campaigns. Knowledge of the psychological principles involved in attracting attention, arousing interest, and creating demand should enable him to execute his ideas for pictorial display and descriptive matter with a greater facility and success.

Advertising is the process of making known. The successful advertisement brings into activity a chain of mental processes which, although occurring simultaneously or in close succession in the mind, have to be selected individually for the purpose of analysis and investigation. Mental processes such as attention, perception, memory, recall, imagination, suggestion, and the rest, rarely operate singly. The nature of human experience and consciousness is like a stream. It flows continuously. Sometimes slowly and quietly, as when the mind is in tranquil, reflective mood. At other times swiftly and turbulently, as when the mind is charged with emotion. It is the purpose of successful advertising to stir the stream of consciousness so that the potential purchaser responds favourably to the subject of the advertisement. Therefore, the designer aims first at attracting the public eye, then at arousing interest and acceptance of the message. To arouse interest is one thing, but to turn interest in the direction of desire is another. Here is where the persuasive skill of the copywriter comes into play. Interest is sustained and can be turned into positive action when the individual's feelings, emotions and desires are stimulated; and still better when also his intellectual doubts are removed by convincing argument and a realistic interpretation of the facts. As old-established advertisers know well enough, people respond more readily to advertisements when their desire for possession of the object is reinforced by a certain conviction that ownership will bring some tangible benefit.

4. Social Value of Advertising

An introductory chapter to a psychology of advertising would be incomplete without some reference to the cumulative effect of long years of advertising on the social life of the people. Advertising has undoubtedly proved a dominant influence throughout the lifetime of almost everyone alive in this country today. A century ago the great manufacturing and distributive industries were beginning to establish themselves: and even in those far-off times, men of vision in commerce were already realizing the great potential force inherent in cheap engraving and printing methods. Advertising took its place alongside industry during the fruitful years of expansion at the latter part of the nineteenth century. Mass-production techniques, coupled with the extension of marketing at home and abroad, helped to provide a profusion of goods of every description. In this developing period advertising proved an indispensable accessory to industrial progress. So today its main function as an informing and persuasive force is accepted as a natural element in the social and business life of the nation.

5. Influence in our Daily Lives

The man-in-the-street takes for granted the advantages provided by advertising. He assumes, quite rightly, that firms would not use expensive publicity were it not for the fact that advertising builds handsome business and creates profit for the investor. But social factors over and above profit-making motives single advertising out as a subject of special interest to all students of human nature.

We have already described advertising as a means of giving information about goods and services, and we have duly noted its persuasive character. It is true, is it not, that the cumulative result of all this persuasive, informative literature leads people to desire more and better things for themselves, their families and their homes. And, therefore, there is a tendency for the average honest citizen to be impelled to work harder to obtain those things he so ardently desires. The fact of his working harder is a good thing for the nation, for every extra ounce of energy directed to a task increases the productivity of industry.

By creating demand, moreover, advertising makes the work of the shopkeeper easier and, as we shall presently note in greater detail, makes for economy in the distribution of goods from the factories to the homes of the consuming public. Business prestige is built by truthful advertising and customers learn to have confidence in the familiar products whose names are household words. Advertised goods have to be maintained at a reputable quality, otherwise other more competitive brands will conquer the market. This competitive factor serves the interest of the purchaser of well-publicized goods.

Advertising brings new ideas and inventions within reach of the general public with the least possible delay. It brings the amenities of cheap transport, the advantages of clean, hygienic-ally-packed food and drink, the luxury of modern furnishings, the benefit of labour-saving devices in domestic appliances, the exquisite pleasure of fashionable attire. But without the widespread dissemination of information that only advertising can provide, and the resultant mass-demand, the availability of such amenities at reasonable prices for the mass-market would be technically impossible. For the establishment of a mass-market is a necessary corollary to the mass-production technique which brings articles of every kind within reach of every purse.

6. The Teaching Function of Advertising

Advertising is akin to teaching. The teacher seeks to influence the mind of his pupils, first by stirring their attention and interest in the subject at hand, then by suggesting ways and means by which the relevant facts and figures may be impressed on the memory for later recall. Like the teacher, the advertising expert also seeks to influence his public by calling attention to his message and by concentrating their perception on the virtues and advantages of the advertised products. Repetition plays an important part in assisting the public unconsciously to assimilate various points about the product, including the committing to memory of the name of the product.

H. G. Wells once described advertising as the art of teaching people to want things.! And there is abundant truth in his description. Teaching the public to want things—new and better things than they have previously enjoyed—is a costly business. It is apposite to our study of the psychology of advertising to know something of its cost. According to a report issued by the Advertising Association, the total advertising expenditure in the year 1950 was probably as high as £170,000,000 to £185,000,000. This astronomical figure would represent something like 1.5 to 1.7 of the entire national income. It is not the purpose of this book to go further along the road of economic inquiry. But the total advertising bill in terms of £ million is of immediate interest because it sheds light on the tremendous power of advertising as a social influence in shaping the thought and habits of the community.

7. Advertising Must be Planned

Advertising campaigns both small and large call for efficient co-ordination of the publicity placed through the various channels or media, the most important of which are discussed in a further chapter. Competent co-ordination and timing are essential to the success of the campaign. The timing may link up with some national or seasonal event.

There is a peak at which the well-organized advertising scheme reaches its maximum power. What is loosely referred to as“the psychological moment” is the point in time when the interest of the public is calculated to be at its zenith, and fully ripe for the advertiser's maximum effort. For example, in departmental store advertising the Christmas campaign may commence around the middle of November and increase in a gradual crescendo, reaching its height about seven clear shopping days before Christmas.

As a rule the advertising scheme is only one phase in the complete marketing plan. The appearance of the advertisements, posters, cinema slides and films, and the mailing of literature, must be timed in unison with the known capacity of the factory and the distributive organization to produce and deliver the goods through the complicated web of shippers, carriers, agents, and wholesalers, to reach the retail shops in time to satisfy the initial demand.

While these matters are not in themselves problems with which the advertisement designer or writer has to deal, the degree of painstaking efficiency with which these marketing matters are done will have a marked effect on the success of the psychological appeal embodied in the physical make-up of the advertisements. However much forethought and persuasive ability are applied to the production of illustrations and copy, the result will be negatived by any lack of co-ordination and planning in the distribution of the product.

Nowadays the majority of consumer advertisements make use of branded names. Large firms have come to realize that products, like people and places, are easier to remember when they have names. A good name is not only an interesting appendage to the product itself, it also gives the product a certain dignity and distinction. People prefer to ask for a certain brand of cigarettes, because that brand name is synonymous in the smoker's mind with all that he expects of a good cigarette. Another attractive publicity feature of most branded goods is the package or carton. The design of the covering of the commodity is known as a“dealer aid”. When displayed in the shops its originality, size and colour will vividly tie up with the illustration of the product reproduced elsewhere in the newspapers, posters and other media. Brand names and distinctive packages or cartons are attention arousing. They enable the consumer to remember the product very clearly and effortlessly. The famous Oxo cube carton is a classic example. Other old favourites are Bird's Custard, with its gay red, yellow and blue chessboard-patterned tin, and its cheery chirping birds. Also Camp Coffee with its mellow picture of the kilted Scotsman and his dusky valet.

Brand names or firm names are important items in prestige advertising, too. Prestige advertising not only seeks to keep the brand name before the public eye, it also sets out to explain the aims and objects of a firm's policy. It is probably true to say that prestige advertising is used more today than ever before. Many large firms have proved the value of maintaining goodwill by indulging in prestige campaigns especially during the years of acute shortage of supplies following the war. Manufacturing firms often found it necessary to explain the reason for delay in putting their products on the home market, and a word regretting the necessity for price increases was a particularly happy way of offsetting the negative aspect of price inflation.

8. Psychology Aids Economy in Advertising

Psychology is a useful factor in reducing the enormous cost of advertising. As we have already observed the annual bill for advertising in Great Britain is computed to be in the region of £170,000,000.

It must be recognized that in all advertising effort there must be an inevitable margin of waste. Many advertisements may never be seen; others may be seen but not read. Some may be partly read and then fail to hold the reader's interest or make any impression on his thought and action. A study of psychological principles, however, will tend to make the copywriter, illustrator, typographer and planner, each more cognizant of those psychological factors in layout and copy that make for positive results, and tend to bring about economies in the spending of the advertising fund. The more the advertising man can understand the inherent traits and reactions of human beings, the more efficient will he become. Successful men in the advertising profession number among their natural endow-ments a generous capacity for understanding human nature. A good advertising man has a keen and sympathetic interest in people. Technical knowledge of the various processes of reproduction, plus business acumen, are advantageous personal qualities, but these qualities in themselves will not atone for any lack of imaginative wisdom and human sympathy which are so absolutely necessary in the practical advertising man. He needs insight, shrewd perception and a clear brain, the attributes of the natural psychologist, if he is to comprehend the needs of all classes of people and address his advertising schemes accordingly.

Psychology throws light on the social importance of advertising. It also suggests ways and means by which advertisements can be made more productive of good results without a corresponding increase in the size of the advertising bill. Old-fashioned hit-or-miss methods that were a characteristic mark of the pioneerin...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Chapter I Introduction
• II Media
• III Advertising Research
• IV The Mind
• V Attention
• VI Attention Factors in Advertising
• VII Apperception and Interest
• VIII Psychology of the Layout
• IX Imagination
• X Motivation
• XI Habit
• XII Feeling and Emotion
• XIII Intelligence
• XIV Sympathy and Suggestion
• XV Various Advertising Appeals
• XVI Remembering
• XVII Association
• XVIII Volition
• XIX Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index