Emotional Advertising: Why Human Decisions Are Like Icebergs
By: Ali Goldsmith
Tags: Marketing, Branding, Psychology, Emotions, Advertising

Humans are inherently irrational. Our hearts are often stronger motivators than our heads when making day-to-day decisions.

So, you can blame your brain for your choice of Chipotle over Chop’t for lunch. Even Wall Street-ers are not immune to the power of emotions. Research has shown that sunny weather is linked to higher stock market performance. On rainy days, however, everything falls apart.

Source: TrueGif.com

Our emotions and decisions are truly inseparable. A series of studies by Antonio R. Damasio showed that people with damage to their orbitofrontal cortices, the brain’s emotional hub, struggled to make simple choices. While their ability to use reason was intact, they couldn’t store the emotions associated with things they liked and disliked. Therefore, they couldn’t easily determine which item they preferred.

Source: Giphy.com

Those of us with intact orbitofrontal cortices, however, use mental short-cuts to make our lives just a bit easier. These shortcuts are called heuristics and they allow our brains to operate on autopilot when making simple decisions. If you picture an iceberg, these heuristics would live under the water’s surface. This subconscious majority of decision making is called “System 1” (See Figure 1).

Figure 1. Source: The Long and Short of It

This is where long-term brand preferences and emotional brand associations come into play. System 1 is responsible for the automatic, emotional and fast responses that guide our day-to-day choices. For example, if you’re a regular Starbucks drinker and were given the choice between Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, you would choose Starbucks without batting an eye.

On the other hand, “System 2” is responsible for the decisions that require slow and effortful thought. System 2 is activated when System 1 doesn’t have an automatic response, particularly when you are considering buying a product. While System 1 provides powerful emotional priming that can sway you in one direction, System 2 ultimately pulls the trigger on the purchase. In some cases, especially when you encounter a superior product or major discount, System 2 can overpower the preferences established by System 1. For instance, if you found out that Dunkin’ Donuts was offering coffee for $1, you might consider abandoning your Starbucks routine. Campaigns that focus on rational messaging and short-term gains activate System 2. Only customers that are close to the moment of purchase are affected by promotional and direct response tactics. Most other people screen out these messages.

Campaigns that activate System 1, however, affect long-term brand preferences and emotional brand associations. This approach provokes lasting feelings that accumulate over time and can lead to long-term sales growth and reduction in price elasticity.

Here are some great examples of iconic emotion-driven campaigns:

Apple: “Think Different” (1997)

Extra Gum: “The Story of Sarah & Juan” (2015)

Barbie: “Imagine the Possibilities” (2015)

These ads all make you feel something without explicitly selling a product. You may not feel immediately compelled to go and buy a packet of Extra Gum or a Barbie, but there is a little part of your orbitofrontal cortex that just stored a positive emotional association with these brands. And that’s awesome.

For an additional look at the insights behind human emotion and their effect on advertising, check out our piece on ‘The Illogical Logic Behind Rational Advertising’.