Head or Heart
I was reading Scamp's blog the other day and he was referring to this long, but brilliant article by Paul Feldwick. Anyone who works in communications should read Paul Feldwick- he's written for years on brands and his wisdom is timeless, regardless of how technology changes. I still use his division of "strategic idea, creative idea and executional idea" in creative development research.
Feldwick's article basically debunks any advertising (or research of such), that is based on communicating a rational message, because he doesn't fundamentally believe that rational messages work to convince us of anything. Instead, he argues that emotional associations are what matter and all successful brand building advertising is based on this…intentionally or not. A lot of his examples are from the UK in the 70s and 80s, so they rang true for me, but he discusses the Wassup campaign from Bud a few years ago as a perfect example that readers of the Dozen should understand. The original Bud campaign and its many spin offs had no product message, no mention of hops, barley, glacial spring water, brewing method or whatever- but was still hugely successful because it built positive sociability associations with the brand. Scamp (a creative director at BBH in London) calls for briefs to state these desired associations rather than "main message communication". This obviously has implications for how we research advertising.
It interested me, because when I think back to all the creative development research I've done, when I ask people to play back the "main thing the ad was telling you about brand Y", I know when the work is succeeding when they describe an association (makes brand Y seem sophisticated, or when I want to stand out, I'll buy brand Y) vs. when they play back a rational thought. These emotional associations can then be linked back to that individual's life in a much richer and more evocative way and arguably this makes communicating at this level more powerful.
Feldwick's theory holds water in lots of categories - even in automotive, where you'd imagine that rational claims would be crucial to helping people justify their purchase. Remember these two gems that work entirely at an emotional level. The only place I can think rational claims can work is after you've just spent money - it helps soften the blow. But for me, it always all about heart over head, which is why I also drink Guinness and eat Cadbury chocolate.
