Emotional arousal is an approach that works well for every product category. There are theories galore that talk about man as a logical, thinking being who meticulously and rationally evaluates the merit of product knowledge and information. However, at the same time exists a parallel notion that have been proven equal number of times regarding the retention and recall of communication which is formulated with an emotional appeal. As someone said if there were no emotions there would be no music in the orchestra of life. However, the fallacy of understanding is to perceive all emotion to be positive and pleasant.
Like the dark side of the moon, like the zero-sum game, and like the cycle of sukh-dukh, positive and negative emotions both co-exist and are instrumental in driving human thought and action.
Disgust and fear are unconstructive sentiments that find manifestation in human psyche. Interestingly the marketer makes clever use of this negativity in communication.
DISGUST
Disgust or Vibhastya is a very strong yucky emotion; its physical manifestation is a puckered facial expression. Often termed as the forgotten emotion its power has been established by social psychologists as an important force in shunning certain kind of behavior, individuals and beliefs. So Harpic and Vim bar force you to look at the sullied non-sanitised toilet seat and the microscopic view of the “so called cleaned utensils” respectively. The sight is starkly repulsive and you breathe a sigh of relief at the Vim and Harpic solutions (pun intended).
The second portrayal of disgust is somewhat debatable, in terms of its ethical correctness and morality. Here the intention is a trifle malevolent. The portrayal is targeted towards developing feelings of self-inadequacy and social disgust. Thus you have a pretty young girl screwing up her nose at the obnoxiously smell in her beaus’ car.
The message being if you want her company you need to spray Ambi Pur. Similar is the state of social exile that you earn if you have bad body odour and everyone in the bus wants to be a foot away from you. Skin acne, cracked heels, pigmentation marks and even dark skin could be conditions that are subtly exhibited as disparaging and those that will earn you aversion until you use Krack cream, No Marks, Fair & Lovely and Clearasil.
FEAR
One of the strongest negative emotions that drive us is fear, as the tag line of a popular beverage brand states — Darr sabko lagta hai. Physiologically it is an adrenalin rush and emotionally it can manifest itself in various ways from simple withdrawal to bizarre and abnormal. Commonly experienced and depicted fears by the marketer could take on various forms.
The first is the fear of disease and death, and this is a fear that most life and medical insurance companies play on. Fear also becomes an effective negative reinforcement method when you need to show a diffused but fearful spurt of blood, the screech of a vehicle accident and the silence of death. No words are needed here to fasten your seat belt, or wear a helmet; as the unseen is what registers immediately, the khatra so real and so jolting.
So if you open the paper to you can’t afford another heart attack, the toll free number of Star medical insurance immediately registers.
Sometimes the portrayals are also a mixture of disgust and fear. An example being the oral cancer ads, which show a sequel consumption of gutka and tambaku, mutilated body organs and the lifeless form of a young 24 year old. More alarming and effective than the pictures of tar filled lungs of a cigarette smoker are the portrayals of passive smoking where, bemani si chah ki khatir phir apne angan ko aag lagayi maine aaj phir cigarette sulgayi maine.
The other set of fear ads are more heartening as they offer a “darr kea age jeet hai” solution, this could be as your ICICI security blanket or the safety from the shock laga and fire prone dubious cables with Havells and Anchor. As the high stress panorama of the man’s hectic work pressures unfold, the dub-dub of the heartbeat fearfully increases and you immediately seek Safolla’s trust.
So does negativity work well? The answer very clearly is yes, as these are a cauldron that the punter wants to escape so if the brand promise is one of relief from the disparaging sight of an unhygienic and unhealthy condition your brand will always enjoy the guardian positioning like Lord Bhairon outside the Kali mandir.
However when this feeling of disgust is at the cost of an individual’s self my advice to the consumer is like the little Daisy Irani to Raj Kapoor in Jagte Raho: “Kyon darte ho tumne to kuch bhi nahin kiya... ”
Prof. Neena Sondhi is professor, marketing, International Management Institute, New Delhi