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Persuasive Advertising book cover
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Persuasive Advertising

by J. Scott Armstrong

Persuasive Advertising

Core Proposition

Evidence-based advertising principles underlie persuasion. Experimentation is the bedrock of knowledge about these principles.

“Management is far behind medicine. Managers rely on gut feelings and experience rather than evidence.”

Types of Evidence

Casual Observation

Experience provides a poor way to learn how to persuade through advertising due to the complexity of advertising and difficulty getting good feedback.

Non-Experimental Data

In 24 principles studied, non-experimental analyses agreed with experimental data 67% of the time—better than chance, but calling for caution.

Quasi-Experimental Data

Findings from quasi-experimental analyses were valid and agreed with experimental evidence.

Experimental Data

The gold standard. Meta-analyses of experimental findings provide the strongest evidence.

“Only a small percentage of studies in advertising contain useful findings. Persuasive Advertising relies primarily on studies that have been replicated.”

Key Principles

Strategy: Information

1.1 Benefits

  • Describe specific, meaningful benefits early in the ad
  • Communicate a unique selling proposition (USP)
  • Every manufacturer “has a monopoly on some features of its product”

1.2 News

  • Provide real news about new products, improvements, or price reductions
  • Put news early in the ad with words like “Introducing,” “Announcing,” “New”
  • Use still media for complex news

1.3 Product

  • Provide product information customers need
  • Offer choices (no paradox of choice for uni-dimensional decisions)
  • Make recommended choice the default
  • Use product-satisfaction guarantees

1.4 Price

  • State prices in meaningful, easy-to-understand terms
  • Use round prices for quality positioning
  • Show price as good value against reference price
  • Consider “Pennies a day” framing

“Southwest Airlines distilled their identity: ‘THE low-fare airline’”

1.5 Distribution

  • Include when, where, and how to buy
  • Feature impressive sales channels
  • Specify delivery dates rather than waiting times

Strategy: Influence

2.1 Reasons

“In general, the reasons provided should be relevant and logical. However, for convenience goods or small donations, even an odd or illogical reason could be persuasive.”

2.2 Social Proof

  • Show that product is widely used
  • Focus on individuals similar to target market
  • Especially effective for credence products

2.3 Scarcity

  • State that attractive product is scarce when true
  • Scarcity from demand is more persuasive than accidental scarcity
  • Restrict sales when appropriate

2.4 Attribution

  • Attribute favorable behavior or traits to target market
  • Example: “This is a poster for Economist readers”

2.5 Liking

  • Associate products with favorable and relevant things
  • Be cautious of irrelevant favorable elements that distract

2.6 Authority

  • Use support from authorities for credence goods
  • “By appointment of her Majesty”

2.7 Commitment

  • Ask customers to make explicit promises
  • Use foot-in-the-door: small step followed by related second request

2.8 Reciprocation

“There is no duty more indispensable than that of returning a kindness.” — Cicero, 53 BC

Give something to specific individuals when they can reciprocate easily.

Strategy: Emotion

3.1 Emotional Focus

  • Do not mix rational and emotional appeals in an ad
  • Eye-tracking studies found people overwhelmed when both present

3.2 Trust Brands replace personal trust when sellers are large and impersonal.

3.3 Self-Expression By paying more for brands, we make statements about who we are.

3.4 Guilt

  • Lead people to think about their standards
  • Evoke self-awareness (mirror studies show 20% reduction in undesirable behavior)
  • Encourage anticipation of guilt
  • Focus on victims similar to target market

3.5 Fear

  • Use threats related to likely or severe consequences that can be avoided
  • Once threat established, quickly show how product solves the problem
  • Stories provide effective way to transmit fear

3.6 Provocation Provoke only when it attracts attention to a selling point.

Strategy: Mere Exposure

4.1 Brand Name

“Repeated exposure of the individual to a stimulus is a sufficient condition for the enhancement of his attitude toward it.” — Zajonc, 1968

When there’s no need for information, consider advertising the brand name.

4.2 Product Placements Link product to familiar and positive situations.

General Tactics: Resistance

5.1 Distraction

“If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with nonsense.”

For products with neither advantages nor disadvantages, consider distraction.

5.2 Perspectives

  • Present offer from new perspective
  • VW ad: “$1.02 a pound”
  • Focus on benefits/features rather than choices

5.3 Stories When target market has opposing viewpoint, use stories to:

  • Convey powerful emotional images
  • Put facts in context
  • Lead people to think about example, not evidence
  • Avoid inducing counter-arguing

5.4 Barriers

  • Offer credit for currently owned products
  • Seek early commitment for time-consuming activities
  • Make small requests: “Even a penny will help” doubled donations

5.5 Brand/Company Emphasis

  • Make brand/company name prominent if it conveys good image
  • Include both brand and company names (double-branding)
  • Personalize the brand with mascots or characters

5.6 Spokespersons

  • Use spokesperson similar to customer on relevant traits
  • Appearance should be consistent with objectives
  • Use trustworthy and credible spokesperson
  • Physical attractiveness for beauty-enhancing products only

5.7 Forewarning Forewarn about persuasion attempts for low-involvement goods.

5.8 Two-Sided Arguments

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success.”

Use two-sided arguments that refute strong opposing arguments.

5.9 Indirect vs. Direct Conclusions

  • If resistance expected, use indirect conclusions when arguments are strong
  • If no resistance expected, use direct conclusions

5.10 Innuendoes

“A picture can say things that no advertiser could say in words and retain his self-respect.” — Ernest Calkins

5.11 Customer Involvement

  • If good reasons easily generated, ask customers to provide a few
  • Consider asking customers to imagine satisfaction
  • Do NOT invite evaluation while using product (creates critical attitude)

5.12 Free Trials and Samples

“Use them for a week, then do as you wish.” — Claude Hopkins

Consider for products new to target market.

General Tactics: Acceptance

6.1 Problem/Solution Describe problem and show how product solves it. Most effective when problem or solution is not evident.

6.2 Demonstration Demonstrate product benefits, especially when claims stretch believability.

6.3 Evidence

  • Provide quantitative evidence (be precise)
  • Offer verifiable evidence

6.4 Data Presentation

  • Use absolute numbers for small values, frequency rates for large values
  • Use simple tables or graphs
  • Avoid percentages when possible (confusing to many)

6.5 Customer Endorsements Use endorsements by real customers with their actual wording.

6.6 Celebrity Endorsements

“If you have nothing to say, have a celebrity say it.”

Avoid when ad contains strong arguments. Consider for gaining attention only.

6.7 Expert Endorsements Consider unless target market already agrees. Most effective for high-involvement products.

6.8 Comparative Advertising Use for brands with clear comparative benefits and small market share.

“Apple Inc. in 2007 had ideal conditions for comparative ads for its computer operating system.”

6.9 Negative Advertising Consider only when there’s one major alternative with serious shortcomings. Attack with objective information, not emotion.

6.10 Refutation Respond to negative claims likely to become widely known.

6.11 Puffery Mild puffery can be persuasive for low-involvement, credence, or hedonic products.

6.12 Questions Questions jolt people awake and increase involvement.

6.13 Repetition

  • Space repeated claims
  • Consider cosmetic variations rather than exact repetition
  • Use substantive variations when arguments are strong

6.15 Memory Devices Use mnemonics, especially for low-involvement products.

6.16 Word of Mouth Encourage customers to tell others. Should have single point that can be passed along orally.

6.17 Call for Action

  • Ensure action steps are clear and specific
  • Use gentle call for high-involvement products
  • Make it immediate, easy, and low risk

Message

7.1 Arguments

  • Use only strong arguments for high-involvement products
  • One strong argument beats one strong + one weak argument
  • Use positive arguments

7.2 Clarity

“Advertising is the most exciting, the most arduous literary form of all.” — Aldous Huxley, 1927

Use simple prose for high-involvement products with strong arguments.

7.3 Forceful Text

  • Use specific words: “Specifics sell”
  • Use power words if they fit: “free,” “improved,” “new,” “faster”
  • Use active rather than passive voice

7.4 Interesting Text Consider interesting writing for hedonic products.

7.5 Tone

  • Use calm tone for high-involvement products with strong arguments
  • Do not violate tastes or standards
  • Be cautious about personal tone

7.6 Word Selection Use words with sounds that support the message.

7.7 Wordplay

“It takes a licking and keeps on ticking”

Use wordplay if clearly related to product.

7.8 Metaphors

“But the greatest thing is to be a master of metaphor … it is a sign of genius.” — Aristotle

Use novel and concrete metaphors related to benefits.

7.9 Simplicity

  • Avoid irrelevant information if strong arguments exist
  • Keep message short for fast-exposure media (8 words or less for billboards)

7.10-7.11 Illustrations and Color

  • Illustrations should support basic message
  • Show the product
  • Use color to provide information

7.12 Ad Consistency Make elements reinforce one another.

Attention

8.1 Alert the Target Market Alert early and prominently.

8.2 Campaign Consistency

“I will take a less than brilliant campaign and beat your tail off with it because I’ll run it ten years.” — Rosser Reeves

Keep advertising consistent across time.

8.3 Campaign Contrast When strong arguments exist, consider using ads that contrast with competitors.

8.4 Slogans Consider short memorable slogan with brand name and benefit.

8.5 Brand Identifiers Emphasize brand identifiers in long-term programs.

8.8 Humor Consider for well-known, low-involvement products. For high-involvement products, only if relevant to simple argument.

8.9 Sex Use only when relevant to product. Review of studies found sex attracted attention but reduced thinking about product.

8.11 Technical Quality

“I suspect that there is a negative correlation between the money spent on commercials and their power to sell products.” — David Ogilvy

Still Media Tactics

9.1 Headline

  • Use descriptive headlines for high-involvement products
  • Include brand name in headline
  • Lead reader into body copy
  • Ogilvy wrote 104 headlines before selecting: “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”

9.2 Pictures

  • For high-involvement ads with strong arguments, consider informative pictures
  • Relate picture to headline or message
  • Use clear and readable captions

9.3 Text

  • Make first paragraph relevant, short, easy to read
  • Provide long copy when reading time not constrained

“The more you tell, the more you sell.” — Hopkins

  • Repeat main message at end of ad

9.4 Structure

  • Use informative subheadings for long copy
  • Use reader guides (bullets, arrows, boxes)
  • Use columns for long text (50 characters per line optimal)

9.5 Typeface

“Printing should be invisible.” — Beatrice Warde, 1932

  • Use simple serif for readability, sans serif for legibility/scanning
  • Provide high contrast
  • Avoid uppercase and bold for informative text with 3+ lines

9.6 Layout

  • Obey gravity (logical flow: upper left → right → down)
  • Avoid large pictures in informative ads
  • Balance the layout

Motion Media Tactics

10.1 Scenes

  • Use opening directly related to product, brand, or message
  • First 5 seconds are crucial
  • Emphasize product or message
  • Show spokesperson on-screen if believability important
  • Use short “supers” to reinforce key points

10.2 Voice

  • Use appropriate voice
  • Avoid orally ambiguous words

10.3 Music and Sound

“If you have nothing to say, sing it.”

Consider for low-involvement products, not for high-involvement with strong arguments.

10.4 Pace

  • Use rapid speech for simple messages about low-involvement products (175 words/minute preferred)
  • Use slow speech for strong arguments or to show concern
  • Use short silences before/after strong arguments
  • Hold scenes to hold attention

Creativity

“Great books, paintings, music, and architecture are created by individuals, not by committees.” — David Ogilvy

Finding Creative People More-creative researchers are:

  • Compulsive, dominant, aggressive
  • Anxious, ambitious, independent

Less-creative researchers are:

  • Fun-loving, sociable, meek
  • Supportive, extraverted

“‘Nice people’ are not creative and creative people are not ‘nice.’”

Generating Creative Ideas

  • Avoid traditional group meetings (suppress creativity)
  • Use brainstorming properly:
    • No evaluation (positive or negative)
    • Encourage unusual ideas
    • Focus on quantity
  • Consider electronic brainwriting
  • Use analogies

Build on Ideas

“I have learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but it takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one.” — Leo Burnett

Evaluating Advertisements

Use structured checklists based on principles. Calculate “Armstrong Index™”:

  • Count principles properly applied
  • Subtract principles violated
  • Use parallel processing (multiple independent evaluators)

Key Insights

“Ideally, principles should apply across time and space. Does anybody believe that because Newton’s law of gravity was discovered long ago it is irrelevant today?”

The book synthesizes research across accounting, behavioral economics, cognitive psychology, consumer behavior, language, law, marketing, mass communication, organizational behavior, politics, propaganda, social psychology, and public opinion.

Statistical significance tests played no useful role in principle development and were often misleading.

“Experience provides a poor way to learn how to persuade people through advertising given the complexity and difficulty of getting good feedback.”