The Authority Principle

Social influence principles are very useful to those working the advertising or marketing fields.  There are seven principles in total; the automaticity principle, reciprocity principle, commitment and consistency principle, social validation principle, liking principle, authority principle, and the scarcity principle.  Each principle encapsulates an aspect of how people can be influenced by social context.

The authority principle involves using authority figures to influence others; this can be achieved through using titles, clothes, possessions, and lifestyles to convey status in order to impress and influence others.  It drives on use of symbols to convey expertise and obtain credibility.  Many ads use doctors and dentists to give credibility to their product.  For example, ads for the skin care product pro-active use dermatologists and celebrities to discuss the success of the product. These commercials also use the social validation principle--which is the idea that the validity of an idea increase as the number of people supporting the ideas increases--in that they have testimonials from real people who have used the product.

An ad that I find to use the authority principle in a particularly  innovative way is the Dr Dre ad for Dr Pepper.  At the end of the ad he says "...trust me, I'm a doctor"; this line is clever because it addresses the fact that people tend to believe what an authority figure like a doctor has to say.  However, Dr Dre's celebrity status ironically gives him the same type of credibility.  This ad has a clever take on the effectiveness of the authority principle.  Knowing the in's and out's of the social influence principles is crucial for those working in the advertising industry; any ad you see on TV calls upon one or more of these principles. 

Use of Humor in Advertising

Humor is a widely used tactic in advertising--around 30% of of advertising in the national media are humorous ads.  In the article "Humor and Ad Liking: Evidence That Sensation Seeking Moderates the Effect of Incongruity-Resolution Humor" by Graeme Galloway conducted a study  to examine whether sense seeking determines how much one would like an ad with incongruity-resolution humor; he argues that ads containing this type of humor will appeal to low sensation seekers. 

An ad using incongruity is characterized by momentarily fusing two things that are otherwise unrelated. Here is an example of just such an ad: etrade baby ad.  There is incongruity in that babies don't talk, and they certainly don't play golf or trade stocks.  The researchers found that "a liking for lower sensation seekers stems from reduction of induced arousal, and arousal induction for higher sensation seekers (786)". These findings were consistent with their hypothesis.

So what does this mean for the advertising industry? The first implication is that humor is a much more complicated concept than meets the eye.  Multiple aspects of "humor" can be analyzed because there are a variety of different types of humor, as well as the impact of context.  The findings of this study can be useful in determining segmentation of ads to reach a target audience, but there is ample room for further research.  It could be taken a step further to attempt to determine if there is a relationship between the use of incongruity-resolution humor and ad liking for example.  It would also be interesting to research the relationship between the type of humor used and attention/recall.  In the advertising industry, it is well known that humor works--is a useful tactic with regards to attention grabbing, and liking.  I think the next step is to conduct research that will shed light on the characteristics of those who like a specific type of humor.  Exploring this aspect of humor and advertising will aid marketers in terms of tailoring a message to a specific audience, and successfully communicating that message in a unique and likable manner. 

Audi--Goodnight commercial

The new commercial for the Audi A8 is the perfect example of image advertising, which is defined as advertising aimed at producing a shift in perception in the mind of consumers with regard to a particular attribute.  In this case Audi wants people to associate the A8 with innovation and a new definition of "luxury".

A car is an example of a high-involvement product and Audi advertisers are aware of this.  The effect of advertising these types of products is not so much on the final decision of the consumer, but more so on whether the brand is considered.  So, Audi advertisers' aim was to place the Audi name higher in the consumer's mental agenda--the agenda-setting effect.  This effect is supported by the notion that the mass media doesn't tell us what to think, but rather what to think about.  The idea is that if you are in the market for a new car, after seeing this commercial Audi will be fresh in your mind, and you will hopefully add it to the list of car brands you are considering. 

This is a great ad for many reasons.  I love the fact that is begins by telling you everything that Audi is not; "goodnight expected...goodnight out-dated....goodnight fluffy etc...".  They then tell the viewer what the new Audi does represent; "good morning innovation...good morning unequaled inspiration". The ad tells you the specific image they want you to associate with Audi. Another thing that I found particularly great about this ad is that off the bat I had a positive reaction to it; it reminds me of one of my favorite childhood books "Goodnight Moon".  The ad itself also has a magical, fairytale like quality--so it is easy to associate it with warm, positive feelings.  All in all the Audi goodnight commercial is a great ad for a high-involvement product; the brand is fresh in my mind and associated with positive feelings--nothing like sending a message of an innovative brand with an innovative ad. Check it out for yourself: Audi Goodnight Ad