HUMAN APPEALS IN ADVERTISING 1. What are human appeals?—Under human ilk peals in advertising we may include any appeal to the consumer which arouses his interest thru senti ment, emotion or any one of the senses. For exam ple, the appeals to fear, or to love, or to taste are hu man appeals. It may be said that practically all ad vertising which gets results is human appeal advertis ing; advertising which lacks that appeal lacks human interest and where there is no interest there can, of course, be no inducement to action.
The advertiser requires an intimate knowledge of the operation of the human mind. Advertising has, in fact, been defined as "the operation of one mind upon another in marketing a product or service." This definition, while general, is fairly accurate. Thoughts arising in the mind of one person are com municated in advertising to another mind or minds. Obviously, when the first mind can induce the second mind to act according to the desires of the first, the object of advertising has been fulfilled.
2. Appeal to the study of human ap peals is, in part, a study of certain states, impulses, propensities and faculties.' Briefly, sensation is the response to a stimulus. The sensations of the eye differentiate the colors, forms, shapeS and sizes of those of the ear tire aware of sounds; those of . the skin are conscious of warmth, coldness, sharpness, lightness and heaviness; then there are the body cur rents that make us aware Of pain, pleasure and so on. Sight is a sense which acts as interpreter to all the other senses. Only thru what we see in an advertise ment can we recognize the appeal to other senses— touch, taste,'smell and sound.
The advertiser would have no difficulty usually in making a sale if the prospective buyer could see, feel, hear," taste or smell the object he desires to sell, in stead of having to depend on the -printed word or illustra" tion. However, it is possible by word and illustration to picture other people enjoying,_thm_ their senses, the product advertised.
Because of the law of suggestion, arid because hu, man beings readily imitate what they see, i.e., carry out in action what is suggested to them, the adver tiser is able to appeal to the senses of his readers. Imagination and the desire to imitate others expe riencing enjoyment makes possible an appeal to the eye which spreads to the other senses.
3. appeal to the 'sense of touch is well brought out in the advertisement of 'Woodbury's Soap under the caption "A Skin You Love to Touch." Here the suggestion that by the use of Woodbury's Soap the complexion becomes greatly improved and the skin smooth to touch makes an appeal- which is hard to resist. The illustration, too, is in harmony with the text and further carries out the suggestion of this appeal. Other products in which this appeal is used are underwear, shoes and clothing where the "comfortable feeling," "non-irritating to skin" is fea tured.
The suggestion of the lightness of touch with which a razor may be used after the application of the foamy lather made by a certain cream, "the Gillette shave is velvet-smooth, no matter how wiry the beard," fur nishes further illustration.
4. sense of taste has a wide range of practical use in making an appeal, because of the comparative ease with which memories of taste are reawakened. Iood_products and beverages whose principal selling point is based on taste, are often advertised in this way. It is not easy by means of words alone to 'make a reader imagine the taste of a thing. An illustration usually makes it much clearer. If words only are used, they must furnish _a vivid stimulus to the imagination.
The following lines are used under an illustra tion of vegetables_ around the well-known "Campbell Kid." It is not only appetizing but gives properties, 'spiciness and variety of ingredients.
The stock, made from selected beef, is of remark able strength and fine flavor. You could not have a more nourishing foundation for vegetable soup.