The Story of Emotions in Advertising

A great story always elicits emotions.  As you watch a great film or television show, or read a great book, you may feel happiness, or sadness, you may be inspired, or you may feel your heart break.  Great stories may make you laugh, may make you cry, and some will make you do both… at the same time.

These emotions may catch you off guard.  After all, you probably went to see the film, or picked up the book, as entertainment.  But truly great stories go far beyond entertainment.  They pull you in to their world.  They envelope you.  Some, perhaps, may even change you, and your outlook on life, forever.

When we create advertising campaigns, our goal is the same.  We don’t just want to “sell” something to the audience.  We want to engage them.  We want to tell a great story.  It may be the story of a product, of a company, or of a charity or a cause, but we create stories that touch our audiences.  Why?  Because our most effective campaigns, and our most effective infomercials, tell a story that creates an emotional response in the audience.

In a society of instant gratification, it could be tempting to scream… to deliver your product features and your price, and be done with it.  What do you suffer?  Sales, and long-term engagement with your brand.  To have a truly successful campaign, you must tell a story that resonates with your target audience.

Having created many extremely successful campaigns over the years, my belief in this theory has only strengthened.  We’ve told great stories, for great products with great success.  While it may sound silly to tell a great story about a George Foreman Grill, we did…. and the campaign was a huge success.  We told the story of not just the product, but what the product could do, what it could mean, and how it could change the lives of those watching.  Millions of people watched the story, responded to the story, and created success for our clients.

We’ve done the same for many other products.  From cooking appliances to timeshares, we create stories that elicit emotions, generate a response, and create sales.  Ultimately, that always elicits another emotion for our clients:  happiness.