Advertising Psychology: Bernays, Pathos, and the Pyramid
Evolution of Advertising: From Local to National
Before national brands, ads were primarily print and local; you bought, produced, and advertised locally.
Newspapers enabled some brand expansion, but the norm was local production and local advertising.
With national advertising, brands could compete across markets (e.g., New York vs Chicago vs Dallas).
The need to differentiate products grew as the same function or quality could be offered by multiple brands in different markets.
The Rise of National Advertising and Differentiation
Advertising on a national level fostered competition across cities.
To sell more, brands had to grow into other markets and differentiate beyond simply telling what a product does.
Emphasis on differentiation would become more pronounced in later weeks, but the focus now is adding psychology to advertising.
Introduction of Psychology in Advertising
Robert Bernays is presented as a foundational figure in public relations and the use of psychology in ads.
He linked advertising effectiveness to appealing to emotions rather than just product attributes.
The idea of using psychology in advertising marks a shift to pathos-driven marketing.
Bernays is described as the nephew of the founder of psychoanalysis; the intersection of psychology and PR is framed as a key development.
Before 1929, social norms limited certain ads (e.g., women smoking); changing attitudes required a new angle beyond product claims.
The Cigarette Campaign: Women Smoking and Social Change
Before 1929, women smoking was socially stigmatized; cigarette sales to women were low due to social pressure rather than medical concerns.
Lucky Strike shifted strategy by tying cigarettes to women’s rights and empowerment, aligning smoking with the suffrage movement that had recently advanced in the U.S.
Bernays tied the campaign to the idea that an old prejudice had been removed: women can vote, so they should be able to smoke.
A pivotal moment occurred when New York socialite women staged a public display: lighting Lucky Strikes in the middle of a parade for broad visibility and newspaper coverage.
The coverage helped normalize women smoking, moving it from scandal to a perceived (though nuanced) social norm.
The questions posed to students reflect on whether this was a social revolution, effective promotion, or both.
Bernays authored a book called Propaganda (the meaning of the term at the time differed from today), which argued for using desire over factual product claims.
The shift toward emotional appeals and the use of pathos became a standard practice in advertising.
Propaganda, Pathos, and the Psychology of Ads
Describing the transition: desire-based appeals rather than product-specific facts became a common advertising strategy.
The rise of emotional, humorous, or dramatic ads that embed a product in a memorable scenario.
Advertisements that trigger strong feelings tend to stick in memory, influencing future purchase decisions.
Examples of memorable, emotion-driven ads include humorous campaigns (e.g., Old Spice, Bud Light) that stay in the consumer’s mind and influence later choices.
The general idea: an emotional connection can make a brand top-of-mind when purchasing decisions occur.
Pathos is highlighted as a central component of effective advertising, alongside recognizing that the use of emotion can be mixed with factual attributes.
Focus Groups and the Pyramid of Needs
Early focus groups were run by psychologists, aiming to map consumer needs to levels of a pyramid.
The pyramid is used to explain how ads can satisfy different needs and how multiple needs can be addressed simultaneously.
The pyramid levels are presented as follows:
Physiological needs (the base): food, water, reproduction. Advertising here often targets basic survival-related products and uses humor to aid recall. Examples include burritos, chicken, and other everyday foods. Note: some humor is used to make basic needs memorable without claiming to “save” someone’s life.
Safety needs (second level): body security, employment, resources, morality, family, health, property.
The Life Alert ad is used as an example to illustrate safety-focused marketing: an emergency raises fear, and the product is positioned as the antidote.
A dating service for people over 50, “join thousands of singles over 50,” shows how belonging and companionship are marketed to alleviate fear of loneliness.
The idea of “belonging” is tied to the need for social connection and acceptance, often leveraging celebrity status or aspirational figures to create a sense of affiliation.
Self-actualization (top level): achieving one’s best self, pursuing meaning and achievement.
The notion that society can label ambition or emotion as excessive if it’s tied to older or more radical aims (e.g., a woman running a marathon, boxing, or coaching in professional sports) is discussed. Ads may frame these achievements as demonstrations of what “crazy” can accomplish when used to promote belonging or self-actualization.
The speaker notes that discussing emotion in advertising can be challenging or controversial, yet it’s a powerful driver of engagement.
The Levels with Examples and Implications
Physiological level:
Basic needs dominate ad content; humor can help memory without claiming to meet survival needs directly.
Example reference: Purdue chicken-like humor or other food-focused campaigns that avoid literal survival claims.
Safety level:
Ads present a problem and position the product as the solution (the “antidote” to fear or danger).
Life Alert example: discusses a life-threatening scenario and offers rapid emergency response as the solution.
Fear-based marketing can also leverage social context to reduce loneliness or insecurity (e.g., safety in aging, health concerns).
Belonging level:
Ads leverage belonging through endorsements, heroes, or aspirational peers to create a sense of social integration with the product.
Celebrity or esteemed figures can create a perceived common ground with the consumer.
Self-actualization level:
Ads encourage consumers to realize their potential and pursue personal excellence.
Narrative examples involve women achieving extraordinary feats and challenging stereotypes, framed as demonstrations of what “crazy” can do when used positively.
The idea is to present the product as enabling a larger, more meaningful achievement.
Current Advertising Techniques and Ethical Considerations
The transition to emotion-driven ads raises ethical questions about manipulating desire and fear.
Humor and pathos are powerful but can blur the line between persuasion and manipulation.
The use of social change narratives (e.g., linking product use to empowerment) can drive market growth but also reflects broader cultural shifts.
The integration of psychological research into ad design has shaped how campaigns are developed, tested, and optimized.
Notable Facts, Numbers, and Statistical References
Historical timeframes:
The shift to emotion-driven advertising is described as occurring roughly over the past $100$ years.
The pivotal social and advertising shifts occurred after the suffrage movement, with a key milestone around $1929$.
Campaign-specific statistics:
Life Alert claims to save a life every $11$ minutes.
Demographic targeting:
Campaigns specifically reference audiences such as “thousands of singles over $50$” on dating platforms like ourtime.com.
Connections to Course Themes and Next Steps
The use of psychology in advertising connects to broader themes in media studies about how emotion and social norms influence consumer behavior.
The upcoming discussion (Wednesday) will analyze ads in more detail, focusing on how pathos, logos, and ethos operate in real campaigns and how to identify the levels of the pyramid in various advertisements.
Students are encouraged to consider ethical implications, cultural context, and the potential for multi-level satisfaction (simultaneously addressing physiological, safety, belonging, and self-actualization needs) in a single campaign.
Quick Reference: Key Numbers and Facts
$100$ years: approximate time span since emotion-driven advertising began.
$1929$: a key year in the spread of psychoanalytic-informed advertising strategies.
$11$ minutes: Life Alert claims it saves a life every $11$ minutes.
$50+$: phrase used to describe the demographic target for over-50 dating campaigns (e.g., thousands of singles over $50$).
Humorous and editorial examples: Old Spice, Bud Light, Purdue-style humor referenced as memorable ad examples.
Looking Ahead
Preparation for Wednesday: analyze ads to identify how they hit specific levels of the pyramid and which emotional appeals are used.
Consider how early focus groups and psychological testing shaped modern advertising practices.