TRUTH IN ADVERTISING

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 661, 13 May 1929, Page 8

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING

APPEALS TO FEAR FAIL PSYCHOLOGY OF BUYERS “There are numerous examples in advertising o£ the appeal to f ear Sometimes it is wrongly made, sometimes unfairly, sometimes unwisely - So said Mr. A. D. Paisley, managing director of the Goldberg Advertising Agency, in the course of an address to the Canterbury Advertising Club. “Sometimes fear is engendered iq advertising when it is not intended. • said Mr. Paisley. “The use of negative appeals may have this effect, even when it is the last thing the advertiser desires.

“Thomas Russell, in his works on commercial advertising, gives jhis example:

“ ‘I can think of nothing much less likely to promote the sale of beer than the statement that it contains no arsenic. You don't want people think, ing about arsenic when you are talking about ale. Negative advertising is barren and dead; it is positive talk that obtains action.’ “Probably there is nothing easier to criticise than advertising, and even criticism of a negative appeal can be carried too far.” he said. "Another point that required con sideration was the psychological value of truth in advertising. A careful study of advertising revealed that not only was honesty the best policy, but that in the end it is the best paying policy. Advertisements based on the simple truth had a genuine ring that was bound to create confidence. “The whole idea of market research is linked up with the question of truth in advertising. Preliminary investigation of the right kind will reveal the truth. Thorough knowledge of the product or service reveals that aspect which appeals most widely to the people. It shows whether the goods fulfil a definite human want. If the article fails in this respect, no amount of propaganda will insure its ultimate success. In other words, no amount of advertising will sell a product which cannot be sold without advertising. “We have referred to the psychological value of truth in advertising,” said Mr. Paisley. “Any modern textbook on the practical side of advertising will condemn the use of superlatives. They are weak, because they do not command belief. “From the viewpoint of the producer of advertising copy the truth is allimportant. Unless a writer has absolute confidence in the merit of the goods or service advertised he cannot pass on to the public a message which rings with confidence.’*