"Want" and "solution" advertisements

Abstract

This article presents certain experimental results important for the thesis set forth in "Psychology of Selling and Advertising" (1925) by E. K. Strong, Jr., that "there are two major objectives in advertising: first, to make a reader want , and second, to present a solution , i.e., to show how his desire may be adequately satisfied by means of the advertiser's commodity. The writers further maintain that unless the individual feels a want it is almost useless to discuss a solution. Consequently, making a man want (if he does not already want) is the more fundamental of the two aims and, for the sake of advertising efficiency, should come first." The investigation reported here "aims to measure the relative merit of stressing the 'want' or the 'solution' element in advertising, the effectiveness of each type being determined by the extent to which it makes memorable a trade-name." The material used consisted of forty advertisements of twenty commodities, of which one for each commodity emphasizes the "want" element and one the "solution" element. Ten samples are given, five of each type. The forty advertisements were split into two groups so that each set had the full twenty commodities represented, each including ten "want" and ten "solution" advertisements. The subjects were divided into two groups, and were instructed to read any and to skip any advertisements that they wished. Three tests were used to measure their memory of the trade-names: a recall test, a controlled association test, and a recognition test. The results of all the tests in the several experiments gives a ratio of 111 to 100 in favor of the "want" advertisements. Advertisements are noted and remembered to the extent that they appeal to existing interests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)