Re: The Power of Persuasion

Damn those Sarah McLachlan television advertisements. I’m surprised they didn’t come up before Tiffany’s post. I always try to figure out why I react so strongly to them. I usually turn them off to be honest. I found myself kind of horrified one day when I saw a similar ad (malnourished, abused, etc) but with children. My reaction wasn’t quite the same (which is the part that horrified me); I was barely affected.  Which brings me to music as a form of persuasion. 

It’s not that music is overlooked, it’s very much being taking advantage of, but I think it is often used inappropriately or out of context. Music can be one of the strongest methods of persuasion if used correctly. Viewers, listeners, whoever, are probably more susceptible to the effects, because they don’t feel challenged or anticipate their views being swayed or questioned as they would when looking at a print ad or listening to a campaign. Chances are they have less resistance and perhaps don’t realize the subtle persuasions the music holds.

Here is an interesting video on the effect of music and its persuasive power (but not necessarily how I was talking about).

“Music is likely to have its greatest effect when consumers have high affective sad/or low cognitive involvement with the product. Product categories fitting this description for most consumers include jewelry, sportswear, cosmetics, and beer. Music would tend to have less effect when consumers experience high cognitive involvement, such as when buying cars, appliances, PCs, cameras, and insurance. “ (Gordon Bruner)