One key to connecting with the consumer through advertising is by including the consumer in the message. Impersonal messages are less likely to engage the consumer. Every day we are bombarded with impersonal messages that fail to explain to us why we should be interested. The question that each listener is asking themselves is, “What’s in it for me?” Utilizing inclusive pronouns can be a tremendous way of illustrating to listeners how they can benefit from the offering. A number of successful radio advertisements that have been tested by Sensory Logic and WBEB 101.1 FM in Philadelphia have specific high impact points which can be traced to pronoun usage.
The most successful utilization of pronouns in radio advertising is when the language includes the listener. For example, one ad that truly demonstrated the difference between using “you” versus using “I” was an ad for the New Jersey State Lottery. Throughout the commercial, there are a number of previous lottery winners that joyously exclaim the amount that they won while playing the New Jersey State Lottery. Generally respondents did not root for these people, and only one of the five winners in the commercial are able to receive a positive reaction from respondents. Each of them explained how they had won a large sum of money, but that did not convince listeners that THEY could win a large sum of money as well.
There is one major turning point in the commercial which flipped the primarily negative emotional reactions back to the positive side. The substantial appeal increase occurred in conjunction with the narrator saying: “…somebody’s gonna hit it big soon. Why shouldn’t it be you?” This question built highly positive emotional reactions from respondents. In fact, the only winning player that respondents were positive about came immediately after the narrator asked the question.
The reason that the phrase is so powerful is that it gives a resoundingly positive answer to that crucial question, “What’s in it for me?” Prior to the statement, the respondents were only able to make the connection that by playing the New Jersey State Lottery, a number of people have won substantial sums of money. However, the idea of people winning a lot of money has little effect on the respondents. Respondents were relatively uninterested during these portions, eliciting few emotional responses, and the majority of the emotional responses were negative. Listeners were not putting themselves in the position of the winning players to get excited about playing the New Jersey State Lottery until the narrator explained “Why shouldn’t it be you?”
Using a pronoun like “you” to directly connect the listeners to the advertisement is helpful in multiple ways. First, when listeners are indirectly referred to, they are more likely to pay attention to the content. Second; when using “you,” “we,” or “us,” you invite the listeners to visualize themselves purchasing the product or participating in the activity that is being advertised. As a result, the listeners have already built a mental connection between them and the offering. This results in better brand recognition and recall of the advertisement.
Other radio ads have difficulty appealing to listeners without using inclusive pronouns. Another ad that was tested by Sensory Logic and WBEB for Boscov’s illustrated the difference between using inclusive and exclusive pronouns. The ad starts out with a dismal-sounding Gwyneth Paltrow explaining how Estee Lauder is the leading anti-aging skin care brand. After her fifteen-second bit, the ad changes into a more excited 45-second dialogue between two women who were discussing the Estee Lauder products.
So, which portion of the commercial received more emotional response? Surprisingly, it was the Gwyneth Paltrow portion. Despite being only a quarter of the length of the 60-second commercial and despite the fact that there was no emotional response to Gwyneth saying her name, there was just as much emotional response as the remaining 45 seconds. The difference was in the way that the messages were delivered.
In Gwyneth Paltrow’s segment, she was directly addressing the listener. The point in the commercial where the most positive appeal came when she stated “Thanks to you…” Listeners enjoyed the idea that they were partially responsible for Estee Lauder’s success. Later in the segment she also was able to answer the “What’s in it for me?” question by telling listeners: “[Estee Lauder’s anti-aging cream] is proven to keep you looking great.” These inclusive pronouns were able to boost the impact of an otherwise stale opening.
The second portion of the ad, a dialogue between two ladies about Estee Lauder products, fails to engage the listeners as well as the Gwyneth Paltrow segment. This is unusual because the tone of the dialogue portion is quite a bit more upbeat than Gwyneth’s portion, not to mention three times longer. The main reason for this is the dialogue is focused on the two women involved. During the dialogue the main characters say “I” or “me” nine times. The listener does not feel included and hence stops paying attention to the commercial. As a result they miss the fact that the dialogue is promoting free gifts that customers get when purchasing the product, and we all know that people love “free.”
Getting listeners to engage in the commercial and understand the offering is the key to successful advertising. These two example advertisements show the effect that inclusive pronouns can have on listeners’ emotional engagement levels. First and foremost it is important to let the listener to know what is in it for them. Tying the benefits of the offering directly to the listener helps to crystallize positive brand perceptions. Another reason to include the listener is to re-capture their attention. Pronouns that directly address the listener are more likely to receive attention and hence improve recall of the advertisement. Overall, utilizing inclusive pronouns can be an effective tool for improving an advertisement without having to distinctly change the message.
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Dan Hill is the author of Emotionomics: Winning Hearts and Minds and the President of Sensory Logic, Inc.
