How to generate emotional
response in political advertising
Why emotional response?
• According to George E. Marcus, president of
the International Society of Political
Psychology, unless political ads evoke
emotional responses they don’t have much
effect. Voters need to be emotionally primed
in some way before they will pay attention.
• Research “suggests that the reason candidates
seem appealing often has little to do with
their ideas. Political campaigns are won and
lost at a more emotional and subtle level.”
– Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post
• Many researchers and most practitioners
agree that emotional advertising is most
effective
How are emotions evoked?
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Video
Sound
People
Situations
Stories
Cultural icons/symbolism
How are emotions evoked?
• “The overall emotional impact of the ad is
produced by the conjunction of words, music,
and images in a narrative structure.”
– Brader
• Emphasized hope and fear
Video
• Use of color v. black and white
– B/W represents sinister past, poverty/sadness,
etc.
• Framing of candidates
– Surroundings
• Light/darkness (shading of face, starkness of
detail)
• Slow motion
• Quick cuts
Sound
• Music
– Background
– Choice of resonant popular music for particular
target group
• Voices
– Candidate’s voice
– Narrator
– Man-on-the-street
• Testimonial
People
• Humans are hard-wired for
emotional/empathic bonding
– People naturally take the perspective of others,
feeling what they would in the other person’s
place
– People react extremely strongly to the human
face, where emotion is most clearly represented
People
• People who represent target groups
– Empathy/identification
– Instinctive response to human faces/emotions
• Children/elderly/sick
– Vulnerable people whose troubles are not of their own
doing
• Heroes
– Soldiers/police/firefighters
– Less often: doctors/teachers
• Villains
– Terrorists/Saddam Hussein/Oil speculators/HMO
officers/Lobbyists
Situations
• Audience will often identify with people facing
difficulties/experiencing pain
• Candidate can ‘save the day’/act as hero
• Must be believable, must represent a situation
that resonates with target, candidate must be
seen as legitimate hero
– Disabled vets
– Hurricane/storm victims
– Poor, workers without health insurance
• Another situation is brought on by the actions
of the opponent
– Villain who caused trouble, brought about
suffering
• Happy situations are claimed as result of
incumbent action
– Results of past heroic action
Stories/Narratives
• Usually tales of overcoming setbacks, poor
roots, trials in early life
– Heroic quest stories
• Development of values, dedication, etc.
• Pride in background, accomplishments,
heritage
• Led to decision to serve—to seek office
Cultural icons/symbolism
• Revered icons—flags, patriotic music, mom,
apple pie, etc.
– Church and religious symbols
– Schools
– Small-town America
– Children as symbols of our future
The use of humor
• Humor is a risky choice
– People may not get it
– People may find it inappropriate for a political campaign
– People may not think something is funny
• Sense of humor varies widely
• Humor can be especially useful if:
– You want to take the edge off an attack ad
– You need to deflect criticism
– The humor identifies a target audience in a positive
manner
– It is self-deprecating