216 CHAPTER 7 ADVERTISINGproduct. For example, when Febreze was launched in Europe, ads showed consumers that the
product could be used for preventing disturbing odours in clothes, sofas, curtains, cars, etc.
A problem solution shows how a problem can be solved or avoided. Problem solution is
sometimes combined with a fear appeal showing consumers what happens if the brand is
not used.^37 For example, the ads for Head & Shoulders feature an elegant-looking business
professional wearing a nice dark suit. Unfortunately he has a dandruff problem which clearly
shows on the suit. Head & Shoulders can solve this problem.
A testimonial features ordinary people saying how good a product is. Typical products
which are advertised in this way are detergents: ‘I really was amazed, my clothes have never
been so white.’ SlimFast (‘You really can’) also used ads featuring local testimonials of how
much weight people lost to introduce or relaunch the brand in the UK, Germany, France and the
Netherlands.^38 Testimonials are oft en eff ective because they rely on the positive membership
reference group eff ect. Th e latter is especially the case for consumers who are highly susceptible
to normative infl uence. For these consumers a testimonial is more impactful than attribute
information, whereas the reverse holds true for people scoring low on susceptibility to
normative infl uence.^39 In general, it is advisable to carefully pre-test testimonials on believability
and the emotions they evoke because research shows that testimonials oft en lead to irritation
in consumers.^40Advertising professionals seek to break through the advertising clutter by trying to find evermore creative channels
to reach their target audience.
In the UK a campaign was launched for a new video game which used ‘bleeding’ bus stop posters. For a full week,
a red blood-like fluid dripped out of the posters, generated by an ink cartridge that was built into the ad. The
campaign generated a lot of ‘rumour around the brand’. The agency did clean the pavements afterwards.
A US advertising agency pays people $19.50 to walk around with an advertising message on their forehead
five days in a row and for three hours per day. The message is tattooed on the forehead with vegetable ink, and
disappears by itself after one week. The concept is called Fan Branding or Headvertising, and has already been used
by, among others, Dunkin Donuts and the British TV channel CNX. A 37 year old Australian sold the right part of
his face to a Mexican restaurant for €6000. He allowed the restaurant to tattoo its name on his face.^41
The Belgian agency Rapid-Affichage writes advertising messages on pavements in fluorescent paint. For instance,
at the entrance to a music store, visitors can read: ‘Soulwax. Nite Versions. Out now.’ Some public authorities do
not like the idea, because they consider it as ‘damaging the public domain’, but the company meticulously removes
all traces after the campaign period.
The American company Convex Group patented LidRock, a system to attach CD-ROMs or DVDs to the lid of
cardboard cups in fast food restaurants, cinemas, sport stadiums and amusement parks. The lid is adjusted to allow
the CD to be clicked on it. The market potential is enormous. In 2005 in North America, 634 drinks were sold every
second.
Destroying or damaging bank notes is not allowed in the USA, but attaching removable stickers to them
is allowed. That is all it takes to create a new advertising medium. Research showed that 95% of consumers
noticed the message on their bank notes and 56% did not remove it, thus generating extra exposure with other
consumers.
The Belgian company Activemedia invented a wheel cover that does not turn along with the wheel when the
car is moving. For €150, a message is attached to the four wheels of one of the hundreds of co-operating Antwerp
taxis.^42BUSINESS INSIGHT
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