The Secret to Emotional Advertising – Be Rational About It!
A Case Study with Molson Canadian and Millward Brown
By Manoj Raheja
Let me start with 2 quotes:
“Humans are not so much rational as rationalizers”
Graham Page, EVP, Millward Brown Neuroscience Practice
“We want to believe that our choices are justified by reason, not just feelings/emotions. Though the right choice feels good, we need to help buyers tell themselves a story of rational choice”
Nigel Hollis, Millward Brown’s Chief Global Analyst
If you buy into this philosophy, you would likely approach your communication with these two principles:
- Lead with emotional based messaging
- Inject a rational message so consumers can rationalize their choice.
A year and a half ago Molson Canadian embarked on a quest to win back the hearts of their drinkers. The team didn’t have these quotes to lean on, but it does help explain this thesis.
There’s a very good chance that many of you have seen the ad below. Please take 1 minute to watch it. Notice the rational message towards the end (bottle in the stream and description of the taste).
Before this ad was put on air, the team had tested 2 routes using Millward Brown’s creative pre-testing tool (LINK).
- The first ad (which did not air) was identical, except for the 4 seconds near the end that did not have the Molson Canadian bottle in the stream and the verbiage about a clean, crisp, fresh taste. This ad that the team did not air, tested extremely well, and achieved scores that any marketer would gladly post on their office door.
- But this team, led by David Bigioni (Senior Marketing Director for Molson Brands) had the foresight to test the option you saw above; the one that allows consumers to feel the same powerful emotion, but now offers a rational message that allows consumers to rationalize choosing Molson Canadian. Besides the obvious bump in branding scores (which were already very strong), it led to increases in believability, relevance, and ultimately drove higher appeal and persuasion for Molson Canadian.
This philosophy may seem obvious but consider another well known Molson Canadian ad. Please watch this one now.
Notice that this ad doesn’t have a rational message within it. It’s still an iconic, well branded ad with incredible relevance, but because it did not offer a rational message – it became hard to connect the emotion to the brand.
So what is the key learning? We live in a scientific world where we are always asked to justify our choices. We still choose on emotion, but brands need to help consumers be able to rationalize their choices.
This is not meant to be a commandment, it’s simply a philosophy. Whether you agree or disagree – let’s spark a debate. Share with me your advertising philosophy! Just make sure it’s a “rational” argument 
April 12, 2011 This entry was posted in Blog, Brand Strategy, Measuring Success, Resource Centre and tagged Advertising, Branding, Communication, Measurement, Millward Brown, Molson Canadian, Principles, Strategy. Bookmark the permalink.
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Laurie
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Manoj