Emotional Connection in Advertisements

For any person who has any soft spot for animals, you are probably familiar with the old ASPCA commercial. You know the one. It's the commercial where they feature the saddest puppy dog eyes and Sarah McLachlan's gutting ballad, "In the Arms of an Angel." I remember seeing the commercial for the first time, and the tears started flowing immediately, and by the end of it, I was "ugly crying." 

What's impressive is that I haven't seen this commercial in years and I still get a pit in my stomach when I think about it. The emotional connection is what made this advertisement so memorable. As marketers, we have to remember to consider the powerful impact an ad can have when it creates an emotional connection with its audience. According to Harvard Business Review, "On a lifetime value basis, emotionally connected customers are more than twice as valuable as highly satisfied customers. These emotionally connected customers buy more of your products and services, visit you more often, exhibit less price sensitivity, pay more attention to your communications, follow your advice, and recommend you more – everything you hope their experience with you will cause them to do. Companies deploying emotional-connection-based strategies and metrics to design, prioritize, and measure the customer experience find that increasing customers' emotional connection drives significant improvements in financial outcomes."

With people getting flooded with ads on every device they own, it's getting harder for consumers to recall your ad. But the companies who create ads with emotional appeal will be the ones that stick out in the minds of consumers and will be able to generate more conversions as a result.

In the mood for a good cry? Give the ASPCA commercial a watch.