1. Distraction for High-involvement Products View as slide show Adapted from AdPrin.com

2. Abolish fraternities? A 12-minute film showed a college professor arguing that fraternities encouraged cheating, dishonesty, social snobbishness, and racial discrimination -- as a result, they should be abolished. A second film used the same soundtrack superimposed on an entertaining short film that was about a completely different topic. Which film was more effective in changing the attitudes of fraternity members ___ the straight film? ___ the one with distraction? Write your answer, then click for the experimental findings. The one with distraction because it reduced counter-arguing. But attempts at replication often failed. Why? Adapted from AdPrin.com2

3. The point needs to be made before the distraction occurs In four studies where the subjects understood the message, the attitude change occurred due to the ad with a distraction (Osterhouse and Brock 1970)Osterhouse and Brock 1970

4. For products offering clear benefits, consider distraction only if the message will be understood (Principle 5.1.2) If you have a message that is clearly in the consumers interest, say about losing weight or reducing smoking, consider distraction (e.g.,with music, humor, or clever writing).

5. Another example of distraction for a good purpose An ad was either tucked under a windshield wiper - making it look like a parking ticket - or taped to a door handle - looking like an ad. After they had a chance to read the ad, the 200 subjects were asked if they would complete an unrelated questionnaire. Which ad had the highest compliance? ___ a) ad that looked like a parking ticket? ___ b) ad that looked like an ad? Was there much of a difference? Explain. Click this slide for the evidence. 62% 37% Create an unrelated problem, then remove it (Principle 5.1.5) (Dolinski and Nawrat 1998 in Persuasive Advertising p 110)Dolinski and Nawrat 1998 Adapted from AdPrin.com5

6. Based on this exercise, write a small application step for yourself, and set a deadline, preferably within one week. If you are working with someone else, share your application plan and the results of your application. For example, analyze the advertising for your firm to see if there are any situations where distraction would be persuasive. Adapted from AdPrin.com