During class today, we recognized that the consumer decision process can be influenced by four groups of factors: marketing mix, psychological factors, situational factors and social factors. Among the psychological factors affecting the way people receive marketers’ messages, discussion of attitudes really captured my attention. This made me recall a powerful, inspiring and emotional appealing advertisement that is only less than a minute.
It is a Spanish advertisement for AFANOC – Association of Children with Cancer. I think the three components of an attitude are well-addressed in the video.
Cognitive
The contrast of physical appearance between the healthy sister (dense hair) and the brother with cancer (bald) illustrates a gap. Instead of marginalization, however, they reduce the segregation through exchanging what each of them can give: hair from the sister and cap from the brother, as well as a warming smile. This raises awareness on how important and valuable the bond and interaction with children affected by this disease are.
Affective
The music effectively contributes to arouse people’s emotions. The slow tempo and simple instrumentation create the atmosphere of calm and peace, encouraging the sense of support and solidarity while reducing fear and anxiety. The short music pause from 0:31 to 0:33 highlights and prepares for the climax of the advertisement – amplifying the sentimental effect of the interactions between the brother and sister. The sister’s angelic smile makes the audience appreciate the genuine love and care dedicated to her sick brother.
Behavioral
Although the sister cannot medically help her brother by cutting and giving him her hair, this innocent child’s action highlights her selfless characteristic. With the Spanish line at the end meaning “we don’t ask you for more than what you can give”, the advertisement inspires people to do more voluntary services and provide what they are capable to offer – love and care – in order to help the children with cancer to overcome the uncertainty and fear with solidarity and support.
1 response so far ↓
Tamar // May 17th 2011 at 2:39 pm
Good analysis using the three components! For me, it was mostly affective – I even gasped when I first saw the little girl cutting her hair, because I could imagine a mother’s reaction to that. 🙂 I had tears in my eyes by the end of the ad. Nice selection.
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