22537113 dichotomy of emotionality and rationality an analysis of non verbal communication in...

8/12/2019 22537113 Dichotomy of Emotionality and Rationality an Analysis of Non Verbal Communication in Advertising

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Philosophy Paper

“Dichotomy of Emotionality and Rationality: An

Analysis of Non-Verbal Communication in

Advertisin!"

#ubmitted by: #hi$ha %upta

Christ Collee

&'D(()*

Date of #ubmission: +arch (*, (&&

#ubmitted to: Prof #aru$$ai



.ntroduction to the Paper

A common approach to understanding the cognitive processes of human-beings is

demarcating the emotional aspect from the rational aspect. The belief is that “emotion” is

a binary opposite of “rationale”, and in the process of judgement and decision-making,

one needs to rely more on the latter. Through this paper I have tried to understand

whether such a dichotomy between emotion and rationale really eists, through the

analysis of non-verbal communication in advertisements.

/heories of Emotion and Rationale

There have been numerous theories on the issue of the rational and the irrational!

the irrational being the emotional. A lot of recent research in various disciplines suggests

that feelings might be linked to cognition and that the two variables are not necessarily at

two etreme ends of the spectrum. "onetheless, ordinarily the two are seen as originating

from different sources and in different circumstances.

#erhaps the most magnificent theory in the area of reason was that of Descartes$,

where he attributes eistence to the capacity to reason % I think, therefore I am). &motions

do not seem to play a part therein, treated as a separate entity or even an irrelevant one in

this case.

'ne of Plato(s most famous ideas is that the world is a rational place and that we

are all here for a reason. )eing rational and practical is *good”. &motions on the other

hand could be both positive and negative. They are positive to the etent that they

sometimes provide a means to access knowledge through inspiration! negative perhaps

because they absorb the mind in matters that do not deal with the intelligible.

+owever a lot of other schools of thought, such as that of Stoicism, looked upon

emotions with much scepticism and suspicion. The toics believed in maintaining a

balanced state of mind even in the midst of etreme circumstances, not giving way to

feelings.

And if one was to believe that everyone is a philosopher in their own right, then

from eperience I will say that people are etremely wary about giving in to their

impulses. &motions are deemed linked to the heart, in common understanding and

rationality to the brain. Therefore, a smart decision can be taken by a person who is



#erhaps the best eample of this theory has been eemplified by hakespeare in

his play “Julius Caesar”, where 5ark Anthony$s emotional speech at 6aesar$s funeral

sways the crowd to rebel against )rutus and his men. )rutus had been na7ve enough to

believe that a matter-of-fact approach about 6aesar$s assassination would convince the

crowd.

Anthony$s speech was perhaps one of the first to go down advertising history,

because what is advertising but selling a point-of-view %simply put18 And till date

advertisers have come to understand that emotions of their prospective consumers are

their gold-mine.

/ypes of Emotions

&motions have been classified in different ways by different persons. Aristotle,

for instance, divided emotions as2

• Anger vs. 6almness

• 9ove vs. &nmity

• :ear vs. 6onfidence

• hame vs. hamelessness

• ;indness vs. <nkindness

•

#ity• Indignation

• &nvy

Advertising, to a large etent understands the philosophy of emotions and plays

on the same. Adverts that make use of emotions, however, are aware of the risk involved

in the same. 6ontrary to popular belief, emotions used in selling are not always positive.

In fact, negative emotions can be more effective and powerful. +uman beings by nature

seem to respond better to pathos % pathê: motions). =hat is important, however, is to

make sure that a negative stimulus is followed up by a positive one. The consumer needs

to know that there is scope for rectification and a way to achieve a higher self. Therefore,

if negative emotions such as anger are used to arouse the passions of a prospect, a



positive stimulus makes sure the prospect takes the steps to reach the goal. The goal for

the prospect is to make amendments through the use of the product! the goal of the

advertiser is to make the prospective consumer do just that.

Non-verbal Communication in Advertisin

"on-verbal communication is often more powerful in the communication of

emotions. #hotography is one of the most common methods of non-verbal

communication in print advertising that has proven to be etremely effective in getting

the message across.

In employing photography, various other aspects of non-verbal communication

are used. ome of these are2

1" 2acial e3pressions: :acial epressions convey various emotional sates of a

person. Through the process of social interaction people come to realise and understand

largely what certain epressions convey. It is uncanny but a lot of epressions universally

reflect the same emotional state. Charles Darwin, in his book *!he "pression of the

motions in #an and $nimals” states that *...the young and the old of widely different

races, both with man and animals, epress the same state of mind by the same

movements.” &ven if one were to contest the universality of facial epression, it is largely

true that at least within cultures they are the same.

The following adverts can be understood in the light of this theory2

This is a print advert for “De Beers” diamonds.

445eadline: If I listen carefully, they whisper in my ear. They tease, they flatter, they

make me laugh. I try to ignore them, but they won(t be silent.

0odycopy: >iamond solitare earrings set in #latinum. 5ost e?uisite in @ carat or

more.



0aseline2 A diamond is forever. BB

"ote that the visual takes up half of the entire advertisement space. The audience

is more likely to first look at the visual and then read the body copy of the advert. The

models$ body and her face are both half concealed. &ven though she covers her face with

her hand, the look cannot be mistaken for coy. The eye is not maintained at a lower level

away from the level of eye contact of the viewer! rather it looks right at the viewer. The

look is not that of vulnerability and shyness, but of a certain confidence. The half-

concealed face and the way she looks at you add a sense of mystery, and it is also slightly

suggestive. he is of course ?uite pleased with herself. The viewer automatically relates

with this picture. They understand that owning a diamond is a matter of pride, andinculcates a sense of confidence, achievement even.

The approach in this advert is obviously an emotional one. #urchase of diamonds

is purchase of luury and status. >iamonds do not serve any other purpose at the level of

functionality. +owever, purchase of diamonds is considered to be that of high-level

involvement if placed in advertising models. +igh-involvement purchases also involve



higher levels of perceived risks. The role of the advertiser then is to reduce the perceived

risks. o instead of talking about checking the ?uality of diamonds to make sure they are

genuine, the advertiser will put the prospect at ease by painting a pleasant picture.

According to the Contin%enc& $pproach of the Foote, Cone and Belding model,

jewellery is a *feeling” product and therefore a primarily emotional appeal works best in

selling here.

The following is an advert for “Nike”.

CC 5eadline: "o :riends on the 6ourt BB

This is a perfect eample of communicating emotions through facial epressions.ave the D words, the advert has no verbal communication with the audience. +ere the

visual is divided into two halves, each representing opposite emotions. The forehead and

eyebro6 for instance are raised on the right side, indicating challenging sense of

alertness. 'n the left they are relaed. A raised eyebrow is analysed as follows2



*'sa%e I 2 aising the eyebrows adds intensity to facial epressions. )row-raising can

strengthen a dominant stare, eaggerate a submissive pout, or boost the energy of a smile.

The involved muscle %occipitofrontalis1 elevates the eyebrows to form prominent,

horiEontal furrows in the forehead, making almost any facial gesture look and feel

stron%er .

'sa%e II 2 In tandem with head-tilt-back, raising one or both eyebrows suggests a

supercilious air of disdain, hau%htiness, or pride. %FuperciliousF comes from the 9atin

word for Feyebrow,F supercilium.1 =e may unconsciously lift our eyebrows as we give

orders, argue important points, or make demands.”

Interestingly, this is proven ?uite well in this advert where a sense of dominance

and aggressiveness surrounds the right-half. Then there are the eyes" The eyes are slightly

crinkled at the ends at the left, suggesting friendliness. The eye on the right is more open,

reflecting ecitement. At the same time, human beings are not programmed to stare right

into another person$s eyes. The tendency then is to look away if the gaEe is too direct and

daunting, as in this advert.

The other features are sharper on the right, projecting a menacing look to the man.

All these features have softer curves and are less angular on the other side. &ven if a

viewer looks at this advert casually and without investigating it too much, they know

what these etreme emotions signify. The advertiser knows the product and knows the

consumer. The product in this case is that of sports-wear. ports-wear has little to do with

the actual sport. )ut it does help convey a certain attitude. ports are also in a sense

synonymous with war! only of more refined, justified sorts. The advertiser arouses

passion in the audience, the kinds that are seen on a war-front. There is an overt need to

ac?uire victory.

(" 0ody 7anuae: )ody language is another important contributing factor in the

conveyance of emotions, non-verbally. The way a model is represented in an advert can

not only represent his or her emotional state, but can also alter the emotional state of the

consumer.



This advert for Lee-Cooer makes use of two models. Ironically, the product is

hardly visible in the visual. The female seems to lean against a wall. +er head is slightly

tilted and her shoulders are s?uared. The man on the other hand seems to be supporting

her, even though she does not seem to need any support. +is body is placed such that he

seems to be leaning in. this offers a sense of alignment, representing affiliation and

admiration. +owever, the man$s head falls in the opposite direction.

This advert has shown more of the actual skin that the skin they are trying to sell.

Adverts such as these make use of se-appeal in attracting the consumer. The female

model$s hands like close to her hips, but not in a sense of authority, but rather in a sense

of casualness. The head-tilt is slightly coy, and inviting. The consumer understands the



product in terms of its se-appeal. &ven though the product is close to invisible, they

*know” that wearing the particular product will ooEe masculinity in the man %supports

woman1, and a perfect mi of coyness, vulnerability and casualness in the woman.

8" #tereotypical Postures: 5uch like Carl !"ng $s theory of archetypes,

advertisers also make use of stereotypical postures to convey messages. The mother is

perhaps the most effective.

Take for eample this advert for #iner$ Footcare. +ere, the model sits so

as to cradle her own foot, much like a mother would cradle her baby. The model is

happy, and epresses love %for herself1. The advert goes to show that the product

takes care of your feet like a mother would take care of her baby. There is a subtle

sense of humour in the advert that arises because the consumer is well-aware of

this cultural stereotypical image.

0rea$in the Dichotomy

The above adverts show some of the ways of communicating emotions non-

verbally, though the process is a lot more intricate than that. "onetheless, it serves the

purpose of understanding selling with the help of emotions.



Although the adverts shown here are primarily emotional, it cannot be said that

the rationale plays no role in the consumers mind when making a purchase decision.

Tracing back, the De Beers advert has ?uite a lyrical ?uality to it. )ut, the consumer also

related to the advert rationally. The consumer is still aware that there is a certain sense of

risk involved in the making of a high-end purchase. And it is not the emotions presented

by the advert that necessarily puts the consumer$s mind at ease, but the tiny logo at the

right-hand corner. The logo is a sign of ?uality. It represents a brand that the consumer

has known for many years. Therein, it invokes a sense of trust. !hat , and not the poem, is

what will ultimately make the consumer purchase the product. The sense of assurance

comes from what that logo is a sign of2 of ?uality products, of a strong brand.

The advertisement for Nike first of all needs the consumer to understand the

subtleties of the message, which of course comes from the ability to reason. In terms of

purchase decision, the consumer feels elevated by the sense of power. There is a certain

ruthless appeal to the advert. The consumer is guided by his emotions to this etent.

:urther, it is his reasoning that comes into play. The tick-mark on the model$s forehead

and on the body-copy makes the consumer understand that the advert is by Nike. This is

probably why it is alright to display such ruthlessness. )ut, if the same message was used

to sell sports and not sportswear, the reception might have been different. Take for

eample the recent series of adverts that were released in India, just before the cricket

matches. The message was that it was tough to be a =est Indian in India. The underlying

message was the same2 game means war. )ut wherein the "ike advert was received

positively, the cricket ad outraged the masses because it reflects a barbaric reality. The

sense of patriotism at the epense of another$s nationality did not appeal to the Indian

masses.

&ven in the case of the other adverts, the consumer is well-aware of eaggerated

claims. In fact, consumers are now more wary of being mis-led by advertising. Thus, the

advert for Lee Cooer will not work just because it employs se appeal. It will probably

only inform the customer of the eistence of the product. The consumer is aware that he

has a choice! to but this product or a competing one. The consumers may feel that will be

more attractive if they purchase this product, but a lot of other factors will also come into

platy. :or instance, if a consumer goes into a store and the product is not available, will



the consumer wait for days on end till the product finally arrives8 'r will the consumer

be so convinced of the claims of that the advert that he or she will spend on a product

even if they cannot afford the price. 6hances are, no. If at all it does happen thus, it will

be because the consumer understands what comes along with the brand. :or instance, if

the pair of jeans being advertised here were a pair of rare designer jeans, then the

consumer might be willing to go out of his way to ac?uire it. &ven then it is because the

consumer is aware of his emotional needs2 the need for acceptance and self-esteem that

they would gain if they possessed the pair of jeans.

Thus, though it might be useful to use emotions to persuade a consumer, emotions

do not occur sans rationality. In fact, adverts that sometimes over-play certain emotions

such as humour or pathos, often are putting-off. The consumer needs to be credited with

some intelligence. In fact, it is when emotions are most subtle, leaving the message for

the consumer to decipher, that they are sometimes most attention-grabbing, with highest

retention power. &motions and reasons are not two unrelated2 the advertiser uses reason

to understand that a certain emotion will move you, and the consumer understands the

advertisers strategies which is probably why they do not buy all the products that are

advertised.



0iblioraphy

. 9ivingston, Glenn. *&motions vs. &motional )enefits in 5arketing”. 6anadian

5arketing Association. H. 5ar H, H3.

B http2@@www.the-cma.org@8=6&J6J3K36;JHHD/D CH. Givens, >avid. *The "on-verbal >ictionary”. 6entre for "on-Lerbal tudies.

//4. 5ar H, H3.

B http2@@members.aol.com@[email protected]&ntries C0. app, 6hristof, FAristotle(s hetoricF, The tanford &ncyclopaedia of #hilosophy

%ummer HH &dition1, &dward ". Nalta %ed.1. 5ar /, H3.

B http2@@plato.stanford.edu@archives@sumHH@entries@aristotle-rhetoric@ C

. F#hilosophy - #latoF. Anti &ssays. 5ar. H3. 5ar /, H3.Bhttp2@@www.antiessays.com@[email protected]



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