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The Examples Of ‘Fear Appeal’ In Advertising -Emotional Branding.
Listerine was launched in the 1880s as an antiseptic liquid mainly meant for application on wounds or areas likely to be infected. One important area where it could be applied was to clean infections in the human mouth — A delicate and constantly wet area, where the other creams, bandages won’t work. Listerine was marketed to dentists for this reason. Though the product had potential, it could not penetrate the market and was always on the edge of survival till the 1920s.
In the 1920s, Listerine decided to change their communication -they targeted fear psychology of consumers — Listerine focussed on one fear — Human Relationships — halitosis — BAD BREATH.
They changed their ads as
Their video ads ran like this -
Look at this, Martin’s have been happily married for years, but something has gone wrong these days….Halitosis or Bad Breath is no help to a happy home……
Jane has a pretty face, Men notice her lovely figure, but men never linger along. Jane has one big minus in her report card-Halitosis or Bad Breath …..
