"Don't be vague, ask for Haig" (a brand of Scotch whisky). "Don't just book it, Thomas Cook it" (Thomas Cook is a tour company). "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux" (vacuum cleaner). Those advertising slogans have endured, and one of the reasons that they are so memorable is that they rhyme.
After all, we use rhymes to help children learn: "One, two, buckle my shoe, Three, four, knock at the door." We know that children will want to sing along, and to repeat the rhyme because it's fun. As a result, they remember numbers much more easily.
Book
A study carried out by two psychologists from Lafayette College a few years ago found that adults, too, sass well to rhymes. The researchers read out two short phrases that were same in meaning, but one of them rhymed and the other didn't. The phrases included "Woes unite foes" and "Woes unite enemies" and "What sobriety conceals, alcohol reveals" and "What sobriety conceals, alcohol unmasks." Respondents judged the rhyming aphorism to be more accurate than the non-rhyming version (even though both versions meant the same thing).
The psychologists accomplished that the ease with which people are able to process facts plays a large role in their quality to trust that information. The mind accepts rhyming phrases more quickly and thus we feel more comfortable with them. We admittedly remember rhymes, even those we learned years ago. When you are unsure how to spell a word you may say to yourself "I before E except after C." When you wonder what the weather will be like tomorrow, you might spin "Red sky at night, shepherds' delight; Red sky in the morning, sailors' warning."
If you haven't yet chosen a company strapline or advertising slogan, it might be worth checking in a rhyming dictionary (you'll find some online). It's not the spelling of the word that matters, but the sound, as in 'vague' and 'Haig', 'sucks' and 'lux' above. The stress of the word is prominent too; 'widget' and 'forget' don't rhyme because the first syllable is stressed in 'widget', while it's the second syllable of 'forget' that carries the stress. Don't forget to take inventory of the pronunciation of your customers when selecting a strapline or slogan. To paraphrase Fred Astaire, it just doesn't work when "You say tom-ah-to, and they say tom-eh-to."
Rhyming Advertising Slogans
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น