Most of the TV commercial advertisements are good at combining multimodal elements to appeal consumers to purchase their products or services. But sometimes they are too pushing to achieve their goals. This controversial advertisement of Aetna is one that is worth analyzing.
The ad begins with a sight of a halcyon neighborhood with a reaper walking slowly towards a small house. Then an insurance salesman came out from the opposite direction. They coincidentally chose the same family and ran into each other. The reaper looked at the man up and down and asked what his job was. “I am an insurance man.” The man said with a warm smile. “Then you first please.” The reaper replied with a gesture. At that moment, the background music suddenly rose and created a tense atmosphere. Here seems to be a chance for the family to reduce their loss, but they failed to grasp it—they refused the man though they hadn’t bought insurance. So the man left and the ad ended abruptly with the reaper turning his head to the door and ready to come into the house.
As an insurance company, Aetna tried to show people how important their service could be when death comes accidentally by telling the story. Mirror effect was applied in this product-oriented ad to remind people the importance of having insurance in case of the potential disasters to persuade them to purchase. Everyone is afraid of death and worry about their loved ones’ life after their death. While this ad skillfully evoked this kind of emotion by combining the moving images and sounds tactically.
However, they failed to control the fear appeals to a proper level and this cause the dispute. According to the Extended Parallel Process Model (Witte, 1992), when the persuasive message is too scary, the receivers will be maladaptive and choose to resist, defend themselves and avoid thinking of the threat rather than change to control it. This advertisement reached a level of fear that was so high that it made audience feel uncomfortable and threatened after watching it.
So in my opinion, if the company could have changed the end of the ad to show the benefits of buying the insurance in a comforting way, it could also apply the window effect and had a much better effect.
Reference: Witte, K. (1992). Putting the fear back into fear appeals: the extended parallel process model. Communication Monographs, 59, 4, 329-349.
The ad begins with a sight of a halcyon neighborhood with a reaper walking slowly towards a small house. Then an insurance salesman came out from the opposite direction. They coincidentally chose the same family and ran into each other. The reaper looked at the man up and down and asked what his job was. “I am an insurance man.” The man said with a warm smile. “Then you first please.” The reaper replied with a gesture. At that moment, the background music suddenly rose and created a tense atmosphere. Here seems to be a chance for the family to reduce their loss, but they failed to grasp it—they refused the man though they hadn’t bought insurance. So the man left and the ad ended abruptly with the reaper turning his head to the door and ready to come into the house.
As an insurance company, Aetna tried to show people how important their service could be when death comes accidentally by telling the story. Mirror effect was applied in this product-oriented ad to remind people the importance of having insurance in case of the potential disasters to persuade them to purchase. Everyone is afraid of death and worry about their loved ones’ life after their death. While this ad skillfully evoked this kind of emotion by combining the moving images and sounds tactically.
However, they failed to control the fear appeals to a proper level and this cause the dispute. According to the Extended Parallel Process Model (Witte, 1992), when the persuasive message is too scary, the receivers will be maladaptive and choose to resist, defend themselves and avoid thinking of the threat rather than change to control it. This advertisement reached a level of fear that was so high that it made audience feel uncomfortable and threatened after watching it.
So in my opinion, if the company could have changed the end of the ad to show the benefits of buying the insurance in a comforting way, it could also apply the window effect and had a much better effect.
Reference: Witte, K. (1992). Putting the fear back into fear appeals: the extended parallel process model. Communication Monographs, 59, 4, 329-349.