The television advertisement that has always stood out to me is the iconic ASPCA ad with Sarah McLachlan singing “Angel”. This ad is more than 10 years old and I still clearly remember it, which means it was a pretty effective advertising. In case you are not familiar with this ad here is a link to the ad:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eXfvRcllV8. Between the emotional music and the images of the sad, injured animals, my pet loving heart just breaks. Most ads on T.V. are upbeat, loud and busy, so having such a stark contrast with the sad music and depressing images really catches you off guard and makes you look and take notice. Since I was a little kid when this first came out, I remember there was a shock factor to the ad with the statics and images. I could not imagine that anyone could mistreat an animal like that. This commercial uses pathos which would involve the limbic system. The limbic system is responsible for emotion and memories. The amygdala which is part of the limbic system is specifically related to emotion and linking that emotion to memories. The amygdala also plays a role in empathy, which is utilized in the ad with seeing all the helpless faces of the animals, causing you to empathize with the animals. The hippocampus, which is also part of the limbic system, is where this memory is stored since it is an emotionally driven memory. Now even just hearing that song immediately reminds me of the commercial and all the emotions it elicits. Clearly this marketing team had a good understanding of the nervous system and how to get their message imbedded in people’s memories.
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