Regret
Ads and videos written to this emotion: 48. 22 make the Say move, 20 make the Avoid mistake.
The Emotion Map's entry, written for B2B buyers.
What it is
Wishing you'd acted differently, knowing the choice was yours. Before a decision it shows up as fear of choosing wrong.
Where it shows up
A buyer who has bought badly before. In a Gartner survey of 1,120 technology buyers (late 2021), 56% said their organization had a high degree of regret over its largest technology purchase of the past two years.
Sounds like
"What if we pick the wrong one again?"
Say
Lower the cost of being wrong: phases, checkpoints, reversible steps. Gartner found buyers with high decision confidence were 10 times more likely to make a high-quality, low-regret purchase.
Avoid
Pressure to decide fast. It raises the regret you are trying to lower.
In consumer ads
Say: Lower the cost of being wrong: a money-back guarantee, free returns, a trial period, a smaller first size.
Avoid: Pressure to decide fast: today only, last few left, the price goes up at midnight. It raises the regret it should lower.
Doing it right
Ads that make the Say move.
Hudson and Essex cars ad, al-Musawwar 1926
It names the costly mistake most owners make, buying a good car only after suffering a bad one, and lowers the risk of choosing wrong with trials run in front of the buyer.
New York Fashions spring and summer catalog, 1908
The first page opens 'you take no risk' and promises to alter, remake or refund an unsatisfactory made-to-order garment at the firm's expense, which lowers the cost of ordering the wrong fit.
flyadeal: A day to think, with full refunds within 24 hours
It speaks to the fear of booking the wrong flight and lowers the cost of being wrong with a full refund window of 24 hours, a reversible step rather than pressure to decide.
Kodak "A vacation without a Kodak is a vacation wasted" ad
It warns a holiday without pictures is wasted, then lowers the cost of trying: Brownies from $1.00, daylight developing, and free correspondence tuition for owners who fear taking bad pictures.
Saudia: no rebooking or cancellation fees on any flight
The line 'It's fine if you change your mind' comes first, then no re-booking or cancellation fees on every flight make the booking reversible, the opposite of pressing for a fast decision.
Agency house ad: Forceful Advertising
It names the fear of spending on a speculation, recasts the budget as an investment, and closes by asking only to show how it is done, a demonstration before any budget or contract.
Gritzner sewing machine ad, al-Kawakib 1955
'Guaranteed for life', free lessons and easy instalments remove the three costs of a wrong buy for a first machine: a breakdown, a machine nobody can work, and the full price paid at once.
Direct Advertising magazine and mill-brand paper sample book, 1921
Neenah's printed promise, satisfaction guaranteed or paper replaced with the user as judge, takes the cost of a wrong stock switch off the printer who would carry the blame.
Hawaa Triko knitting book ad, al-Kawakib 1959
'Atbaq Hawaa sold out hours after it came out' gives the miss a real precedent, and reserving Triko before 15 October removes it, with the terms stated: 148 pages, 1960 models, 20 piastres.
Book-of-the-Month Club promotional pamphlet, 1926
It names the reader's lapse as follow-through, not money or interest, then lowers the cost of joining: book selection free for life, cancellation at any time, 'nothing to lose'.
al-Musawwar commemorative issue ad, al-Kawakib 1970
'If you missed' speaks to readers who regret missing the Nasser issue and lowers the cost of that miss: a fifth printing, one named stand, the regular 5 piastre price, and a free portrait.
Hartman 'Let Hartman Feather Your Nest' catalog, 1916
It lowers the cost of a wrong choice: 30 days on approval with a refund including freight both ways, and up to a year to pay with no interest, no mortgage and no collectors.
Doing it wrong
Ads that make the Avoid mistake.
Moassat Hospital lottery ticket ad, al-Musawwar 1934
The opening line speaks to the reader who has already missed a ticket and lost his golden chance, and the close says buy before it is too late: pure pressure to decide fast.
Swing Parade musical poster, 1937
POSITIVELY LAST WEEK leads the card and a swinging couple shows what will be missed, pushing a fast decision on riders with no price shown.
The Egyptian (al-Masri) film ad, al-Kawakib 1955
It leads with the third and final week and a great success, so the reader hears that others have already gone and the chance is closing: pressure to decide fast.
Julian Thompson's The Warrior's Husband theatre poster
Positively LAST WEEK sits above the title in the only other colour, so the poster sells the closing date and pushes a fast decision, while no price or curtain time helps the reader decide.
Philco refrigerator ad, al-Kawakib 1964
Immediate delivery and limited quantities tell a household long used to waiting that stock is here and will not last, a push to decide now that no guarantee offsets.
Little Blue Books 'These Books Are Disappearing' ad, 1927
THESE BOOKS ARE DISAPPEARING and Little Blue Books must go push the reader to order now before the stock runs out, while the 20-book minimum waits in the How to Order panel.
Cicurel Belber wardrobe trunk ad, al-Musawwar 1931
Monday 29 June is billed a great opportunity and a lifetime trunk is set against a liner, but the only term given is 'sold at Cicurel', so the date presses without a price or cut.
Encyclopaedia Britannica sales letter, 1914
Its line 'there is no time to decide slowly', backed by a May price rise and an autumn printing delay, pushes a 29-volume purchase fast, leaning on the deadline more than the guarantees panel.
Ahlam al-Hubb film ad, al-Musawwar 1945
'The last five days' and 'What are you waiting for' press the undecided reader to book before the golden chance slips away, leaning on fear of missing out rather than lowering the cost of choosing.
Ransomes threshing machine ad, al-Musawwar 1945
Its only selling line is that a small number are on their way to Egypt, then hurry to get a Ministry permit: scarcity pushing a fast decision with no guarantee or trial.
Cicurel Belber travel trunk ad, al-Musawwar 1932
'Do not let this chance pass you by', even for readers already done with summer shopping, pushes a trunk purchase onto Monday 27 June, yet no price or discount says what the chance is.
Universal refrigerator ad, Bint al-Nil 1955
The headline says reserve your fridge now and the next line says quantities are limited, so waiting has a cost; the ten-month plan eases the price, not the risk of a wrong choice.
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